Mystic Time: Playing With Time–Figuring a Future From the Past

Life is enjoyed for its moments and is appreciated most in retrospect. When we are in the midst of an event…well, the event occurs. It is only after the event, upon pondering in retrospect, that we conclude and make sense of our experiences to create packages of conclusions that we then store as memory. We go through life collecting these packages of conclusions which we categorize against the background of our personality and preferences; some we love, some we detest, some are just fillers but all are ours. Our memories when taken as a whole gives us the uniqueness from which emanates our varied perspectives that influence the choices and decisions we make. Consequently our choices and decisions lead us on to our unique futures; thus a relationship between our past and the future can be conceived.

If this relationship is accepted even if only as a possibility, it would mean that the effect of a memory or the collective effect of a grouping of memories can be precursors to the future. It would also be conceivable that we could design our future by tinkering with our past; but how do we tinker with the past when it is history–facts inextricably recorded in time and of course memory?

We can easily travel to the past in our mind. There is no barrier to going as far back as we wish; in fact if we have enough accurate facts of an event in the past we could place ourselves in it and imagine quite vividly what we might do in those circumstances (even if the event was beyond our time). Of course this mind-time-travel cannot ever change the facts of the past nor does anyone really consider traveling through time by imagination valid time travel; its just too simplistic. We would rather a time machine be a sophisticated piece of technology that would safely transport us to whatever time we want physically like the ones in the movies. However, while it may lack sophistication working with the record keeper in our brain can yield results as tangible as actually going to the past and manipulating it. I will explain how this is possible but first lets indulge ourselves with the past for a bit.

Have you ever mused over the value of your past? If the value of anything is what it can provide at a time of need then an obvious value of memory can be found in past academic, technical, artistic or professional accomplishments. How we stack up these credentials when we portray ourselves to others can give us a lot of meaning as our identity and as a means of livelihood. An even more basic value of memory is the ability to remember facts, i.e. for an exam, languages and logic functions. The practical benefits of these types of memories are apparent but would you categorize them as memories you cherish? Perhaps if your accomplishments also earned you accolades from family, friends or peers. Accolades, praise, appreciation or receiving gratitude form a different type of memory. (These are memories that we cherish; an important element of these memories are that other people deliver to us these experiences.) The best way to truly appraise ourselves of the value of our past is to record our memories in a format where we can capture an overview, a sort of summary, of our past. For  this record to be of any use we must start by creating categories for our memories. I have just described two types of memories, the latter we can categorize as The Practicals, the previous The Cherished-Involving Others. Lets continue defining and categorizing memories.

We also generate and hold on to more personal experiences that do not necessarily involve other people. Of these I can divide them into two more categories, one involves just us and the other involves nature. Our life is as much about our relationship with ourself as it is about the relationships with others. Thus we find it only natural that we have the urge from time to time to give ourselves accolades, praise, appreciation and gratitude. In contemporary lingo we call these the me-time moments. The memories created when we do kind and helpful service unbeknownst to others or when in solitude we appreciate ourselves for our accomplishments can be categorized in The Cherished–Self. The other large body of non-social memory we store are our cherished experiences of nature; nature in this regard includes the wonders of the great outdoors, sense and sensual delights, sensational moments in our experience of physical forces and geography–like bungee jumping or riding a roller coaster. The memories we create from these experiences are among our most intimate as they reflect the uniqueness of our personality and preferences. You can actually learn a lot about a person or even yourself if you know your affinity for or relationship to nature as it is usually honest and free from pretentiousness. Ones preferred colour, affinity to different animals, to maths, the the outdoors, types of music, tastes, smells, etc. can be the most telling of a person's subliminal nature. These memories we can label as The Cherished-World.

