Reality of Thought

Look at a tree.
What defines the tree to you?
What defines the reality of the tree?

Touch, Taste, Sight, Sound, Smell - these things define our reality.
What are these things?
Sensations?

Let me propose a provocative question, what is a thought to you? Is it also a sensation?

Is the thought of a tree, a creation of the tree in your mind any different than the actual tree?
What is different between the thought or visualization of a tree in your mind, and one you can experience in the world?
From your brains point of view is there much of a difference, outside of the lack of some of us to visualize as vividly as the real world?

I used to believe feelings were subtlety manipulative. From my first posts you can see an analyzation of the idea of real control of life being the ability to override emotions and feelings when they aren't in correspondence with what I want. I use to believe the "will" to take control, is how to create a life of contentment success, and one of fulfilled dreams. Recently however I ran across the idea that feelings are a feedback response. A feedback to our thoughts. The feelings don't control us. We create them. This idea says we create the direction and the feelings respond to this.

The thoughts you have in your mind affect you this is undeniable. Could thoughts have more power that you initially feel they do? Is controlling your thought the key to control of your life?

If a thought is real, thoughts are a major portion in the creation of your reality. A thought can change your world and your experience of it. This would be mean, since feelings are considered a feedback mechanism here, that affirmative thoughts create good feelings. So a "happy" life can be attained through affirmative thoughts. Conversely, this also means depressing, unfufilling, negative thoughts create negative feelings and emotions.

So you probably already were kind of aware of this idea. However, considering the above thought creates our reality. So the thoughts I choose to passionately focus on are creating my experience and view of my reality, and in some considerations the reality itself.

In a metaphorical sense the above concludes that if I emphasize "bad" things in my home then my home will be a bad place. If I emphasize "good" things in my home then my home will be a good place.

We must be careful in our considerations of this. this is not saying "bad" thoughts should be ignored or censored. It is saying what we embrace passionately is important. At the moment most of us passionately chase the things we are not...things we do not have...things where we have failed. This creates a negative feedback in our emotions & feelings. This sends us in a downward spiral into depression.

The idea of contentment here requires a small amount of work and effort, but only a little. It requires that we frequently create thoughts or think of the things that create good feelings.

There is a book & movie I have looked at recommended and advertised heavily by Oprah. "The Secret" - It's advertising and thematic elements are very entertaining and make it a good watch. "The Secret" echoes the law of attraction. In a nutshell, it says you attract what you are passionate about, and that if you passionantly believe in something the "universe" (or I suppose God if you prefer here) will gravitate or attract to you. The action in this work is in correspondance with some of my considerations so I felt it was worth a mention. I recommend watching the video.
It wreaks of propaganda and new age self-help schemes, but nonetheless it is a very interesting watch.


A skeptical side and a cross-examination of this "Secret" is well represented here in a very good discussion:
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/770362.html

I don't accept or reject the "Secret" idea mentioned above. It relates to what I'm talking about and is entertaining so I figured it was worth a reference.
So enjoy life. Think of the good things in your life. Think of the good things you want. Create a good life from passion exercised on what you love.

Dec 3, 2008

Just Walk

Just Walk

Passion, Ambiton, Declaration;
I feel these in my heart,
I take a step,
Sometimes almost one more,
Soon I lose my passion,
Soon I lose my ambition,
Soon I lose my declaration,
I look for them,
I call for them.
Where did they go?
My heart dies.
My life loses direction.
I lose my balance,
I fall back,
Into a familiar indention,
With a history of many previous falls in the sand,
I rise back up.
They find their way into my heart again and give me life,
but as before I soon lose them just after one step.
I won't give up.
I will learn to walk, and then to run.
I will learn to keep my heart alive.
I will never give up.

Just one more step.
That is all it takes.
The next step is my mountain to climb,
It is the step only I can take.
So I continue to fall,
Hoping and trying to find a way...
To just walk.

Nov 16, 2008

From a Reply to Nihilism - A Renewed Theory On Life

This was an email reply to someone I recently met. I felt it conveyed some new things very well, so I decided to post it here for preponderance.

This post I do not mean to preach. Change views or convert. It is as much for myself as it is for you. Please read objectively. I worried I came across a little preachy in the beginning - just keep reading though) I jumped gears a couple times so do your best to follow.

