Mini E-Book: Resolving Solipsism

Hi I’m a Solipsist, What are You?
Philosophic Warning: I Believe in Solipsism (Do Not Read!)
In philosophy there are very few rules. In my estimation this is largely due to the nature of philosophy, which is performed almost entirely in the realm of thought. It is probably also due, in part, to the fact that very few philosophers can agree about anything; each philosopher has a particular background of thought and logic that results in a relatively individualized way of seeing the world and extracting its truths. In fact it may be said that the only real rule to philosophy is that it must follow a logical progression so that others can understand how that philosopher has come to uncover truth. Logic allows philosophers to share these truths and understandings of the world. Logic is the language of philosophy, so this becomes the only real rule of philosophy.
However there is another “rule” (more like a custom), which most philosophers consider to be a “deal-breaker.” If this rule is violated, most philosophers will not engage in philosophical argument because it potentially breaks down the flow of truth-sharing. It goes something like “Thou shalt not make a solipsistic assumption.” Solipsism is the belief that only one mind exists, generally implying that this one mind is mine. Obviously philosophers pride themselves on their ability to think, so if someone assumes that everyone else is a robot or puppet or illusion, there is no apparent way to convince that person that others actually do have conscious minds. This is potentially a huge road block for argumentation, since the solipsist could always come back to the question “How do I know you’re not a super advanced mindless robot?” Philosophers have wrestled (or avoided wrestling) with this argument for a long, long time, and now science has become entangled in this question as well; there is currently no test or argument that provides adequate evidence for or against consciousness. Thus philosophers have adopted another rule: “no solipsism.”
However this “deal-breaker” seems to be the central theme of many religions, primarily in the East. For example Buddhism and Hinduism each make it clear that this is exactly what the existence of the universe is based on, only one consciousness. In fact this is almost the standard in eastern thought. Many indigenous peoples also hold this type of view of the universe, so it appears that western thought is actually the only place that holds a grudge against solipsism. Why? What motivation would western culture have to make a particular branch of thought taboo? Suspicious…
In any case I can look around the world today and see that many aspects of the East are permeating into the West. Yoga, meditation, martial arts, Buddhism, Hinduism and many other distinctly eastern elements have spread through the western world like a California wild fire. The importance is not so much in the fact that eastern culture is infiltrating western culture as it is in the general fact that the western culture is going through a metamorphosis. This change is what I refer to as the New Age movement, which invokes an integrative type of mentality that breaks through old assumptions and ways of living, resulting in massive paradigm shifts, and it is quickly gaining momentum.
The New Age movement seeks to reconcile the apparent differences between religions, sciences and other forms of knowledge. There is an overarching theme to this movement which emphasizes the unity of all things, basing all of reality on a single consciousness. This approach attempts to validate and interpret other forms of knowledge rather than to dissect and disprove them, and this movement has snowballed to the point that most people are at least familiar with the “New Agers.” It is my opinion that the inherently negative connotation associated with the label “New Age” prevents many people from realizing that they are actually part of the movement. Simply stated the New Age movement encourages people to express their individuality while respecting others’ individuality, thus it is not a religion so much as an ethical code of conduct. It’s more like a not-so-secret society. This is a society that views each of us as co-creators of reality, as gods on Earth, striving to reach a harmonic balance.
The importance of the New Age movement is that it pertains directly to the problem of solipsism and therefore also pertains to the aversion of discussing this problem. If this movement is based on claims that we are all gods (co-creators) and that there is only one consciousness, there is a problem that must be addressed before I move on. Is it possible that there is only one consciousness if we are all co-creating reality? If so how does it work? The combination of these two assumptions raises a number of questions.
 