We have covered factual, social, personal and nature based memories which pretty much covers most of life; what is left are memories from events outside the bounds of the tangible world, such as experiences of the occult and spiritual (The Mystical). If I were to look into my memory banks I could take these types of experiences and break them into as many categories as Earth bound experiences, in fact I would add a few more. I have a very lively mystical mind and if I were to go into all that it would make the exercise I am going to share with you later too complicated. Anyway for the most part people have less developed mystical minds; such is our educational emphasis and social pressures that keep us mainly focused on the externals of life leaving The Mystical category of memory with relatively less content. Nevertheless it is important to include these memories in our organization of memories as they tend to be quite potent. If you ever caught a glimpse of what might have been a ghost, an apparition of a deceased ancestor, an angle, demon, etc. simply the possibility of a glimpse alone can sear a strong impression into your memory banks even if it was a dream.

Paranormal beings are not the only things that make up mystical experiences, actually for me I count more memories created from amazingly abstract meditative experiences than anything else. Whether you cognize your brain as a super chemical / drug fabrication plant or that it is a gateway to soulful experiences, it is the organ that produces how we feel about anything–whether it be of this world or otherwise. Exhilarating mystical experiences come from mastery of abstracting thoughts and manipulating the latent energy of consciousness; to the adept mystic they create experiences of blissful communion with Cosmic Consciousness which to the layperson is akin to the exhilaration of the "Eureka!" moment. So you can add those unusually great epiphanic moments that seem to occur for no reason–search for these in your memory banks and they will pop up here and there–and add them along with the other paranormals in this category of The Mystical memories. This category may include religious experiences especially if the moment culminated into intimate spiritual feelings or insights of deep significance. In general religious experiences are usually more social than spiritual and therefore should be categorized with memories involving other persons.

So here you have it, an ensemble of memory categories:

The Prcacticals
The Cherished-Involving Other Persons
The Cherished-Self
The Cherished-World
The Mystical

These should cover most areas of life but to complete this list we must also add a polarity to each of these categories. The Cherised of course indicates that these are memories we consider good for us or pleasing. Basically if you could go back in time with a thing-a-magic time machine and could playback some moments those would be from The Cherished. Then we have as part and parcel of life the opposite of the cherished moments. These, of course, yield experiences we rather not repeat so lets call them The Detested. The Detested however doesn't necessarily mean bad nor does The Cherished necessary mean good. Memories are very personal, how you handle or maintain them in your mind is your business; therefore the moral code you use to delineate good and bad, right and wrong as far as your memories are concerned is totally up to you. Nobody has the right to dictate how you manage your subconscious mind unless you make it amenable to another's suggestions.

The following is the complete list of memory categories:

The Prcacticals - Positive
The Cherished-Involving Other Persons
The Cherished-Self
The Cherished-World
The Mystical - Positive

The Prcacticals - Negative
The Detested-Involving Other Persons
The Detested-Self
The Detested-World
The Mystical - Negative

I alluded earlier to an exercise that I am going to share with you involving these memory categories. Let me get down to it. The exercise is simply making a mind map of these categories and filling them up with appropriate memories (your memories naturally). It is a method of subconscious-mind management and what you labour to produce is a Memory Mind Map. The idea is to sort the memories in the subconscious mind and arrange them into established categories such as the ones above. When you consider doing this exercise you will naturally realize its tediousness which will make you question its purpose. What are its benefits?

The main benefit of the Memory Mind Map is that it can help you figure out your life. How? Basically it is similar to putting your house to order and getting everything to where they need to be; you will feel better and it gives you room to think as they say. The Memory Mind Map also provides you the benefit of holding an overview of your past. Once you have made a Memory Mind Map you will immediately feel a sense of accomplishment as you behold your otherwise invisible subconscious mind laid out in front of you; a task that is inconceivable as a purely mental exercise. With the Memory Mind Map in hand you can pull all sorts of data from it. For instance you can simply count how many memories you have on the cherished and positive side compared to the detested and negative ones and see which of them you have more of. You could even weigh them as percentages–what will this tell you? Well the data is yours to interpret and I can assure you that you will discover valuable insights from the life you have lived thus far that hitherto you had not known nor could have known if not for the Memory Mind Map. Following is a hypothetical scenario that illustrates useful revelations that the Memory Mind Map can provide.

