god

You know, I've been zen sitting.

Some of you might wonder why someone like me would do that.

Some of you, might not.

I don't know why I sit but it has something to do with the universe and waving good-bye to the rational. Ironically, I'll use rational discourse to make my vague point. Always a bad idea. If I take a reductionist point of view and deconstruct by saying that if mind is an extension of matter then the mind is the last port of call for just about everything. The difficulty is that leaves us with a conundrum;  self-reference. A mind or minds refering to the mind about the mind. It's like the pot calling the kettle black. You see, self-reference is a bit of a paradox which, simply put,  goes something like this...

The object 'I' is not seperate from the subject 'I'. Ergo, neither object nor subject can claim a seperate and distinct existance yet the distinction is made. I suspect that distinction is erroneous. I also rather think of it as a glitch or a minor irony rather than a full blown parardox. Perhaps I've missed the point. Anyroad, a little example...

There is a lovely webcast by Robert Bryanton that demonstrates the tenth dimension. It delivers an epiphany by emphasizing the confines of human form, gently guiding us into profound a priori knowledge that our concept of the physical universe is restricted, and here's the fun bit,  because we consider ourselves distinct entities ( hey, objects ). And that, ladies and gentlemen, hits the nail on the head....

Dimensioning is scale invariant. The truth, yes folks - truth, is that we just don't know the nature of the beast...ah, another ironic paradox. That's because we're stuck in human form, restricted in the routine of senses, perceptions and cognition.  Four dimensions and that's your lot;  backwards- forwards, up-down, side-to side, before and after. So - where do all these other dimensions come from? Well, who observes the four dimensions? The fifth, naturally. And the fifth? The sixth, of course, ad infinitum. Who guards the guards? All a lovely blend of scale invariance, self-reference and paradox.

I like to think of it like this... 

We cannot say for sure that we are big, nor can we say we are small. We cannot say we are not flat, nor can we say we have breadth. We cannot describe or define, in totality, past and future, let alone the present. We cannot say that our present does not include past and future. Time folds, like infinitely intricate origami fractals ( nice ).  Our world is a construct. Merely a product of the senses. A thing of our own making.

Can you start to see the zen link?

No? Neither can I.

And what of the old chestnut, the atom? Quarks and gluons...one point particles. Packets of waves we find empty. And emptiness itself?.... Full of potential, virtual energy. A quanta? A one point particle. Our universe? A one point particle. The megaverse? A one point particle. All waves on a one point planet. All planets on a one point wave. Scale invariant.

Horton Hears a Hoo.

When I sit, I sit hard. Daily. Up in the early morning to sit. To bed late at night, because I sit. When I sit, I sit properly, in the correct posture. I concentrate and focus, hard, on nothing but breath. It is a matter of life and death. When pains arise, and they do, I continue to sit. When panic and fear arise, I continue to sit.  The same as with doubt, hate, love and joy. Why? Why not? Now do you see the zen link? No? Neither do I. 

Have a nice day.

god

Well, I've been away for awhile and neglected many. For this, I am sorry.

I've looked in on many of you from time to time on; spaces, bebo, wordpress and so on. Some have come, others are sadly gone without trace. But Mangawitch and Chris...ever solid, always there, a bit like Death and Kaos ( or Ronnie Soak for Pratchett fans ). This is re-assuring.

For those that know me, know that my primary interests have been cosmology, evolution and religion. It will be no surprize then when I say that the magisterium of science encompasses that of religion. It must be so because the story science tells predates the origin of religion some 13.7 billion years. The assertions of science provide the best evidence.

So, that said  - what are we to make of consciousness and compassion? They are, no doubt,  products of the selfish replicator that is some 4.5 billion years old. But what of our experience as a collection of these replicators, these genes, as individual organisms? What is the experience of your consciousness - as you? Me of mine?

Science, or the rational mind, tells us much in the way of knowledge and, despite appearances, is profoundly intuitive. More importantly, rationality provides us with a method of thinking that favours empiricism - evidence. It is that method of thinking that allows us to contemplate, in awareness, our condition. That is to say, our consciousness, or as Descartes said, " I think therefore I am. "   It is self-knowledge. Whether one accepts this as logic without the need for evidence or as self-evident, it is essentially a statement of fact. A priori or a posterii.

Awareness of the self in this way allows for obvious, simply and direct observations; I think, I feel, I believe. And although I may live in ten dimensional megaverse ( but the dimensions and number of universes is probably infinite ), I am predisposed to behave as though I exist in only four. Another observation is that, being a temporal creature of evolution, I cling to thoughts, feelings and beliefs of the past and present. I ruminate about the future. To my evolutionary advantage, this aids in my survival  but at a cost. And that cost is suffering. That is second to second, minute to minute, day to day, year in year out suffering. That suffering is proportional to the amount of permanence and validity I attribute to those things external and impermanent; thoughts, feelings and beliefs.  

Suffering is the attachment or validity I give to the past and future. They do not exist. A moment hence does not exist. The moment gone does not exist. Only now, now exists and then is gone.

And while I sit, in the moment, thoughts, feelings and beliefs that come to my awareness, I greet and welcome all.

god