It would be easy to accept either of these assumptions individually. I can see how we could be co-creating reality, since I interact with other people and co-create things frequently. It is also possible that there is only one consciousness, since I can’t know whether or not others really have consciousness. But how can it be both? Is anyone else really consciously creating other than me? Am I the only one with a mind? If there is only one consciousness, it seems like I have it, so how can other people have it too? Maybe this really is my world, and other people are just living in it. Or maybe the opposite is true, and I really don’t create reality… am I in a world like Jim Carrey in “The Truman Show?” Come to think of it, how do I know that I have consciousness? What if this is all an illusion or a dream?
Unfortunately these are things that cannot be objectively proven or disproven, since consciousness is a subjective experience, not a material substance. I suspect that this means the test for solipsism is a subjective test, not an objective one. Translation: I have to actually live this test, not perform it, i.e. I need to become a Tibetan monk or practice meditation or have a near-death experience, etc. For now I can just do a thought experiment to see if it’s even possible that solipsistic co-creation is true.
I am limited to only one perspective of subjective experience, so my thought experiment must start with the assumption that I actually do have consciousness (though it is entirely possible that I do not). At the very least, it seems like I have consciousness, so I am vaguely familiar with what it’s like to be conscious. In my estimation consciousness involves three cumulative capacities: perception, focus and willpower.
When I am conscious, I am conscious of something, thus consciousness is a relative term. When asking “Am I conscious?” it must be clarified, “conscious of what?” I may not be conscious of my physical surroundings but still be completely conscious of my own inner world i.e. dreams, imagination, etc. Whenever I am conscious of something, I am also perceiving that something. Thus perception is the first order of consciousness, the capacity to observe.
The second order of consciousness is its ability to focus in on portions of perception and to orient its focus toward something other than what it was previously oriented toward. Choosing one thing over another is a telltale sign that there is something going on subjectively, which I can only label as consciousness. In short the second property of consciousness is its capacity to focus, which allows for the perception of possibilities.
Finally consciousness can reach the third order, in which it may act upon its focused perception and go down a specific path of possibility. This is the property that I call willpower. This is also the part of consciousness that allows it to select and choose experiences. When consciousness fails to reach into an order of consciousness, it can be said to be operating “unconsciously” on that order.
If I am not aware of something, how can I possibly decide to change it, much less actually act on that decision? For example imagine that I have a garden, and it keeps being ruined by some unknown force. If I am not aware that it is rabbits ruining my garden, how will I save my garden? Obviously I must become aware that rabbits are ruining my garden first (perception). Once I discover that it’s those damn rabbits ruining my garden, I can look at my options: drive the rabbits off the garden with sticks and rocks, get a guard dog, lure the rabbits away, change my garden into a rabbit farm, whatever (choice). Then I need to actually do something to save my garden (willpower).
At any point in these three orders of consciousness, I can fail to become fully conscious. Perhaps the most difficult order of consciousness to establish is perception, since I have almost no control over what I perceive. Changing perception is a huge part of changing consciousness; mysterious forces are everywhere, which is why scientists still have jobs! Being unable to perceive something is a failure to reach the first order of consciousness. Even if I am able to perceive something, I can still fail to see any way to change it. I can see myself as a victim of the world and slip back into unconsciousness, or I can move up to the second order of consciousness by looking for options. Then after reviewing my options, I can say “that won’t work” or “they will just come back anyway,” which would be a failure to move into the third order of consciousness. At any one of the three orders of consciousness, there is also the possibility for unconsciousness.
Before this becomes bleak, I should clarify that there is nothing good or bad about consciousness or unconsciousness. These are simply two sides of the same coin, which is being. I am either being relatively conscious or being relatively unconscious, and either way this is a choice that I have made for myself at some point. Being entirely conscious would have radical effects on reality, since it would translate to an experience of omniscience and omnipotence, just as being entirely unconscious would translate to an experience of a complete void. Thus I am somewhere between these two polar states of being, in a state of relativity. I know that I am unconscious to some extent because I am not omniscient or omnipotent, and I know that I am conscious to some extent because I have perceptions, choices and willpower. I am caught in a tug-of-war between consciousness and unconsciousness, which is probably at least partially why I have been bouncing around so much, so let me get back on topic. What does all this mean for the problem of solipsism?
Solipsism is problematic because it is paradoxical. A paradox occurs when two things that are irrefutably true contradict one another. These things drive people crazy! What came first, the chicken or the egg? Chickens are born from eggs, but eggs are born from chickens. That type of thing. Solipsism is the same way: other people seem to be conscious, but they might be unconscious robots. It’s also possible that other people are much more conscious than me, and I’m the butt of a really elaborate joke. How can I know what’s really going on?
The inherent property of a paradox is that it is created by a limited level of consciousness. Einstein once said something like “a problem cannot be solved by the same level of consciousness that created it.” I don’t remember the exact wording, but it’s clear that he is referring to the need to become more conscious in order to solve problems, and a paradox is quite a problem. Thus the paradox of solipsism must require a much greater consciousness than the one that created it in order to be resolved; is that a paradox within a paradox, or just logical progression? Think about it.
Perhaps the ultimate reason that paradoxes emerge is because of what I call the belief structure, also known as the Ego. I use the label “belief structure” because the word “Ego” generally carries a negative connotation, which I do not intend to imply. The belief structure is very real, yet completely imaginary, kind of like money; even though it’s not really anything, it can produce very real effects. The belief structure is a set of parameters that filters out some aspects of reality while focusing on other aspects of reality. For instance if I don’t believe in UFOs, it will be almost impossible for me to see a UFO, even if there really is one in the sky. I would not accept that UFOs are real until one landed right in front of me, leaving me with absolutely no way of denying that it was real. The opposite is also true; if I do believe in UFOs, I will see them all the time, even when they are not there. Thus in most circumstances I have already determined whether I will see a UFO or not. This same argument can be made for anything that I believe; the belief or non-belief (which is still a belief) actually makes more difference than the reality of the situation.
Since this belief structure actually changes my perception, and perception is the first order of consciousness, it seems likely that my beliefs are actually more primordial than my perception! This means that changing a belief structure will most certainly change reality from the subjective point of view. So how can I alter my belief structure if it has control over my perceptions? Let’s do another thought experiment and see what happens.
The tired argument of the existence of God is an easy way to show how this experiment goes. If I assume that God exists, I will find evidence for this everywhere (birds singing, sun shining, love spreading). If I instead assume that God does not exist, I will find evidence for this everywhere as well (murders, disease, sadness, the presence of evil). Furthermore if I assume that I cannot perceive God’s existence, I will not really see much evidence for or against God’s existence, just as if I assume that my perceptions will speak for themselves, I will see ambiguous evidence.
So it seems like assumptions actually highlight certain evidence, which then makes something “believable.” As these assumptions are backed up by more and more experiences, it seems to become “true,” which in turn allows that belief to become more deeply embedded in the belief structure. Then more beliefs are built on top of the underlying assumptions, resulting in a structure. It is important to recognize that this entire structure is built on assumptions. The more embedded that a belief becomes, the more difficult it is to make any assumptions that contradict it. This limited ability to make assumptions directly results in a limited ability to perceive and therefore also a limited consciousness.
If assumptions generate beliefs and beliefs control perception, with perception being the first order of consciousness and with the higher capacities of consciousness stemming from perception, then it could be said that my belief structure is actually a container for my consciousness, molded by my assumptions. The shape and size of this container would then determine the types and ranges of experiences that I can actually have; it separates and collects a portion of experience (life) from the full spectrum of possibilities of the universe.
In this way life could be seen like a science experiment or an amusement park. If I am experiencing something in my life, it is because on some level, I believe that something is true, and I scooped up that truth and collected it into the container of possibilities. After years and years of an apparently linear existence, I have buried myself under a mountain of beliefs, which sifts and refines my experience of life, meaning that my range of possibility has become very small in the grand scheme of things. As a general rule: the more beliefs in my structure, the narrower my range of possible experiences.
With every layer of belief that I add, I make the underlying layers of belief more embedded, more compact, more permanent. If I look at my beliefs like a road system, the deepest beliefs are like eight lane highways. These beliefs are so deeply embedded in my being that I am unlikely to ever be able to identify them. The assumptions which are tied to these deeply-held beliefs are made unconsciously. These are the primary channels through which I “tune in” to a particular experience of reality. These highways branch out and become thinner and thinner as I move out to the rural areas, the unfamiliar territory.
In the belief structure, it is relatively easy to change these rural beliefs and make different assumptions; these are beliefs like “today is going to be a bad day.” It may become true, but it’s not so thoroughly convincing that it becomes impossible for me to have a good day. Mostly this depends on whether I decide to see the glass as half full or half empty that day. If every day I believe “today is going to be a bad day,” eventually I will just unconsciously assume that every day will be a bad day. Of course the opposite is also true if I see every day as a good day.
Perhaps more difficult is if I try to change my structure and make myself believe that I can fly; it quickly becomes crystal clear that I really don’t believe that. There is some deep part of myself that says “Nuh uh, it’s impossible for me to fly.” But is it? Youtube is full of things that would be unbelievable to me if it were not recorded on video. Incredible things happen when people convince themselves that something is possible. Some things take longer to believe than others, which is likely to be proportional to how many layers of belief have been built on top of the assumption that is hiding the evidence. Like Joe Dirt says, “Life’s a garden, dig it.”
Now I can finally start to unravel the paradox of solipsism, by identifying a core belief. This belief makes the assumption that we are all separate, that we all have little capsules of consciousness. As I have postulated above, truth really is in the eye of the beholder, so I bring that belief to light in order to contemplate the repercussions of making such an assumption. Believing that “I” am separate from everything and everyone else means that I am filtering out any kind of evidence suggesting that I am actually connected to everything else. Certainly I will not acknowledge any evidence suggesting that all is One. After all it is abundantly clear that other things exist, and that there is separation. The evidence seems very convincing, but does that mean that this belief is actually true, or does it suggest that I am actually clinging to a deeply-held belief, which completely alters my perception of reality and makes separation seem true?