Mr. A took a whole month to complete his Memory Mind Map. He worked on it a little bit at a time for about 20 minutes a day. It was a monumental task as he had decided to start with memories from as young as he could remember. He enjoyed his recollections of the pleasant, touching and fun moments…he wished he could go back to some of them; but he also felt pain, regret and anguish when the painful ones surfaced. It was not an easy decision for Mr. A to do the Memory Mind Map. He knew it would be daunting to go back to the harsher experiences of his past and he wondered what he might glean from this exercise. Nevertheless he settled on getting it done with the hope that he would find a sorely needed solution to an unusual problem he was facing. So he steeled himself and assiduously filled up all the categories on his Memory Mind Map. A month had elapsed before he could deck out the 10 photocopy papers that he had used to jot down each category of memory. He wrote each memory as a one line summary like a title and put a time stamp next to each memory.

Mr. A is generally happy with his life, he is in his mid-40s, married with two kids going to elementary school. His job is secure, respectable and it provides for more than just paying his bills. Though he is not a millionaire Mr. A knows many envy the life he has. Yet as of late he feels a faded zest for life; an emptiness has crept into him that he can't quite fill with anything; this feeling of confusion has been lingering for sometime and it is making it psychologically harder for him get out of bed to begin the day. This confusion had turned to a palpable frustration that his wife and children encounter once in a while. He knows the condition is creating suspicion and insecurity in his wife and his work performance is starting to be affected. Mr. A has lots to lose if he continued on this path so he was in desperate need of a diagnosis and solution. A psychiatrist friend of Mr.A's blames his condition on depression and if nothing is done about it, it could become clinical which he says can be handled with prescription drugs. The whole idea of taking drugs to cure his condition makes Mr. A even more depressed.

In a moment of despair one late sleepless night Mr. A fires up his computer and behold!...He comes upon the Memory Mind Map. Mr. A is desperate enough to try anything that doesn't involve drugs or spilling his guts out in a counseling session, Mr. A is a rather timid and personal fellow. He realizes after reading this subconscious management method that the process is going to be tedious and that he is not going to be able to get his answer as immediately as he had hoped nevertheless he sets his mind to get on with it.

A month later he is finally done. With his memory patterns decked out in front of him on his large office table after hours he immediately notices a pattern. It is clear that he has way more memories that he cherishes than ones he detests. Most of these memories involve people: his parents, family, siblings, friends and so forth. He has only a few of such memories with nature and when he recollects an especially memorable camping trip he made as a boy scout he realizes just how much he misses being out in nature especially when he juxtaposes it with the Detest column below The Cherished-World where he notes that the traffic jam and pollution in the city gets to him terribly. He detests the hustle and bustle of the city and the constant need to be on the move. It makes him long for the beautiful open spaces of nature and its peace.

Mr. A has an epiphany, he realizes that for all the successes in his life which has been so driven by others' expectations and the need to please, he has put aside his own innate needs. He is out of harmony with himself and he knows how to put it right again. His passion has been nature and the environment, he detests how as a community we are spoiling the very ground that nurtures us. A great burden of confusion lifts from his mind as Mr. A realizes what he has been missing all this while. The niggling emptiness that he has been feeling for almost a year is getting filled by inspiration of a newly developing vision and passion for life. Mr. A has had it in the back of his mind dabbling into nature photography; now it fills the forefront of his mind with excitement and ideas pouring in from a source that hitherto was nowhere to be found. He also decides that he wants to get in on the environmental effort to help curb chemical pollution, but first he has to discuss his new found ideas with his wife.

Mr. A's wife is not a very outdoorsy person, she is more a people person who enjoys socialite trappings. Part of the reason Mr. A never pursued his outdoor hobby was in deference to his wife. At the time he thought of it as a small matter, an inconsequential price to pay in a compromise of marriage with his sweetheart. Now he realizes innate longings cannot be ignored forever and that it has a way of accumulating disharmony to the point where he can put it off no longer and has to work it out with his wife somehow. Mr. A cannot contain himself with his new found buoyancy. He wonders why he hadn't figured this out himself earlier but more than that he is relieved that the mysterious answer to his depression is not complicated and instead quite elementary. His wife quickly picks up on her husband's new found zest. Mr. A puts it all on the table, his Memory Mind Map and his revelations. His wife in tears of relief confesses that she was worried if he was distant because he was having an affair or some other heart wrenching problem. They share an intimate moment together in a seemingly newfound passion for life.