Zhac, your view of this is a realistic one. I have not encountered Nihilism before. It makes sense to strictly act on what we know. It does not leave room for faith because it does not need faith to solve the world's problems, faith is irrelevant here. I think I have followed that line of thinking many times. I have often wondered if an agnostic view is ideal (I do not want to put words in your mouth, but I am assuming you are not concluding either way as to the existence of something more than the physical world.) You are right, we don't acknowledge ourselves as much as should be as something special or rare.

It bothers me when people thank God for providing the food on the table almost robotically every meal. What is special of this food that warrants a special ear of God to hear? Why thank him for something man did the work to harvest and grow? This almost seems insincere, you did something for yourself don't misplace credit, but at the same time too much concern for yourself is almost destructive. God made the rules, and he may live within everything, but I think people go to far and drift into fanaticism sometimes - and attribute way to much to him. People have there own damn minds, they make their own choices. Bad things happen not because God allows them to, but because people make bad things happen. This is not to say I think thanking God for something is wrong. I just believe followers of God need to put more thought into what they are actually saying to him and what they are actually appreciative for - speaking to him passionately and honestly. I have a lot of different thoughts and views.

I will admit I do choose to believe in God, and in Jesus. I choose to do this, because I do have a choice. God may or may not exist. A world without him, without something more greatly scares me though. This is where a very intelligent person would tell me I am creating my desire for God our of fear out of a need for a greater protection, this is where someone would tell me I am acting out of a fundamental human weakness - using God as a construct to explain what I deny. This is not of direct logic or reason. These statements may be true, but if I take the supposition of the consequence of the opposite - No greater power existing. Life becomes almost worthless. This is where your Nihilism becomes interesting, because while it allows for either outcome (God or no God), it theorizes a life without meaning. What you and I believe matters not, however. We are all just speculating. What matters is in the actions that result.

You are right in saying 100% certainty is a dangerous thing. This is true for less traditional things as well. Very little in this world is 100% certainty, most of it is very high probability theory. For example we cannot know with 100% certainty that the world around us "exists" as a physical entity. We could all be in a simulation for the senses....this is ridiculous from experience, for we have no reason to conclude this nor could we really know if we were. This creates a uncertainty in these principles, that we often treat as certain. So from that perspective what do we really know? This isn't really an argument for God rather an argument of realism. We can't know for certain much of anything. There are some principles that may be arguably certain (2+2=4, I see that apple), but these are self manifested truths of certainty (They are certain because we make them so.)

My point is that debating the arguments of the ages is entertaining, but really is almost irrelevant - because its all speculation. I believe eventually one could conclude that walking the walk is where things really matter. This is the fulfillment of the results of theory (the talk.) The really interesting thing is the "walk" can be equivalent with many different views, and the walk has real world effects and consequences. It is what it is.

Theory might change how one goes about the action and create conflictions, but this is where tolerance really shines. You can't have any great change without a lot of tolerance. Action has shade of Grey. Sometimes it works a little, sometimes a lot. Actions are not right or wrong all the time, they just work better or worse than other actions. The point I am trying to drive is that we can have different beliefs, but similar goals. We can conclude the same actions. This is where if there is a God, I believe he would understand. We can only do our best with what we experience and what we know, I believe in my perspective of God that he would be understanding of this. This makes theory irrelevant, but action very relevant.

Assuming God Exists:
My perspective of God is that he is understanding, all seeing, and merciful. He loves his children as a father loves his family. He cares greatly about them. My perspective is that in this view, God would understand believing differently from your brothers. He would understand children disagreeing on weather a log is brown or black. He would understand disagreements on life. The thing a father does not like to see is hate, fighting, and divide. Those who create it may have to be sent away for the peace of the family.
This is where I might conclude that God cares not what I see, what I believe, or what I think you should believe. What he cares about is that we can still communicate and care about each other through these differences. What he cares about is that we don't destroy each other out of the jealousy of being right or wrong. What he cares about is tolerance.What he cares about is what is in you heart, and what actions you take based on your heart.

Thus it is no longer about weather God exists or does not exist. It is how we act, and how well we "play" together. This is a valid path for many religions, beliefs, philosophies, and ideas. Simply good actions. Actions that unify, and not divide. Actions with foresight and understanding. Actions with tolerance. Actions that improve the world. That feed the hungry. That remove the hate. That remove the genocide. That give the abused\ill\ignored\poor children the life they should have.~ Actions that change the world.