If I assume that everything is separate, I must explain away the unity of things in order to maintain my belief of separation. For example if the pages of a book are separate, what holds them together? The binding. What holds the fibers of a sheet of paper together? Paste and glue. What holds the adhesive together? The texture of the adhesive substance. What holds the texture together? The formation of the molecules. What holds the molecules together? Atomic bonds. What holds the atomic bonds together? Charges of atoms. What creates the charges of atoms? The balance of its charged particles. What holds the charged particles together in an atom? At this point we don’t have a clear answer for that. In fact all of these “facts” are really assumptions with supporting evidence. Sound familiar?
In any case, when we get down to the smallest observed part of the universe, the area between particles, there is just empty space, a void. The trend is clear; separation leads to more separation all the way until the void. The void is ultimate separation, like rock bottom – it is the most separation possible, and this is what physical science is baffled by, the void. They assume that separation can go on forever, and in a way they are getting the evidence that supports this assumption. Again this is not bad, it just is what it is, and there is an appropriately optimistic saying about reaching rock bottom; “there’s nowhere to go but up.” The void is actually a place of rebirth. The lyrics to the song Closing Time articulate this concept beautifully, “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
With that thought I can transition to the alternative assumption. Now that I know that I am assuming that everything is separate, let’s just assume that everything is connected. Can I find any evidence of this being true? Most certainly I can! A great place to see this is in ecology. The smallest organisms can affect the largest without any direct interaction. How? They are connected through a chain of cause and effect. The water cycle is another example of this connectedness, as it drives all life on this planet. In fact the very mechanism that allows our entire scientific tradition to make these breakthroughs through separation means that there is already an assumption being made: there is always something that connects the parts into an apparent whole, which can in turn be broken down into parts. The importance of this is that I identify these assumptions.
Bringing the assumption of connectedness forward into my awareness is the only thing necessary for me to begin to see evidence that Oneness is true. This will radically alter my experience of life, since it changes the very deep-seated belief in separation. I personally suspect that this is the root of the belief structure; I suspect that all other beliefs are routed through this one. Changing this belief would then actually change every other belief in the structure, often times causing some serious traffic jams. As I take these kinds of detours, deviating from the beaten path more and more often, they start to seem more like a “scenic route.” This is how I know that my fundamental beliefs are changing, and this is what it’s like to engage all three orders of my consciousness.
Once this fundamental belief has been altered, and my consciousness begins to “ascend” from the void of separation, connections and relationships that were previously invisible begin to pour forward into my conscious awareness. Long lost memories re-emerge, days go more smoothly, less frustration occurs, and a feeling of ease replaces daily anxiety and stress. Many people who meditate on this concept of connectedness claim to have moments of clarity and focus, resulting in amazing discoveries and experiences. This is opposed to the people suffering of extreme depression, whose claims can be interpreted as “meditating on separation.” As a general rule, focusing on and believing in separation pushes consciousness towards insanity and perhaps even suicide, while focusing on unity and connectedness results in joy and bliss. Where separation leads to the void, connectedness leads to infinite. Explaining infinite is equivalent to explaining the void for science; perhaps this is because infinite is actually equivalent to the void. Like the void, infinite is also a place of rebirth.
So the question now becomes “If the void and infinite are the same, then why do so many of us focus on separation?” Statistically shouldn’t it be close to a 50/50 split? This is a complex answer, and it starts to get at the reason why western philosophy does not want to discuss solipsism. So we will start on the surface, then start digging. It all goes back to the New Age co-creation concept. Each of us is seeing and creating and interacting with the universe, which results in our own personal “reality.” When my beliefs are the same as your beliefs, we can share a reality. Actually we can co-create it. The shared beliefs are the key to our ability to co-create reality, as it means we are interacting with the universe in a similar way.
Where our belief structures are the same, we can co-create reality, and where our belief structures deviate, our realities split. Each of us can split reality all the way down into a void, where we can live in our own personal solipsistic reality (void), by focusing on separation. Alternatively we can connect reality all the way back into Oneness (infinite), where we live in a different type of solipsistic reality, by focusing on connectedness.
When I perceive “others” around me and in my reality, then I know that on some level of my being, I believe that there is separation in the universe. My reality reflects that; if that were not part of my belief structure, then I would not even perceive “otherness.” On the other hand, it’s very clear that part of me believes that things are also connected, because my reality reflects that as well. Now I face the paradox. Are we separate, or are we connected? As with every paradox, the answer is actually both. We are separate and connected. This is thanks to the belief structure, the source of reality.
The relationship between connectedness and separation is identical to the relationship between consciousness and unconsciousness. Connectedness is the conscious mode of being, while separation is the unconscious mode of being. Thus the belief system is our tool for navigating and projecting ourselves between these two modes of being. Depending on which beliefs are collected and retained, reality reflects a certain degree of separation/connection. The two polar possibilities of this reality are complete connection (infinite) and complete separation (void). From the subjective viewpoint, solipsism is true at both extremes, but not in the middle. In a way this means that I am the alpha and the omega, but not the stuff in between. I exist in the middle as a co-creator of this reality in the universe, building new roads and beliefs, experiencing my own creation and sharing it with “others” until I polarize entirely to one direction or the other and realize the solipsistic truth.
So how does it all work? How can there be otherness and oneness at the same time? Well time is the key. It is the material that my beliefs interact with to give me the experiences that I am collecting through the belief structure. In other words linear time is another fundamental belief which I subscribe to, which needs to be examined in order to continue. There is really nothing linear about time, except for my perception of it. If I believed that time is a surface, like a canvas that I am painting on, it would become something like that. Since I believe it is linear though, I have experiences that reflect a linear progression of time. Going back to the canvas analogy gives me an opportunity to see time as something liberating and useful, something that can literally fulfill my wildest dreams rather than a highway system that I can only drive on.
Speaking of dreams… If I change my view of time to the canvas view, it becomes strange that I go to sleep, to a state of complete unconsciousness relative to this reality, then wake up in the morning and go about the day in the same way as yesterday and the day before. Every “day” of my consciousness is separated by either a void (dreamless sleep) or an infinite (dream-full sleep). These “days” are only linked by my memories of days past mixed with the belief that time progresses in a linear fashion, so I should be able to make a new assumption and see a new result, right?
Imagine if every day instead presented a completely new canvas, a fresh surface to paint on, totally open for a new creation. This would radically change my daily routine! At the very least it would allow for enormous change to occur from “day” to “day.” Time is only a tool that the solipsistic mind uses to experience a certain type of reality, meaning that time is the material that allows for the experience of unconsciousness.
At last I can see the paradox in a new light; solipsism is eternally true, but temporally false. As long as I use the material of time, I remain in a reality with “others.” The only way out of time and back into eternity is through one pole of solipsism or the other; into the light or into the void. In the mean time, I am using time to (co-)create a reality that leads in one direction or the other. Some choose to ascend into the light, others choose to descend into the void, and some actively try to stay here in the middle; each experience is unique and completely self-determined. Yet it is all just a trivial experience.
Now that we can postulate that solipsism actually is possible, given the above thought experiment, we can go back and ask why it is that western culture refuses to even address solipsism. This may become clear once we look at the reality we are co-creating at this time, which is structured like a pyramid. A few people at the top of this pyramid are able to create reality much more effectively than others, and it is partially due to their superior understanding of the power of beliefs. Since we all create out of the belief structure, those who engineer and “sell” belief structures are actually building reality more efficiently. Those who craft beliefs know that there is no truth to be had, there is only belief.
All truths are half-truths, and this is the secret art of deception, the art of truth-crafting. By using a pyramid structure, a handful of crafters are able to “use” other people’s creative power (including mine) to create their own reality. For example the media in the United States, Hollywood in particular, has almost complete control over western thoughts, ideas and activities. Most of what occupies western minds is a result of what has been presented through these various media sources. By using propaganda and persuasion techniques, evidence is provided to convince other creators of a “truth,” and images/ideas are planted into our minds. This forms a filter, which then creates reality. In this way they can “trick” others into assisting them to create their reality, which is neither good nor bad; it is simply how co-creation works, by feeding ideas to one another and sharing different realities.
In our current reality, those people on the top of the pyramid are seeking to manifest a reality in which they are kings and queens with plenty of servants and other “throw-away” people whom exist solely as disposable resources. They are making a clear move towards the separatist void. This is not something that can be easily accomplished, nor can it be done by force, since each of us creates our own reality. The only way to accomplish this type of a feat is through these “tricks” that they play on other people, convincing them to choose to become servants, slaves, etc.
By indoctrinating people through the education system, enslaving them through the economic system, tearing apart the social system and through countless other manipulations, these tricksters have gained control of nearly every belief that we operate out of; they basically have a monopoly over the western world’s paradigm. By making some topics “taboo,” while glamorizing others, these self-interested creators are able to frame other creators’ belief structures, keeping their prey in a perpetually semi-controlled state.
There is a silver lining to this cloud though. These manipulators are extremely insecure, and as the manipulation continues and the pyramid grows, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the victims under control. People are waking up and rejecting the manipulations, and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it. A workhorse is no use if I beat it to death, and if I beat it too much, it becomes stubborn.
As co-creators we don’t need to kill the elite. We don’t need to arrest them or punish them. We don’t even need to confront them. All we have to do is realize what’s going on, and the jig is up. Individuals changing beliefs is all that is necessary to crumble the pyramid. It’s clear that these elites would like for us to continue creating out of this separatist belief all the way down into the void, but movement into the void is a choice that each of us has to make for ourselves. I suspect that this is why the discussion of solipsism is so thoroughly suppressed; it threatens to destroy everything that these self-interested manipulators have worked to build. Come back to the understanding that each of us creates our own reality, and you just might wake up tomorrow in the New Age.
This is your world (we’re just sharing it).