While Mr. A plans to incorporate nature outings and environmental work into his and his family's lifestyle Mrs. A with the encouragement of Mr. A is inspired to do her own Memory Mind Map. Mrs. A's revelations were more obvious than her husband's though similar. Since she quit her job to be a full-time homemaker she had been missing out on her social life with her friends; a need that she considered ostensible compared to her responsibilities as a mother. Yet while she finds joy in seeing her children grow and learn her personality does pine for the time she used to enjoy her friends and work colleagues. In her Memory Mind Map this need represented itself clearly as she can see how The Cherished - Involving Other Persons used to be prominent with memories until she quit her job, after that The Cherished - Self took up the slack as so much of the work she does as a homemaker to keep her family organized and cared for goes unnoticed. For a few years now she brushed off her social life needs by assuming that these cravings were selfish and at times had even denied herself such simple joys as going out with her friends when invited for a soiree even when she was given the opportunity; these moments appeared as she was working on the Detested-Self column. Learning from her husband's experience she realizes that even if she was committed to a labour of love leading a balanced life is essential to her emotional wellbeing as it was to her husband's.

Mrs. A now knows that her persistent feeling of lethargy is not because of laziness, instead the lack of inspiration caused by her being out of harmony with her personality demands. Equiped with the clarity that her own needs are also as important as fulfilling her responsibilities as a mother and wife; and that they are not selfish but natural to her, she too plans together with Mr. A to strike a better balance of care all around.

The Memory Mind Map though tedious to do is a simple tool, it certainly does not have the sophistication of a time machine, which could make one wonder about its effectiveness. I have found that the simplicity of method of spiritual or mystical practices like the Memory Mind Map is the biggest hurdle for most people to cross before they attempt the practice. However once the practice starts one will discover insights pouring into the mind as the past takes shape outside the mind and the realization that it is impossible to have such an overview of life by trying to do this exercise mentally will dawn. Subsequent revelations can be invaluable enough to give merit and credence to the effectiveness of such simple tools as pen and paper as a time machine.

The Memory Mind Map is a flexible tool that can be modified to fit your needs. You may add or remove categories according to your life and personality. This practice can be done for many reasons such as to figure out a particular situation you are in to see if you can find correlations with consequences from past deeds to find answers to the 'Why is this happening to me now?' question. Perhaps you are at the crossroads of deciding your future–the 'What now?' or 'What next?' musings–where a structured look into the patterns of the past may shed valuable information or you just want to take stock of your past like you have never done before to behold it and be awed.

Organizing one's past into areas of life is a spiritual exercise. It can provide all sorts of insights about the life we are leading, the life that we maybe missing, the likely future we are heading towards, the reason for our current condition(s) and about who we are to ourself. Of course the key ingredients of the Memory Mind Map are memories, where the more you have the better. This is not to say that this practice is only for older people. We begin collecting memories and making conclusions from our experiences from as young as we can remember. Even teenagers who are trying to figure out their life's path, their purpose or their priorities can find the Memory Mind Map enriching as a tool for charting their future. Some of the conclusions one might draw from his or her Memory Mind Map can be profound while others maybe simple, nevertheless the cumulative result of both are insights that provides a platform from which an outcome that is a future can be viewed.

Life Matters

Prelude
Before you invest your time in this article I need to let you know that this article is not so much about its conclusion. It is more about enjoying the kaleidoscope of abstraction that our amazing mind is capable of. It will toggle you across perspectives of space–microcosm to the macrocosm, time–the distant past, present and way into the future; and consciousness–from the mundane to the profound.


Life Matters

How does life on Earth matter? According to science only 5% of our gigantic Universe consists of matter organized as atoms–pardon the pun.