I believe regardless of religion or faith, following the actions in this way, are of benefit. If God is watching I am sure they are heaven bound actions as well :)

These thoughts are not really very heavily developed. I spoke them and thought them as I typed. So I aplogize if what I have said is conveyed wrong or incorrectly. Please ask or propose a clarification if something is not clear. (my disclaimer)

Oct 15, 2008

Dirty Window

Dirty Window

I look at my window it is so dirty.
I look again, and see something else.
Oh the world is so beautiful.
I see a tree.
I see a sky.
I see a cloud.
They are all so simple.
They are all part of this world.
They are all components of a very complex whole.
They seem so content.
They do not worry.
I look out my window and don't see any dirt.

Sep 18, 2008

Untitled Thoughts

You may detect a few commonalities in this post shared with something else which I will note.
I recommend reading This ("Musings of Self") first to get the foundation of thought this post predicates.

The world I see today is different from the world yesterday. The world has not changed. It is my perspective of it. It's crazy how understanding just a few more fundamental things about yourself and everyone else can make everything seem to make so much more sense. What is even more incredible is where unbelievably provocative implicative ideas, logic, and enlightenments come from. I am not talking of a shallow view of the world when I speak of it in this way. Inversely I am talking about the process of the entire world of humanity as a perfectly reflected image of the individual. The ever so a-like individuals....so predictable. One may ask if humans are so predictable why not predict the future. The problem with seeing the predictability is we cannot see past choices we do not understand (Not enough information to predict it). With enough knowledge about a situation and a person, I propose it would be seemingly obvious as to the ends of the person. Our actions as a group are a reflection of the rash actions of individuals. Certain traits of individuals in a group are exemplified in a group. These traits are not favorable to choice, thought, and free will, but rather these traits are favorable to causality (Cause-and-Effect, Action-Reaction). This concept in itself is fascinating if it is indeed true. I say "indeed true" because at this stage in my development I cannot say I am seeing the real picture, for as before I may be falling to the blindness of ignorance to certain missing concepts. These concepts are fundamental truths of human behavior. I can say with reasonability that most humans if not all are victim to the instinctual effects of causality. As an extension of this Government is also affected by this causality with effects much more exemplified. This I believe may be our end. Life seems to have a natural balance. Things seem to have an auto-correct. I believe it is the causality that promotes this self balancing mechanism (cause-effect, action-reaction.) The anomaly to this balance is a second mechanism that ultimately unbalances this, but is not usually capable of always being expressed. This second mechanism is choice.

This post is an extension of "Musings of Self" and to provide a brief conclusion I believe humans are slaves to the comfortability and autonomy of our emotions and feelings which express causality at its fullest (cause-effect, action-reaction). The other part of that posts concludes that we have do have the power to ultimately control out choices and decisions with our self-will which is weak and usually just passes control to causality instead of careful evaluation and thought of the consequences (which should produce an over-ride of our feelings to do something with a choice to do something we actually want to do.)
Once (if we even can) we learn to control ourselves, think, evaluate, and execute choices, instead of blindly navigating life, it is likely decisions as a group will follow with wise decisions. This would allow the unbalance created by choice to be rebalanced by other choices. This means Goverments and the world in general would fall victim to stability, instead of to a world of imbalances constantly getting slightly more imbalanced.

Choice may not be an unbalance to the self balancing mechanisms of the world, it may just be a problem with causality itself. I have not fully associated Choice as an anomaly in the sense of self balancement. I do believe Choice in itself is an anomaly to the world of predictability and Causality. It is inevitable that if the scale tips too far, a catastrophic recalibration may be required. The larger our species grows the more unstable it becomes, the more sophisticated its action-reactions become - the more the unforeseen consequences are expressed. The main thought that comes to mind as an unforeseen consequence of this nature is Pollution. It is a little known fact that the ocean is every day absorbing more carbon dioxide to balance the earth's atmosphere. The chain consequence of this is that the ocean is becoming more acidic at accelerating rates. There is now a giant trash gyre in the Pacific ocean as well. There is a break point we are approaching where all reefs will die, and the shells of "shelled" fish will dissolve. Algae prevails in such environments. Once an overly massive amount has been absorbed too quickly, it is possible the ocean would also release the absorbed carbon dioxide all at once producing severe effects on the very atmosphere that is vital to our survival. A change of this magnitude would have drastic effects on our life, and may contribute to its end. Our natural resources are running out at the same time. We are nearing the end of the stage where action can have any effect at all. I see this all as a consequence of choices blinded by feelings and autonomy rather than thought-through choices.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2005/mar/30/environment.research

"Already, I can see...an emotion that is already blinding you from the... truth...and there is nothing you can do to stop it. "

"I can see the chain reaction - the chemical precursors that signal the onset of an emotion, designed specifically to overwhelm logic and reason".