Mini E-book: Universal Ethics

Introduction
Since the title of this piece claims to be a guide to pulling one’s head out of one’s ass, I think it’s appropriate for me to start by explaining why I feel qualified to write on such a topic. The answer is pretty simple: I have had my head in my ass for years! It’s only recently that I have managed to begin to wriggle one eye out enough to catch a glimpse of the world, as viewed from outside of my ass. I was born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida. My parents got divorced when I was five years old, which created a deep rift within my family; it became a petty war of resentment and finger-pointing, which pitted my paternal family against my maternal family, and this actually remains relatively true today. The hostility in my environment gave me quite a pessimistic world view, leading to atheistic beliefs, depression and self-loathing, which I externalized in a textbook case of psychological transference. In first grade I was tested and placed in a gifted program (a segregation of smart kids), which set the trend for the rest of my educational experience: I felt like being smart was a curse because school was boring and almost intolerable, even in accelerated programs. I never did homework, I never read, yet I aced tests and could figure things out very easily. It’s possible that I was the laziest honor roll student ever to exist. I was also a bit of a half-assed perfectionist, as I compared everything to a standard which inevitably lead to disappointment and de-motivation. After high school I joined the Marine Corps and tried to figure things out; since school appeared to be a horrible waste of my time and I was not yet ready to entirely give up on life and start a 40 hour a week job, I figured that the Marine Corps would give me a chance to do something that was at least interesting. And interesting it was…
There is no preparing for the ridiculousness of the military lifestyle for someone like me. It is the freedom-lover’s worst nightmare; once one raises one’s hand and swears to uphold and defend the United States Constitution, that same constitution no longer applies to one. One literally becomes government property, which the government can dispose of as it sees fit. This was a major problem for me, and there is no way to get out of it; on top of that I had a five year contract due to the nature of my test scores and military occupational field. Once again I found that being smart was a curse. Furthermore the antics and micromanagement inherently involved in the military lifestyle directly clashed with my intention to escape my previous life. I was stuck, and it degraded my morale even further. As I was sent around the country and the world, I spiraled downward into total apathy. The war with Iraq started after I had joined, and I found myself for once thankful that my “smartness” prevented me from being deployed overseas, as my job was not logistically necessary to be in-country. But with some logistical acrobatics, the Marine Corps simply used my “smartness” as a way to circumvent my immunity by using my efficient learning ability to quickly retrain me into a new job occupation, which was attached to infantry units, placing me “in the shit.” I had already formed a strong opinion against the war in Iraq, yet I found myself fighting that very war against my will. Thankfully I never saw combat for the entire year that I spent there.
I was promoted to the rank of sergeant in Iraq and took charge of about twenty or so other Marines, which gave me the opportunity to demonstrate what I considered to be a “smarter” approach to hierarchical leadership. I believe that one must give respect to get it back; authority is not demanded, it is granted and can be revoked. This is the principle I based my leadership style on, and I received both respect and authority (for the most part) from my platoon, though the leadership above me had quite a negative opinion about my methods. I left the Marine Corps to return to Florida and go to college, taking along the lessons from the Marines and the surfer mentality, which I had acquired while intermittently stationed in California.
I majored in communications (aka rhetoric/liberal arts), which lead to another major in philosophy. Still having no direction or meaning in life, I was searching for an understanding of existence when I took psilocybin mushrooms for the first time. This is when I got my first glimpse of the world outside of my ass. Mushrooms stirred something deep within me, which had laid dormant, waiting to be faced; it was a gripping fear of death/illusion/meaninglessness. It was the worst night of my life, and I was convinced that I would never do mushrooms again. I remember being lost in thoughts and feeling detached from the constraints of time, looking at the clock and seeing the times jump forward and backward every time I looked at it. I had ample time to evaluate everything that I needed to evaluate, so the thoughts that I had that night completely revolutionized my thinking. Though I could not remember all the things I had discovered during my mushroom trip, I did find a trail of bread crumbs; I was filled with an intense physical and mental feeling that there was something literally manipulating my existence from some higher realm, even influencing my thoughts.
I started a personal investigation, which consisted of tons of reading, lectures, discussions and meditations, which provided vivid flashes of the “big picture” of my life/reality and why they happened/continue to happen in the way that they did/do. I began to have these glimpses more and more frequently, to the point that now I have these experiences on a daily basis. These visions are so vivid, so logical, not to mention supported by both historical facts and current info/events… they even go so far as to predict the future of my life/reality in an indirect sense, so I find it to be very probable that this is part of a process that is pulling my head out of my ass and revealing the nature of reality to me through my thoughts.
When I think about a topic, it’s like being able to “Google search” a universal information source, which reveals a pattern or a symbolic relationship of things to me. I have to really focus in order to find what I’m looking for, but I have a sort of inner alert system that tells me when I’m on the right track. If one has ever written a paper and slipped out of awareness and written things that one does not remember writing, this is a similar effect to what I experience, except mine is a more visual form of guidance. It is a geometric puzzle, sometimes three dimensional, sometimes two dimensional, sometimes even one dimensional. Once I identify what one piece of the puzzle represents, I can figure out what the adjacent pieces represent, but that’s an oversimplification. It’s kind of like Sudoku with symbols and concepts instead of numbers, but I cannot foresee limits or end to the puzzle. There are an infinite number of boxes in this Sudoku, and there are also infinite ways to solve the puzzle. Thus I bring back only one possible geometric solution to the combination of the puzzle’s pieces, which for me makes this puzzle equivalent to an infinite intelligence towards which I can direct questions and receive a stream of possible answers for me to sort and fit together. This is a summary of some things that I have found during my queries into this intelligence.
“One finds only what one is looking for.” 
Chapter 1
Straight to Politics
In the late 17th century, John Locke wrote An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, in which he described what he identified as the natural law, in which every man is endowed with certain rights and responsibilities. These rights which he lists as falling under natural law include the right to life, liberty and property, and exist prior to any formal laws, meaning that man-made laws cannot and may not deprive any man of these rights. Though the right to property was revised into the pursuit of happiness, the forefathers ensured that the Declaration of Independence would clearly state that our intent is to govern ourselves in good keeping with these ideals. The very first statement of the Declaration of Independence reads:
“We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”
The importance of this fact is that these are not just any rights; they are explicitly stated as UNALIENABLE rights, meaning that no one has the lawful ability to deprive anyone else of these rights, not a stranger, not a neighbor, not the police, not even the government can lawfully deprive us of these rights, and IT’S IN WRITING! Yet what does our “justice” system do? Deprives man of THOSE VERY RIGHTS! Government throws man in prison, depriving him of liberty. Government collects man’s income and appropriates his property, depriving him of the means to achieve happiness. Government even finds no quarrel in depriving man of the very most fundamental of rights, LIFE, by administering the death penalty. It is my opinion that the ultimate test of a justice system is to look at the “punishment” independent of the “crime.” If the punishment could be interpreted as a crime, then it IS a crime! We teach our children some very simple moral guidelines “do unto others…” yet the “justice” system completely fails to recognize this simple lesson, graspable to children at the elementary level. Is morality really this cloudy? I think not.
Conservatives: Being republican means to support centralized power, as a republic does. Republics use representatives to make decisions (allegedly) based on the will of their voters. Jesus, whom many conservatives (republicans) admire and respect, would argue that no soul should have power or control over another soul and that we should conduct ourselves in terms of abundance, generosity and social responsibility. Republics make decisions which control other souls, view resources as a commodity and promote personal privilege and selfishness (helping only “my people” is still selfish). Thus Jesus would disagree with the republican mindset, meaning that republicans cannot rightfully claim to follow Jesus’ word. Free market “competition” is a separatist activity, “me versus you” or “us versus them,” while Jesus endorsed unitary activities i.e. “love every man as if he were your brother.” Republicans and the competitive spirit are fundamentally anti-Jesus. Jesus is/was a communist.
Liberals: Liberty is the freedom of a self to make decisions about its own existence and course of actions. Thus fighting for a democratic cause and claiming to be for liberty is both blindly oppressive and hypocritical. Democracy directly allows the majority to force their will upon the minority, which in every sense fits the definition of oppression from the perspective of the self, depriving minorities of their constitutional right to liberty. Democrats are fundamentally oppressive and anti-liberty.
The answer is not to adhere to party lines and to allow others to do one’s thinking. Answers come from the inside, not from the outside. When has one ever heard a claim and directly assimilated it as true? Never. Even when something is immediately accepted as true, it is still ACCEPTED as true. It could just as easily have been rejected. If I claim that the sun is actually purple and had all the scientific data necessary to show that it’s true, you are faced with a choice to either accept my claim, based on my data, or to reject it based on an inner uncertainty. Regardless of the source of information, there is a fundamental filter that everyone has which accepts and rejects information, based entirely on an internal verification process. This means that each one directly decides what is true and what is not true, then continues on in the world, deciphering it through this personally-constructed “lens of truth.” This further means that each one really is “living in one’s own world.” It’s not just the loonies, it’s everyone. We live in an insane world, thus no one sane may live here.
“Common sense is an uncommon virtue.” 
Chapter 2
The Great Divide
The insanity which is so prevalent in the world is partially due to the division of the brain into hemispheres via the corpus callosum, resulting in a right and a left hemisphere, which have distinctly different functions. Left brains are concerned with structure, language, math, organization, difference, abstraction, etc. Right brains are concerned with emotion, intuition, creativity, unity, similarity, physicality, etc. In short the left brain is detached from reality, while right brain is in tune with it. The lens that every one constructs for oneself determines how reality is interpreted, mostly right-brained, mostly left-brained or in a balanced way. Left brains detach from reality, while right brains become burdened by reality. When these hemispheres balance, abstract thinking is merged with intuition to generate the most powerful and primordial element in the universe: the universal mind.
The idea that the mind can be balanced and tuned to work at an infinitely superior level is not merely speculation, as it is the fundamental goal of most every religion (by no coincidence). The Mayans believe that matter exists only insomuch as consciousness intends for it to exist; for them the Big Bang was simply the switching of consciousness from rest to activity, resulting in spontaneous generation of matter, or Maya (Maya means “illusion”). This decision for consciousness to create something is as trivial and meaningless to its reality as the dreams which we have in this reality. This is why many have a feeling during childhood that this reality is a dream, and why many stories and movies independently generate a Matrix-esque theme of “waking up” where “it was all a dream,” “but it seemed so real!”
When I was in elementary school, I had an obsession with this idea, which became evident to my teacher as all my stories and projects shared this similar thread of an awakening. I was even scolded for my unoriginality, and I have no memory as to what triggered this obsession. This is because what is “real” is only an illusion generated from a more primordial mode of being, which is why children sometimes intuit and understand the simplicity of things much more easily than world-weary, confused adults. Imagine how grouchy one might get from being trapped in a nightmare for years and years. Those whom have been “sleeping,” or living in this reality for a comparatively long time have had more programming, which throws their minds out of balance unless a practice is employed to maintain that balance. Thus meditating to achieve “balance” is really an attempt at forming a universal mind, which utilizes both brain hemispheres in unison, translating to a deeper understanding of reality and a more efficient use of the self than an empirical perspective can achieve, which depends largely on strict left-brained functions.
It is only today that we are finally beginning to see the hemispheres of science and spirituality beginning to agree, which represents a balancing of the left and right brain hemispheres. For instance quantum physics has come to the conclusion that atoms and their theoretical particles are almost entirely empty space, having hollow shells and defying any other principles of physics which we have become familiar with today. Furthermore science has determined that time is both relative and illusory. Satellites orbiting the Earth at high velocities must be calibrated to a different pace of time than the surface of the planet, and the faster that they travel, the faster that time must move. This is because time is the mechanism that allows for conscious observance of and influence on the unfolding of changes in creation. Translation: consciousness sees and changes reality via time. So we are back to the Mayan explanation of how the Big Bang happened; consciousness intended to make something.
“The only way to lose freedom is to choose slavery.”
 