If I believed that my existence is solely the product of the collectively coalescent atoms that make up my body and that death is simply the disorganizing of these atoms, then the purpose of my life is to keep my atoms intact. Interestingly while atoms don't age my body made of nothing but atoms does (let's ignore the few mildly radioactive isotopes like Carbon 14). Science tells us aging is because our atoms are formed as cells which are affected by time and while there are many possible explanations for why the body gets old–irreplaceable cells in the body become damaged, the bodies metabolic factory becomes less efficient with age, lifestyle, environmental toxins, free radicals, genes etc.–by and large a conclusive theory on aging remains a scientific mystery.

If the most basic instinct of life on Earth is driven by matter, more precisely cellular matter, then the purpose of life is straight forward. My goal of life would be first and foremost to keep my cells intact and healthy for as long as possible, the second and equally important goal would be to create progeny. The basic instincts of survival and reproduction are the strongest urges in all biological life. Of these two, survival is the king of urges since reproduction is an evolute of survival. Somehow our genes know that while it has a chance to exist for a long time, it cannot stop the aging process of the cells it is in. Its survival solution against aging is to create a new package and move into it, thus rejuvenating its survivability as its old package disintegrates. This is eternal life for genes and it works very well.

Query Wikipedia "history of life" and a timeline appears that shows that Earth began forming 5 billion years ago. About 1 billion years from its birthing (more precisely 3.6 billion years ago) life started as simple cells–prokaryotes or bacterium. DNA organized into genes have existed almost from the get-go of Earth's history. Since then genes have gone through a colorful and resilient history of evolution. Genes have had lots of fun coming up with a myriad of creatures of amazing shapes and forms, they became masters of the waters and the skies; colonizing the harshest of environments from the deserts to the crushing ocean depths; living through disasters and rejuvenating from cataclysms. Isn't it amazing to think that every single organism on Earth today is a testament to the immortality of its genes. Each of us are products of this resilience. God only knows what creatures the atoms of our DNA have been in, in bygone days before assimilating in us.

Science however doesn't acknowledge God or that an intelligence might be behind the formation of DNA. In the primordial chemical soup that our seas were billions of years ago proteins formed by chance and accidentally organized itself as DNA; and there is the math to prove how likely all this chance occurrences could have happened. An intelligent designer driving DNA is hard if not impossible to proof but when you look at fossil records and muse on all the amazing creatures that have been created through the eons and the diversity of life in the present it is a hard buy to accept mindless or heartless random happenings as a cause. So I look hard for ways to proof that the sum of my existence is not just my dear collection of atoms. What could possibly clue us to an intelligent force behind DNA.....I ask......Lo and Behold! I see space....outer space that is.

No, it is not about aliens planting seeds of life on Earth though when considering plausibilities it is not out of the question. Instead my hypothesis about the intelligence behind life on Earth has to do with our effort to explore outer space. I believe that our push into space has as much (if not more) to do with the survival of our genes as it is with quenching our curiosity for exploring the unknown.

We now know for a fact that the Earth is not going to last forever and though our DNA has lived through climate change, catastrophic space collisions and whatever-else disasters, for now the only place we / our genes can call home is Earth; and the prospect that Earth could be destroyed when our Sun becomes a Red Giant or simply gives out–some billions of years away–and Earth becomes as cold as Uranus must shudder genes with End-of-Days like horror. Keep in mind also that for our genes a billion years is nothing. They have survived billions of years already and a couple billion years more before Earth becomes defunct for life is a relatively short time.

The ability to conceive time spans beyond the present through memory evolved in the animal kingdom a long time ago and in fact in this department certain animals like elephants, chimpanzees and the porpoises have shown amazing capabilities comparable to humans. However what makes us a class of evolution above the rest is our propensity for recording history and our ability to wonder about the future. From the days of cave painting to now we have always endeavoured to leave behind some kind of recorded legacy. Whether it is through art, literature, or heirlooms I would dare say that some of us care more about how people will remember us after our time than the generation we leave behind. The simple habit of maintaining history has worked wonders in humankind's civilizational evolution by allowing us to continue threads of development without having to 'reinvent the wheel'; of one generation learning and improving from its predecessor. Add our insatiable desire to wonder, explore and learn to this equation and we get the indomitable human spirit. From the time seamen dared to challenge the notion of a flat-earth to the brave people who dared to sacrifice their lives to usher in the space age, the human spirit has brought us to the doorstep of a new technological era–that of artificial intelligence.