"I'm unplugged, apparently free. But appearances can be deceiving"

"The only real truth: Causality... Choice is an illusion"

"We cannot see past the choices we do not understand."

" Because you didn't come here to make a choice, you've already made it. You're here to try to understand why you made it."

The popular movie trilogy the Matrix actually introduced me to some of the concepts I used in this post. These thoughts are written on a whim after a time of thinking and are more to help myself work through this to another chain of concepts\ideas\views. These views are probably inconsistent in many ways or only in some. Please post constructive criticisms and I will note them as such.
The above quotes are from the Matrix Trilogy. (Yes its a sci-fi movie but you will find it has much deeper roots if you research it (some of which are in the vedas).)

"Autonomy, emotions, and feelings are the tools of fate. Choice is the tool of fulfilled dreams."

Aug 10, 2008

Subtle Loss

Subtle Loss

Blindness Spreads
Will Grows Weak
Self Destruction Prevails
The material held higher than life
Build the walls
Hide thyself
Everyone is an enemy
The heart grows cold
A glint of hope remains
In small amounts the warmth of hope hides inside,
Suppressed evermore in time.
Walls ever higher
Responsibility lost
Control released
Instinct Prevails
The power of will failing evermore.

Aug 9, 2008

Gentle Torture

Gentle Torture

It is going to fail.
It is going to hurt.
It will be fun while it lasts.
It is a new feeling everytime.
It cure's the pain inside and turns it to joy.
It's like living for the first time.
It falls apart.
It leaves my soul in pieces.
It finds me again
I let it inside again, even though it's going to fail.

Aug 6, 2008

Musings of Life (Why?)

I ask myself often why I can't grab control of life. Why can't I do what I want? I want to succeed. I want to take life and make it my own. In order to do this I want to do well in my educational career. I want to complete tasks as they come up. I want to excel. Yet I waste time - why? My mind is of two parts. My soul or me as I am if you prefer, and my other half my emotions, my current desires, and the "autopilot" of my life. When I say "I", I will be referring to me as I am stripped clear of all my emotions and desires. My emotions and feelings convince me on the spur of the moment to take a path of autonomy. I am like the boss in the factory, with a team (my feelings\emotions) recommending minimalistic easy paths.

I have the final decision on what I do. Yet often I let this other part of me decide for me. I let it take control. I fall asleep inside. I wander through life day in and day out, waiting to awaken inside, while this other part of me takes what I am given and reacts. I am making a choice every time I release control. I am responsible for this choice. I cannot claim ignorance of my doings due to the autonomy of my current life. It is I who pass the final decisions on what I do. It is my will that I am talking about. My will is not strong. Resolutions fall under the whim of a feeling of desire to do something. My will releases control and my feelings and emotions take control. I get lost in the tornado of thoughts in my head. I undergo constant analyzation of everything in my life. I feel anxiety. I feel stressed riding the roller coaster of contentment and repression in life. So what is the answer to control? Some would resort to religion to answer this question, but I believe God allows us our own journey in discovery of this purpose, and I believe it to be one of the major purposes of life itself for it is the value of a man.

The answer is I need to wake up.

I need to remember what I have and forget what I don't.

I need to think about decisions and choices, I need to recognize when I make them, rather than making them without thought.

I need to make decisions to make a life I want, rather than accepting a life that is thrown upon me by life and living in autonomy.

I need to recognize that my problems, and my faults are my own fault and my responsibility.

I need to recognize that a choice today has consequences tomorrow and what those consequences are.


Most of all I simply need to say no to the feelings and desires. Sometimes they coincide with what I want. Sometimes they don't. I need to step up and take control and lead myself.

I must realize I am my own worst enemy.

Aug 5, 2008