Chapter 3
Illusions of Separation
Before we talk about what consciousness intends to make though, we should ask “what is consciousness?” For such a strong postulation, the explanation is superficially weak. Consciousness cannot observe itself. Try watching a mirror to see your eyes move. It is impossible, and not only for physiological reasons. Take the eyes out of the equation, and imagine yourself in your mind. What do you look like? Now think about the things which you can change about yourself, yet remain yourself. With no arms are you still you? Without legs? Teeth? Hair? A head even? At what point can you no longer recognize yourself? Physical descriptions will not do. This is because consciousness is a sum of experience taken from a certain perspective. If my consciousness had the exact experience that your consciousness has had, I would BE you! I wouldn’t be LIKE you; I would simply BE you, as there is no distinction between what it means to be you and what it means to be me other than the stream of experiences that we have individually experienced.
This is where we rejoin John Locke, who wrote about the tabula rasa, or the “blank slate.” Locke believed that all ideas are developed from experience, citing that children and idiots are clear examples in which no concept of identity is evident. He concludes that this means that the only difference in men is due to the unique blend of experiences and contexts in which one is raised. This leads to the question then of what one is before one’s consciousness has any experiences. If one consciousness could be swapped for another before any experience and end with the same result, then any pre-experiential consciousness must be fundamentally the same kind of consciousness (if not the exact same consciousness) as any other pre-experiential consciousness. Thus messages of “oneness” and “unity” or otherwise emphasizing the “collective” delivered through means of spirituality, morality, ethics, religion, or otherwise can be seen as small glimpses of the memory that we are all the same consciousness, experiencing its own creation, unfolding through many different perspectives simultaneously in time. These perspectives are not limited to humans, as all matter is a result of conscious intent of creation. This means that all matter, everything that exists, is in its own way conscious.
Darwinians: Evolution is a very real mechanism, as has been strongly supported through scientific investigation, yet the attribution of intent has been excluded in the Darwinian argument in favor of a “random chance” mechanism, called “natural selection.” However selection can never be a natural occurrence, since selection, by its very nature, is a conscious (or subconscious) act. The obvious problem with a purely random scenario of creation’s beginning is that it has absolutely no logical explanation, while the rest of the argument is built on logical reasoning. This is the inevitable nature of a purely logical (unbalanced) explanation of evolution or any other logical explanation; it is purely a product of abstract thinking and statistics. It is inherently slimy and indistinct, having no logically-sound anchor point at which to begin Cartesian truth claims, while giving the false impression of certainty.
The empirical tradition is based on probabilities that can be traced back to Des Cartes’ famous cogito ergo sum “I think therefore I am.” However Des Cartes failed to prove that this existence really exists in his proof; he demonstrates and even admits in his own Meditations that the only thing which the ability to think proves is the necessity of some form of existence, which could very well mean that reality is an illusion. Renee Des Cartes, the father of modern science admitted to the possibility that this world, and all matter within it could be an illusion (aka Maya). There is no logical way to eliminate this possibility without using circular reasoning. Sigmund Freud (philosopher and father of psychoanalysis) openly admits in Future of an Illusion that there is a possibility that reason and logic are as much of an illusion as the faith-based belief systems and philosophies out of which they evolved. This is because logic and reasoning occur in the left brain hemisphere, which is detached from reality.
We need only look at the world economy for the epitome of the instability of left-brain thinking. The economy goes through ups and downs, seemingly at random; any economist can identify the cycles of economy, but no economist can pinpoint any singular cause for these cycles. This is the limit of left brain thinking: description and analysis. The left brain is not in the business of unitary, big picture concepts; that is the right brain’s occupation. By anchoring left-brained evolution theory with the right-brained concepts described above (unity of consciousness and the subordination of matter to said consciousness) it can easily be argued that seemingly “random” events of natural selection, which even left-brains label as “selection,” are an act of intention. What is selection if it is not the most telling and inherent property of anything considered to be conscious? Conscious things “select” some things and not others, so would “natural selection” be done by anything other than “natural consciousness” working through its own selection process? Left brain lenses call this random, while right brain lenses call this design. Thus science and spirituality are merely arguing semantics.
Consider what technology is. It is matter and energy doing work for consciousness. When a lesser-evolved consciousness encounters a technology that is more advanced than its own technology, said technology is “magical,” “a piece of junk” or completely overlooked as even being technological. Elderly people epitomize this concept with their failure to understand computers, resulting in fear and/or aversion of computers. Any left-brained mathematician will be the first to admit that “math is the language of the universe,” and math is arguably the least-random aspect of the universe. Math also forms the basis for all modern scientific investigation, so using science to logically argue against a logical design is inherently illogical. If the left brain can see that nature selects things and has a language, then nature itself has passed both the Cartesian language and action tests. If one cannot recognize or understand the consciousness which manipulates the world around it, then the same left-brained argument which subordinates animal consciousness to human consciousness in terms of the capacity for awareness of the world and the ability to influence the world must also be used to subordinate human consciousness to natural consciousness. This would mean that not only are humans not at the top of the food chain, as the left brain would have us think, but we are literally light-years from it! Thus it may be in our best interest to uncover what type of behavior we can expect to see from a consciousness that is vastly superior to our own. A study of this nature is what we call paganism.
“One’s treasure is another’s junk.” 
Chapter 4
Return to Paganism
Paganism is the combination of science, philosophy, religion, spirituality and any other form of knowledge wrapped into one tidy package. Being that this type of knowledge is about unity and oneness, the knowledge that is transmitted must be in a unified form, i.e. Paganism. It is my belief that the reason for which “primitive,” pagan cultures used symbolism as their primary means of storing knowledge is a matter of both efficiency and affect. In a largely illiterate culture, writing was both inefficient and ineffective in transmitting knowledge, so literacy was assigned to shamans and other specific niches of society. Walter Ong describes in Orality and Literacy how vastly different an oral culture functions when compared to a literate culture; memory is emphasized much more, as it is critical for the survival of knowledge, thus mnemonic devices were much more prevalent. Story-telling was used in these groups in a way that related mathematical symbolism of the left brain with intuition of the right brain, creating mnemonic devices which wielded far more influence on the mind than any literacy-based system can provide. In this way every story could reference mathematical symbols and shapes to keep one constantly in a state of knowing awareness, which deepens as more stories are memorized without any necessity for adding new symbols. This is comparable to having every rule or law or other piece of knowledge posted on signs and built into structures; literally everything that these cultures created was symbolic on many levels. Thus there is no need for exhaustive libraries or lengthy books; a stockpile of shamanic scrolls would suffice “just in case.” Unfortunately this approach also leaves knowledge very susceptible to destruction and permanent loss.
In Western civilizations the deliberate destruction of knowledge has historically been more or less of a standard practice, and the oral traditions, or “pagans,” have repeatedly become the victims of such destruction. Thus the knowledge passed on through these civilizations is incomplete at best, and taken completely out of context at worst. The nature of pagan knowledge is to understand the cycles and unity of creation, epitomizing the balance of left and right brain hemispheres and revealing the characteristics of the One consciousness, otherwise perceived as natural laws, which John Locke began to articulate.
John Locke’s contribution to the natural laws sprouted from a movement in which humans were beginning to intuit the unity of humanity. This movement blurred distinctions between “you and me,” “us and them,” emphasizing the brotherhood of humans, while also recognizing that unity demands respect of individuality. Thus the birth of inalienable rights for humans is a logical progression. Today the world is taking a step further in this direction, recognizing (as the pagans did) that all is one, all is connected, not only humans. As stated above all matter is conscious, and all pre-experiential consciousness is the same; this revelation necessitates that John Locke’s natural laws must be extended to all things with this consciousness. These rights apply to all things. Everything in existence has the inherent rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which come with individualized consciousness; likewise all life has the socio-environmental responsibilities which come with being part of the One consciousness. Violations of this code can be interpreted as “evil” or “bad,” however they are also the tools with which the One consciousness restructures creation towards its ultimate goal to achieve universal, fully actualized conscious awareness of both the self and the whole. Natural laws are guidelines placed on consciousness which has yet to fully actualize, like bumpers at a bowling alley which prevent the ball from going in the gutter. Violation of these laws results in a “bump,” which takes the form of karma, depriving the violator of rights in direct proportion to the level of violation of responsibility in an effort to redirect said violator towards unity and ultimate happiness.
“Nothing is separate, all is connected, all is One.” 
Chapter 5
Hierarchy of Consciousness
What has been referenced as pre-experiential consciousness is a loose term, which must now be clarified. Since time is an illusion, as is all matter and space, collectively referred to as “reality” or “the world,” the pre-experiential consciousness only believes that “things happen,” including the phenomenal experiences which one has during one’s lifetime. This belief is what creates the illusion of time, space and matter in an effort to relearn Oneness through division and duality. Thus physical death and birth are illusions as well. If birth and death are an illusion, then reincarnation is actually part of a personal evolution process, in which a consciousness gets a series of “new cars” to “drive around” in “reality.” Some consciousness prefers white cars, some prefers black, and some consciousness prefers a variety of different cars. Some prefer masculine cars, others prefer feminine; the common point is the driver. This driver is what referred to as a soul/spirit/Higher-Self, the thing doing the preferring. Pre-experiential consciousness was/is the One consciousness, which has no preference, as it is the unity of all.
The One consciousness experiences itself through a hierarchical system, through a matrix of souls, which expresses every possible combination of perceptions of infinity from within infinity. In this way the One consciousness is able to become completely self-aware. The hierarchy means that there are quantum levels of unity and division, which are all traceable back to the original unified consciousness. As the One consciousness extends itself out to finer and finer divisions, the individualized perception of separation from the Oneness becomes more and more prevalent. This generates a desire for unity and connectedness, often experienced as depression. If the body is the soul’s physical vehicle for phenomenal experience, gathered on behalf of the One in order to become self-aware, then the lack of happiness is similar to a check engine light; it is the warning system that says “something is not going according to the plan.” And there IS a plan, as the One consciousness intends to eventually reunite and become fully self-aware again, not to permanent experience division. Creation follows that popular saying that “form follows function.” Thus all that exists has a purpose, including the soul.
The soul’s ultimate goal is to reunite with the One consciousness and become a co-creator, but it must work through levels of experience in order to learn how to operate as a co-creator, beginning with the most basic lessons and building up from there through the actualization process. The physical function(s) of mounds, pyramids and other similar types of structures is an area of debate (though there is compelling evidence to say that these were ancient “power plants”), but the superficial layers of their symbolic functions are relatively clear; the symbolism of building up from a foundation to a pinnacle represents the process of evolution/creation/actualization. The pinnacle of the pyramid is representative of the unity of all things, converging upon a single point, while the base represents the vast amount of material which must be accumulated as a foundation for this unity. [Of course pyramids were not merely symbolic, as these structures had numerous layers of functions following their forms, as was mentioned earlier, but the deeper meanings and practical uses remain to be clarified.]
Movement towards reunion with the One consciousness is the process of actualization. As a soul actualizes, it (un)identifies itself more and more as the One consciousness. Actualization of consciousness represents the ascension to a state of balance, unity and knowing. It also represents a status of one as a co-creator in this creation, releasing one from the karmic bounce house. At the point of ascension, one will no longer require karmic guidance, since one will understand and be at peace with the unfolding process of creation.
As with any creation, destruction of the old is sometimes necessary in order to make way for creation of the new. The One consciousness has a definite plan for creation, complete with a temporal starting point and ending point, with a constant stream of change and modification occurring in “time” between. The One consciousness’ goal is to ultimately form a Garden of Eden type of environment, in which all natural laws are happily followed and karma is no longer necessary. Death, illness, space, time and any other illusion of separation will be fully understood and circumvented. Completion of creation represents the end of illusion, separation and change. Therefore it also represents the end of conflict, however creation requires the free will of the soul to make the choice to actualize. Thus each one has some work to do.
“Reality is a schoolhouse for consciousness.” 
Chapter 6
Conflict Resolution
Conflicts are internal and due to the lack of knowledge, thus the skill of conflict resolution is the first step toward enlightenment/ascension/actualization/Heaven/bliss. The biggest culprit for disabling conflict resolution is the snake in the grass known as compromise. Compromise is a complete diversion from successful conflict resolution. In what situation is compromise ever viewed as positive? When the FBI says that security is compromised, do we celebrate? When a submarine’s bulkhead is compromised, does everyone go to bed and sleep easy? No! Compromise is a lose-lose situation, in which no one gets what one wants. This is because compromise is a form of giving up, surrendering the will to the wishes of another. This is problematic because thoughts and desires are the tools with which the One consciousness opens new (generally “faster”) paths toward actualization. In a compromise both parties are left unfulfilled and possibly even harmed by delaying actualization. [This is not to claim that every soul must make a bee line towards actualization, however the karmic bumpers are designed to urge one to progress on the path to actualization. When one is no longer “on schedule,” karma inflicts catalysts, which one experiences as disease, illness, and eventually death. The birth/death cycle is karma’s way of rebooting a soul for another attempt at actualization. More on this later...]
Compromise essentially says that “if I can’t win, you can’t win.” Where compromise creates lose-lose situations, other approaches create win-lose situations, which grant an advantage for one over another. “Passing the buck” is a prevalent form of that advantage perpetuating itself, justifying that “that’s the way it was done to me, so that’s how I will do it to you.” As I posited before, the ultimate test of “justice” is whether punishment is actually just another crime. As Gandhi said “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Passing the buck is in violation of natural law, as is the passive-aggressive “pariah” approach, in which one does something destructive to oneself in an effort to manipulate another into compliance. The natural laws are clear and simple, calling for the mind to develop and evolve more efficient and effective forms of conflict resolution in the push towards the completion of creation.
Collaboration is a more highly-evolved form of problem-solution, as it involves a process in which both parties are either fulfilled or at the very least, unaffected. If a mutually beneficial result cannot be reached, collaboration guides one to suspend judgment and decisions until an acceptable resolution is discovered, as the only reason for collaboration to be impossible is that at least one party is in violation of natural law. Balanced individuals will find every circumstance to have a solution which is in perfect accordance with natural law. Unbalanced individuals will fail to realize this and may prefer to resort back to lesser solutions, but this is comparable to a conscious attempt at de-evolution, which runs contrary to the tides of evolution. Collaboration is like surfing a wave rather than swimming upstream.
“One who paddles instead of surfs finds oneself in a world of hurts.”
 
