Height, width, depth…3rd dimension
Duration, mortality, the ever ticking clock…4th dimension
Transcendence, eternal, infinite perception…5th dimension
Collective consciousness, Divinity, Universal Oneness…6th dimension
Multiverse, Surreality, beyond perception…7th dimension…
Like the caterpillar in the cocoon, we ascend to the next higher reality. And with each transition, we are challenged to remember who we are.
Life at its simplest, most basic level can be understood with one breath cycle.
As we inhale, our lungs are filled with the air we need. Oxygen is distributed by our circulatory system to all areas of our body. Our bodies warm and we feel the momentary benefit of our basic need satisfied.
Then the moment passes…and we begin to exhale.
The oxygen we need is getting used and simultaneously converted to carbon dioxide…a substance we need to release.
As the carbon dioxide leaves our body, the feeling of relief is palpable…ultimately culminating in a moment of serene contentment.
This moment is the epiphany revealed most completely by meditation.
Here we get a temporary glimse of the euphoria we will experience when we no longer live.
Then the moment recedes…as we are consumed with the need to inhale once again.
Who are you?
Not the choices you make or the thoughts you have or the concepts and symbols you identify with. None of these items are you.
Why is knowing you important?
Because once you know who you are, you can see who we are. And thereafter, you will see truth unfiltered by the layers of your preferences.
Do you know who you are? Time to find out.
At the heart of everything we touch, everything we experience, and even who we are…is energy.
From the first spark of energy received from the merging of a sperm cell with an egg cell, our bodies have been fueled by energy that sustains it until the energy leaves our body at death.
The existence empowered by energy replicates in everything we transfer energy to…
A flower, a novel, a child, a nation.
The more thoughtful energy we invest in the things and people who touch our lives, the more we contribute to creating a world in our image. Here we replicate the gift of divine creation.
Scripture teaches we were created in the Divine’s image. We know all things true about the Divine have always been true because the Divine is eternal and never changes. What about us is Divine, has always been true, and is not subject to change?
Our essential energy.
Now observe your life. That which you invest your energy blooms. And that which you ignore, degrades until it can be energized into a new creation.
Realizing our divinity empowers us to shed our resignation of a world gone wrong and participate in the creation of a world worth living in.
Tap into your eternity within and join the effort to make the world worthy of our progeny.
Freedom is a mirage that encourages us to act without consideration of the impact on others.
Earn is a euphemism for entitlement to resources regardless of need.
Self interest is a rationalization that accommodates casual cruelty.
American exceptionalism is hubris masking global exploitation.
They hate us because we gorge ourselves on their resources and expect them to like it.
The human body is not self sustaining because it produces few of the things it needs for survival.
Scarcity is a discretionary trait of an immature society.
Gluttony is claiming resources beyond your capacity to use.
Interdependence is life because it describes how we exist.
Independence is death because we can’t exist free from air, water, food, humanity, nature…
Automation and Artificial Intelligence are threats to our well being, only if earning money through a job is a prerequisite for acquiring the resources we need to survive.
For almost all my life I thought I was what society taught me to be…
A man, brother, son, father, husband, friend, banker, American…human.
Then a new realization entered my consciousness: I am not my perception.
Before I could come to this new revelation, I had to discard the cultural virtue distilled by Descartes: “Cogito Ergo Sum” [translated “I think, therefore I am”].
My discovery is not unique. It is one amongst an emerging understanding expressed by diverse sources that reflect the dawning of a new paradigm.
I can not Be my perception because I create my perception. My perception changes as I experience life. As I learn the lessons of my experience, my perception becomes a more accurate expression of how life works. Ultimately, the wisdom of my perception combined with our cultural expectation led me to assume my perception of myself…is myself. It is not.
If I am not my perception, who am I?
I am energy.
I am currently embodied in human form to experience the limitations that only life can provide.
I surge when I grow close to other energy sources and ebb when I am isolated.
My energy transfers and even accelerates when I give or receive love. And then I am no longer limited to my own body.
I am part of something that exceeds this isolated, individualistic assumption of our existence.
I become Us.
Who are you?
Death
An ending.
A beginning.
A continuation of sentience transformed.
A restoration of our universality.
The last lesson of our experience set.
Yes. No. Maybe.
Birth
An end of gestation.
A new beginning.
A continuation of sentience transformed.
An illusionary separation from our universality.
The first lesson of our experience set.
Yes. No. Maybe.
Eternity
Infinity
Universality
Divine…
…Our most fundamental condition.
Contrast is stimulating, illuminating, and contextualizing.
And once understood, forever beautifying.
So live. Feel. Die. Restore.
…worshipping on the altar of our “Divine Leaders”. Who is your Kim Jong-un? Mine is Jesus Christ. Some submit to Adonai, Allah, Buddha, the natural Universe…still others to science, or a trusted source of information that defines our world view.
Regardless of the target of our devotion, we are called to give absolute fealty…to take as unimpeachable truth any perceived pronouncements from the altar…to form monolithic associations with other true believers (Us), and to offer scorn and contempt to any one who dares to hold different beliefs (Them).
Be rest assured, there are millions of fellow human beings in North Korea today who are certain of our damnation for not yielding to the commands of their “divine leader.” If any of us are completely honest, their certainty will feel very familiar. This is the heart of everything wrong with life today. For people like Us, “we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.”* And for people like Them, they deserve the inhumanity we provide because they don’t share our values.
Have you noticed there are less of Us these days, and far too many of Them? Truly faithful versus falsely faithful; Faithful versus non-faithful; Objective versus subjective; True Americans versus Fake Americans; Americans versus Foreigners; Conservatives versus Liberals; Democrats versus Republicans; Allies versus Axis of Evil; Fox news versus MSNBC; NY Times versus Infowars; GMO versus Organic; Renewable energy versus Oil/Coal; An Inconvenient Truth versus Global Warming Deniers…
Yet while we condemn Them, have we considered but for the randomness of birth, we would be them?
None of us choose our place of origin, but where we are born, the family that raises us, and the culture we are given, all frame our choice of values. Acknowledging how we became so certain of our beliefs should illuminate how they became certain of theirs.
The moment we can see our choices in their eyes, is the instant we connect to our mutual humanity.
Today, we are all North Koreans.
*Thomas Jefferson
Truth is a complex concept because it is not limited to objective facts. Truth has a subjective component that accommodates anomalies, diverse worldviews, issues of faith, psychology and much more.
In order to distinguish truth from myth, confirmation is necessary.
Accordingly, truth is a phenomena that informs us…adds to our body of knowledge…forms the foundation for usable concepts…has application to our lives…is verifiable or at least confirmed by actual experience.
Truth provides meaning to our experiences and deepens our understanding of our lives and the world around us.
The cautionary tale about truth is it is distinct from goodness, decency, or convenience. Truth can be cruel. Yet no matter how truth affects us, we are invariably made better by knowing the truth because we are closer to the reality defining our lives.
This is why we must seek truth. We need to be open to truth wherever it exists. It behooves us to set aside our differences in order to be receptive to truth.
As we consider our current political and social discourse, our greatest challenge to finding solutions is our unwillingness to be open to truth regardless of the source.
Thankfully, we are all truth seekers. Let that be your starting point to finding truth in your life.
We all came from the same place…
And we all will go to the same place.The only distortion of our reality is our wide acceptance of our independence…our individuality…our inherent separateness.
From this mythology, all inhumanity is born.