Chapter 7
Creation is Directed
At this point let us revisit the idea of the One consciousness and its connection to the universal/balanced mind. The Big Bang Theory is supported by many scientific data points, so taking this position as a starting point for evolution seems reasonable. This theory claims something very similar to what our cousins claimed in oral traditions: complexity arises from simplicity. The base of the pyramid must be in place before the top. The periodic table may be the strongest support for this argument; the elements are basically ordered according to complexity/density. Data shows that the oldest stars contain the least complex elements, such as hydrogen and helium, while the newer stars consist of progressively heavier elements. When stars “die,” they eject these heavier elements, which they have formed in their core, providing new material to be used in the creation of new stars. The formation of “solid” planets is made possible by the ejection of very heavy elements which have been created through generations of the lighter stars dying and giving birth to heavier and heavier stars. This is “cosmic evolution.” [This also represents the division of consciousness into numerous individualized, more complex “offspring.” Also note that a star being orbited by planets has a distinct similarity with the atomic model, in which a nucleus is orbited by electrons.]
Returning to the idea that consciousness is the cause of matter’s existence and of the Big Bang, it must be assumed that not only is human life not the beginning of consciousness, but it is more likely to be a meticulously-crafted design, which consciousness intended to create. What purpose could human life serve? A step towards the actualization of souls, of course. If we go back to the lighter elements being more primordial than the heavier ones, we must now introduce another concept, which Einstein was familiar with: matter cannot be created nor destroyed.
Upon this principle the United States was able to develop nuclear weapons, which do not “destroy” matter, rather they release matter’s energy, demonstrating the principle that “nothing dies, it only transforms.” With this knowledge, the United States gained the ability to level an entire city with one warhead. Matter is stored energy. This is also why flammable things burn, why photosynthesis allows plants to “eat” light energy and why animals can build up fat reserves. Thus energy is convertible to matter and vice-versa. Supposing that what existed before the Big Bang was a unified, pure energy (as the theory describes), it would follow that this unified field of energy is synonymous with the Mayan concept of the One consciousness, the Creator, at rest. Chaos theory postulates that chaos will eventually organize into order, which could be interpreted to mean that all being(s) will eventually actualize. A resting consciousness would not be self-aware, thus at the moment of self-awareness, the desire to “know thyself” may be logical. If all energy was part of a unified field, outside the constraints of time, and that energy was a resting consciousness, then consciousness energy must be the basis for all other energy and matter. The division of the unified energy field into separate “forces” (electromagnetism, gravity, etc) would then represent the first order of division in the hierarchy of the One consciousness experiencing itself. The evolution of energy splitting into other energies and creating matter would then be an intentional act of consciousness, or in other words directed, manipulative energy, thus consciousness has the ability to manipulate both matter and energy. Through this the process of incarnation gains a scientific description: the direction of consciousness energy towards physical matter.
As stated before, the hierarchical consequences build up as consciousness energy divides out into thinner and thinner layers of consciousness, resulting in a disconnect from the knowledge of unity. When one undergoes the process of actualization, the connection between one and the One consciousness is strengthened, not only for the one actualizing, but also for all ones hierarchically “between” one and the One consciousness and making a stronger connection available for those “further away” in the hierarchy (i.e. the body). The opposite is also true, so as one disconnects from the One consciousness (or connects only with a consciousness which is lower on the hierarchy than the One consciousness [i.e. Satan]), one degrades the connection with the One consciousness and drags the lower portions of the hierarchy along with it. This creates a critical importance of light-workers (those seeking direct connection with the One consciousness), as they make the path to actualization more readily-available to all those whom are hierarchically “subordinate” to them.
Those who choose to take the path of actualization inherently also become light-workers, due to their conscious intent to experience unity and oneness. Karma ensures that the world is one’s internal qualities are made externally visible, like an x-ray mirror. Those who abuse are abused. Those are vengeful experience vengeance. Those who spread light receive light. Those who hate are hated, and those who love are loved. Life is a never-ending chance to learn this lesson. Learning this lesson and using it to create happiness for oneself is the path of actualization, in ancient times referred to as alchemy. Turning elements into gold is a symbolic reminder of this process, turning seemingly worthless material into great personal wealth. To the shallow materialist, alchemy is nothing but myth or a legend, but to one on the path of actualization, alchemy is something that happens almost every minute of every day. The alchemist uses the knowledge of karma as a mirror to peer into oneself and make adjustments in order to attune with the One consciousness and the plan of creation. As one progresses in the path to actualization, alchemy allows one to increasingly find happiness in every moment and escape the bonds of time, which force one to constantly swing between thoughts of the future and thoughts of the past. Actualization is a process of increasingly living in the present until balance between the hemispheres has been achieved and the oscillation between future and past integrates into an infinite moment of presence. When one actualizes, happiness becomes a permanent state of being (enlightenment/ascension/bliss/Heaven).
“Karma is only a bitch to those who are bitches” 
Chapter 8
Vibrational Spectrums: Maps of Infinity
The link between matter and energy is the key to understanding why the world works as it does; everything in this universe is in perpetual motion. Everything which has heat also must have motion and vice-versa, therefore heat and motion must be derivative of another mode of being which is more primordial than either heat or motion; this mode of complete rest is called Absolute Zero, which is around -460 degrees Farenheit, or 0 degrees Kelvin. Absolute zero is the complete absence of any heat/motion, which the laws of thermodynamics claim to be impossible without complete isolation from the rest of the universe. Even in empty space there is radiation called Cosmic Radio Background; this radiation is part of what prevents anything from reaching a state of complete rest, however the important thing to realize is that Absolute Zero is an impossibility in this universe.
If Absolute Zero is impossible, then it must be said that all matter in the universe has at least some heat/motion, meaning that all matter vibrates at a certain rate. Energy also vibrates, as it travels in waves, so it can be said that the whole universe vibrates unless the entire universe is at Absolute Zero. The complete lack of vibration would indicate a state of pure rest, which could only exist as a unified entity, such as a Mayan, pre-Big Bang, resting consciousness. If the entire universe vibrates, and vibrations are measurable by our current technology, then it can be said that learning about vibrations is the gateway to learning about anything in the universe.
Vibrations can be measured in wavelength, frequency and amplitude. Wavelength is the time/distance required for a wave to complete one full cycle. If one was floating in the ocean, wavelength is how long it takes for one to bob up and back down again. Frequency is the number of cycles which a wave goes through in a given amount of time. Back in the ocean again, this is like measuring how many times one bobs up and down over a set amount of time. Amplitude measures the amount of energy contained in any one cycle, so this is like standing in the water and measuring the difference between the highest and lowest points of a wave. Electricity exemplifies these concepts. Voltage is the measurement of the wavelength of an electrical current, which determines how far the current can “jump.” High voltage is what allows lightning to move from the surface of the planet to the clouds (or from cloud to cloud) and allows for static shocks. Amps are the measure of electrical force; 0.2 amps at 12,000 volts is virtually harmless, while 0.9 amps at 120 volts is potentially lethal. Frequency is generally measured in Hertz, which is expressed in televisions as a refresh rate. The number of frames per second determines how smooth or choppy a picture is; more frames per second means a smoother, clearer picture.*
Wavelength and frequency essentially measure the same thing from different perspectives, either cycles/time (frequency) or time/cycle (wavelength); mathematic inversion changes between formats, so these values are mathematically interchangeable. By plotting the frequency and amplitude to a basic X-Y grid, every vibration can be related to every other vibration in terms of both spectrum (frequency) and strength (amplitude). This concept can be understood through the light spectrum. There are colors of light, which actually have an unlimited range, however the spectrum of visible light only extends from red to violet. Each color has a frequency which determines how it appears to the eye. This gradient of frequency and color collectively creates the effect of “white” light, though white light does not really exist; white is the unity of color. Light can be sorted according to frequency, resulting in a color gradient. It may also be sorted according to amplitude, resulting in a gradient of brightness. This same form of categorization is true of all vibrations, thus this form of categorization may be used to find the relative position of any vibration within the spectrum of the universe. With this map of knowledge, predictions can be made about other forms of vibrations, which must necessarily exist within the spectrum.
Since everything in the universe is essentially a vibration, sensitivity to vibration would be a distinct advantage in experiencing the universe. It comes then as no surprise that all human senses directly rely on sensitivity to different forms and spectrums of vibration. Hearing and tactile sensing detect physical movements of vibrations, smell and taste both detect the chemical properties of vibrations, and sight detects light energy where thoughts detect electromagnetic energy vibrations. However each of these senses is calibrated to detect a certain spectrum of vibrations, filtering out the rest of the vibrations in order to focus on a narrow spectrum, essentially blinding one to the immensity of the infinite spectrum of vibrational energies. In the same way that numbers start at 1 (negative numbers, fractions and 0 are not real values) and progress upward to infinite, so too does the frequency and amplitude of the vibrational spectrum, leaving literally infinite combinations of frequency and amplitude.
There are infinite combinations of frequency and amplitude, but infinity is still contained within itself (though this value is unquantifiable from within infinity). Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only divided and recombined. Thus the paradox of infinity can be illustrated with this chart 
The limits of infinity are detectible only to something which can view infinity in its totality, thus infinite limits cannot be realized from within infinity, just as one cannot know what the outside of a building looks like from the inside of it. Plato’s allegory of the cave describes this very situation. In this allegory Plato describes that living in this reality is like living in a cave, which prevents one from seeing anything but shadows. Yet one believes that shadows are real and that nothing else exists beyond shadows until one ventures out of the cave, at which point one’s eyes adjust to the new environment and begin to see reflected light rather than just shadows. Eventually one’s eyes will adjust to see light itself, at which point reality can be directly viewed. This process represents one expanding the detectable spectrum of vibrations until one can view infinity from the infinite perspective, thus revealing the totality of infinity.
Just as standing in front of a house doesn’t reveal what the back side or inside look like, the only way to know the totality of the house is to take the house’s perspective. This is what actualization strives for: becoming one with infinity in order to directly know it, which requires a complete surrender of identity and separation. Only through unitary views can one hope to become one with infinity, otherwise known as the One consciousness, and only then can one really know anything.
“One whom is truly wise knows that one knows nothing.” 
Chapter 9
Brain Entrainment
Returning to the idea that the brain is a sense organ, which detects electromagnetic vibrations, it can be said then that nothing detected by the mind can be outside of infinite’s limits. This means that anything conceived of or thought about must have a vibrational value within infinity, meaning that the saying “if you can dream it, you can do it” holds scientific credibility; manifestation of a thought is merely a matter of discovering a way to produce the correct combination of vibrational frequency and amplitude. In this respect the combination of vibrational frequencies and amplitudes is the key to manifestation.
The nature of waves is to interact with one another when they come into contact, creating the effect of interference. Interference can be constructive or destructive, depending on the frequencies of the interfering waves. If the waves are synchronous, they will merge into a constructive type of interference, in which both waves experience a boost in amplitude, and the amplitudes are added. If the waves are asynchronous, they will conflict with one another in destructive interference, resulting in a degradation of both waves’ amplitudes, and the amplitudes are subtracted from one another.
Once again returning to the concept of the brain being an electromagnetic sensory organ, it is also found that brains operate in frequencies, which correspond to different modes. These waves are classified into groups of frequencies like alpha, beta, gamma, delta, theta, etc. or states of consciousness. These states are part of a spectrum, which includes waking consciousness (beta), unconsciousness (theta) to relaxed awareness (alpha). Depending on the state of consciousness, one can experience anything from dreamless sleep to hyper-awareness. Again since this wave is a vibration, the number of possible states of consciousness is infinite. Buddha’s term “enlightenment” describes one of these states, as does the New Age movement’s Christ consciousness (perhaps they even refer to the same state). This infinite gradient of states of consciousness could explain how so many different personalities can exist within the relatively small range of brainwave frequencies which mankind utilizes.
Changing these frequencies inherently also changes one’s individual personality, thus it could be said that the frequency of one’s brainwave is mostly (if not entirely) responsible for the way in which one views and interacts with reality. It is also shown through many studies that brainwaves are sympathetic to other brainwaves, meaning that one’s brain will actively attempt to adjust its brainwave to create constructive interference rather than destructive. This leaves the door open for powerful self-help technology to be implemented, in which one is able to actually reprogram the mind by immersing oneself in an environment which expresses the desired brainwave. Scientists have already discovered, developed and made this technology widely available. Brainwave generators are easily acquired through the internet, CDs or even as Iphone applications. This technology uses the physiological mechanism which causes the brain to literally blend the left ear’s sound with the right ear’s sound, resulting in creative or destructive interference and ultimately an engineered brainwave, fed directly into the brain, which the brain then becomes sympathetic towards, changing one’s state of consciousness.
This sympathy of the brain also demonstrates why selection of environment is so crucial. Solomon Asch conducted an experiment in 1956 which illustrated this beautifully. In his experiment he immersed the test subject in a group of people whom had been instructed to deliberately give unanimous, yet obviously-incorrect answers to questions. He found that 37 of 50 subjects conformed to the group on at least one question; 14 of those subjects conformed on more than half of the questions. Those whom did not conform claimed that it was difficult to resist the urge to conform. This explains why it is that when one has friends whom are all pessimistic, one either becomes more pessimistic or will generally experience a wearing-down effect on optimism. In either circumstance, one is experiencing destructive interference, thus the brain attempts to sympathize and match its environment. Now it becomes clear that the saying that “it’s not who you are, it’s who you know” has scientific credibility. To an extent, surrounding oneself with optimism makes one optimistic, while surrounding oneself with pessimism will make one pessimistic.
The limit to this sympathetic effect is that amplitude is also a factor, as the vibrational graph in Chapter 8 expresses. Frequencies determine whether interference will be constructive or destructive, while amplitude determines how sympathetic a frequency is in relation to another. An environment is a combination of vibrations interfering with one another, resulting in a relatively steady frequency, thus one’s individual vibrations tend to be locked into sympathetic vibration with one’s environment. This does not mean that everyone is a hippy at heart; it means that changing one’s vibration while immersed in an environment takes significant effort and willpower, and since the entire universe is vibrating, one is constantly immersed in an environment.
Around the year 1900 a scientist by the name of Planck discovered that higher frequency also translates to higher energy, even if amplitude remains the same. This means that simply raising a frequency results in more energy, while raising amplitude has an energizing effect as well. Thus anyone hoping to become more invigorated or energetic (happier) should raise one’s frequency, amplitude or both. This ties vibration to the actualization process and mental alchemy, the art of shutting out environmental vibrations in a conscious effort to change one’s own vibration to a higher frequency and/or amplitude.
“No does not exist.”
 
Chapter 10
Alchemy: Karma’s Arithmetic
When one undertakes the task of mental alchemy, one directly affects one’s environment, as the overall vibration within the environment changes with its constituent vibrations. When one changes one’s frequency, one changes the environment’s frequency, and when one changes one’s amplitude, one changes the environment’s amplitude. Thus a light-worker is one whom has recognized this effect which one has on one’s environment and has decided to raise vibrational energy wherever possible. This is how Jesus would have been able to provide “salvation” to mankind. His life works, miracles and ultimate sacrifice, made out of unconditional love (an extremely high-energy vibration), provided a very large boost to the environmental energy both by emitting high-energy vibrations into the environment and by strengthening the connection to the One consciousness, resulting in a more direct channel for others to experience oneness, the highest energy attainable in infinity.
Since one’s energy directly translates to one’s happiness, experiencing the oneness of all vibrations translates to ascension/actualization/bliss/Heaven. The significance of this statement is that many, many people heard and integrated the story of Jesus into their lives, resulting in alchemy on an environmental scale, allowing others’ brainwaves to become sympathetic to this new vibration. Thus Jesus-esque stories made/make it possible for man to “get into Heaven,” even if the stories are fictional.
Malcom Gladwell’s tipping point and his three rules of epidemics now become extremely relevant. His first rule is The Law of the Few, which says that any social epidemic relies on people with a set of gifts or abilities to introduce new information, integrate old information and inspire belief in the new paradigm. This rule also relies on the 80/20 principle, which states that in any situation 80 percent of the “work” is done by 20 percent of the participants. His second rule is The Stickiness Factor, which states that the content of a message must render it memorable in order to survive (i.e. catchy jingles to remind you how awesome a product is). His third rule is The Power of Context, stating that human behavior is strongly influenced by its environment, which is already familiar. Gladwell’s tipping point then is defined as “the moment at which the momentum for change becomes unstoppable.”
This is what is occurring in the world today; we have reached the tipping point of vibrational energy, which means that those whom oppose the coming changes in vibrational energy will find themselves fighting an unwinnable battle. These are the separatist, selfish vibrations which oppose the unitary vibrational trend, which is gaining momentum. These vibrations will increasingly find themselves “persuaded” by the environmental vibrations (Jiminy Cricket on steroids) to either change frequency or attempt to raise amplitude and win back the environment. However the nature of the tipping point makes winning the environment back utterly impossible, thus the violent thrashing of these selfish interests which is occurring in the world today (murder, immoral bailouts, rigging elections, provoking wars, collapsing economies, etc.) can be interpreted as a struggle for survival (attempting to raise amplitude instead of frequency) in increasingly adverse conditions. Soon the environmental vibrations will make it impossible for such a relatively miniscule vibration to affect the environment or to even co-exist within it. These individuals will be faced with a choice: assimilation or quarantine. This choice says “either change environments or join us.” Due to Gladwell’s power of context, most of these individuals will quickly join us; the others will receive equally-appropriate karmic justice in the form of a dog-eat-dog environment, in which these individuals will begin at the bottom of the “food chain,” similar to “Hell,” but still designed to ultimately lead one to enlightenment.
This sorting of vibrations is what the Mayans prophecies of 2012 refer to. The destruction of the world is not mentioned anywhere in Mayan tradition; this is entirely fabricated by those selfish individuals whom understand the choice which they are now facing. Their intent is to prevent unitary individuals from integrating the knowledge of alchemy, which allows selfish interests to maintain control over the environment’s vibrations by engineering thought patterns. This was done by hijacking social systems via politics, economy, religion, education and other forms of knowledge and separating them to create conflicts within humanity which deter it from actualization. Through massive disinformation campaigns, these individuals hoped/hope to retain control over all of humanity, creating a highly-evolved form of slavery. Thus the rule of karma says that those whom have attempted to subject others to a highly-evolved form of vibrational slavery will find themselves subjected to a highly-evolved form of vibrational slavery (Hell).
What these individuals fail to recognize is the distinct advantage which higher frequencies have over lower frequencies, which is a resistance to the sympathetic degradation of frequency. When one is extremely happy, it is difficult to bring one down. On the other hand it is relatively easy to cheer one up when one is unhappy. This is because the human condition is predisposed to desire happiness; it is much easier to make something do what it already wants to do than it is to make something do what it resists. Lower frequencies affect higher frequencies about as much as darkness affects light. The universe is biased towards unity and high-vibrational energy (happiness), thus it fills the sails of unitary efforts with wind, while it forces separatist efforts to row. This is not to say that rowing cannot generate some effects, as the Vikings clearly demonstrated, but this is why ones whom are control-oriented find themselves constantly struggling for success, often viewing themselves as perpetual victims and resenting those who are “lucky.” Perhaps unsurprisingly the “lucky” individuals tend to be ones whom operate out of unity and acceptance. Imagine yourself as the head of a family, trying to micromanage every individual family member’s life 24/7. Even without considering the addition of new members to the family, this is going to quickly become impossible, and likely backfire. This is the situation in which the current leaders of mankind find themselves, trying to micromanage an entire planet’s population and resources. These individuals now find their influence over the “family” rapidly fading away.
The world is now re-organizing its vibrational structure, and it is leading everyone towards the actualization of the plan of creation, a world in accordance with natural law. The Mayan prophecy for 2012 mentions only an end of “time,” not the world itself; it claims to usher in “the end of the world AS WE KNOW IT.” We currently know the world through an illusion of separation, experiencing the unfolding of creation through linear time, whereas the new world is unitary and timeless, with every individual being aware of the unity of the One consciousness. The Biblical Revelations refer to the expulsion of “evil,” which Satan (the master of deception aka illusion) had inflicted, from the world, resulting in an eternal paradise, free from disease, death, etc. The word revelation clearly indicates that something is to be revealed. Is it perhaps the truth of reality, which frees man from the bonds of an illusion? Apocalypse is a Greek word translating to a “revelation” or a “lifting of the veil.” Is it a coincidence that prophecies, made by several “primitive” or pagan cultures with no apparent contact or common ancestral knowledge, would indicate the same circumstance of humanity coming to an end in the same timeframe? Given the results of this investigation, one may be inclined to admit that both the left brain and the right brain will find it difficult to support that conclusion. Thus each one is left with the choice: ride the wave or continue swimming upstream. I hope you will choose to surf with me. The water is fine 
“One holds these Truths to be self-evident, that all things are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”

Op Ed: How to Think

Have you ever had a favorite teacher? I mean because of teaching ability, not because of a hot body or a complete lack of standards and challenges. I mean a teacher that you really respected and learned from so much that he became your “favorite” [I’m just going to use “he” to simplify the whole s/he grammar dilemma]. I have had a lot of favorites at FGCU. My favorite teachers tend to have some kind of quality that other teachers don’t have. Somehow they relay information better than other teachers. It’s some kind of technique or method that makes me just “get” it.

That’s genuine learning. A teacher should facilitate the learning process and make someone learn, not memorize. Strapping students to chairs and knowledge-boarding them relentlessly, demanding that they accept the teachings into their hearts until they collapse, weeping… Well I don’t know what school you all went to, but mine was kinda like that. It was not stimulating in the least. If a child did not develop A.D.D. from six or eight hours of memorization five days a week for twelve years or so, that would actually be pretty astonishing to me.

What’s the point in memorizing data? We basically become walking hard drives, just holding information and moving it from one place to another. Having no clue how or why the info was created, all a hard drive does is store data. Students are often the victims of this hard drive treatment, and it inhibits their ability to solve problems and to “think outside the box.” They don’t do that; they’re not taught to. “This is the answer” is how they are generally taught, not “this is how to discover the answer.” Learning never happens, only memorization.

How many people are called the “go-to guy” in an office? Probably just one. That’s probably why he’s called the go-to guy, but that’s exactly my point. There is generally only one go-to guy. He’s the one who can figure out answers, and we all go to him because we can’t figure out the answers. He says “this is the answer,” and we carry his answers around to other people and repeat “this is the answer.”

The world is way too complicated to completely depend on experts’ answers, and it’s constantly changing and becoming even more complex. The stresses of modern life in an evolving world demand a more problem-solving, learning-capable mind, which can’t be developed simply through memorization.

My favorite teachers are the ones that unlock the ability to problem solve. Rather than teaching what to think, they teach how to think. Teaching a person how to think is comparable to the old saying about teaching a man to fish. Teaching a man how to think enables him to better understand situations and allows him to “feed” himself forever. Teaching through memorization is comparable to supplying the man with fish continuously. He is always full even though he never learns to fish; he always has answers even though he never learns to think.

A growing majority of us are never taught how to fish, and it’s because of the way that public education classes are taught. Large class sizes make it more difficult to invoke thought in every student, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t at least try. In my experience, most professors here at FGCU use teaching styles that are progressive and at least try to teach how to think (some more than others). I consider most of the professors I have had at FGCU to be favorites.

We have a good collection of professors who incorporate critical thinking and discussion into class, and a lot of students just aren’t used to that. This isn’t really too surprising, since we don’t do that in the public education system. We did memorization. Memorization works. It passes tests. It gets good grades, but it doesn’t develop any real mental capacity for learning or problem-solving. Memorization is temporary. Learning is permanent. The most important thing that a student learns from a teacher is how to think, not what to think.