Possibly an aberration in the pattern of evolution of creatures over thousands of millenniums, we humans are among the most unusual of creatures (check out the best list of unusual prehistoric creatures I could find on the web). Physically we are not built for natural survival like other animals and if not for the fact that we possess more brains than them we would not have survived and otherwise thrive as we are today. Four legged predators can easily out run us and in the water any fish can out swim us. We can't climb anything very well and don't fly. Instead evolution invested us with three non-brawn winning characteristics. One is that we can learn and find solutions to problems by making tools no matter the complexity; we are endowed with the most amazing hands of all animals that make us capable tool makers instead of just food grabbers and thirdly our very versatile vocal chords which allows us to create complex and articulate languages. This jump in evolution to endow us with brains instead of brawn is unusual in the evolution of organisms if the goal of our genes is purely survival on Earth because there is no need for brains, brawn has proven sufficient through the test of time.

Nevertheless in the countless number of animals and plants that have appeared on Earth evolution's bet on brains over brawn is proving to be a winning solution for the survival of our genes. Seven billion in population and counting; we are crowding out so many other organisms and consuming so much of life sustaining resources that we have taken on a role of nature to become an effective extinction force for other animals and plants. According to scientists the rate of extinction of species of animals presently is faster than ever discovered–up to one thousand times higher than in fossil records–nothing to be proud about but I can't speak for my genes–survival of the fittest and all that. Perhaps all this extinction is exactly in line with the grand plan of our genes. Perhaps genes do not care anymore for the evolution through variety of biological streams simply because it just takes too much time. After all 5,000 years ago we could only walk, run and were building rudimentary rafts. Within just a few millennium with our astounding technological genius we are flying all over the world at close to the speed of sound; way faster and higher than any bird and drifting around in space, an environment that is impossible for genes to muster up a biological creature. Then again it could be DNA's master plan for survival after Earth.

The United States and the former USSR scrambled to explore space and spent billions of dollar for the technology, which at the time must have seemed questionable. With nations still struggling to recover from World War 2, the quest for getting into space was spurred by oneupmanship between the giant nations. Of course its benefits now, in ease of global communications, navigation meteorology makes it all well worth the effort. But we haven't stopped with shooting up satellites, instead humankind is exploring life in space, colonizing it and looking for life on other planets. A quick check on NASA's website and you will discover that it is currently working on a telescope technology to be able to see exo-Earths; planets of similar size to Earth and distance to its star which is like to our Sun (click here to learn about NASA's Next-G space telescope in the works). To find a planet that might harbour life like ours is a holy grail of space exploration–we've already identified three candidates, check it out–click. We are already ahead of the game with the International Space Station and its precious research on living for extended periods in space but propulsion to travel the light years of distance to reach a planet in a different system is still elusive. One thing we can be sure of is that before our gem of a planet gives out, we will at least be able to continue our civilizations in space platforms like those gigantic ships in Battlestar Galactica–drifting in space looking for a new Earth. Could it be that our genes are spurring our technological genius in its quest for eternal survivability?

If you are thinking that this is an unusual or weird perspective, I agree. The suggestion that DNA or our genes could conceive of possible events way into the future and develop a creature to overcome the challenges posed by these events is hard to swallow, let alone digest. Scheming nanoscopic designers of the future is stuff of science fiction; we are more comfortable thinking of our physical makeup as inert and our consciousness as supreme. Even scientists will feel squeamish of the concept of intelligent atoms with 'plans' as it would be off-kilter to the scientific position of randomness and chance events. It all just sounds too bizarre.

In any case I don't like to think that I live my life as a slave to my genes but have you ever wondered what your relationship is to your genes? We know that we are our genes and the fact remains that after the death of the physical body what is tangibly left of us is the generation to whom we have passed our genes, yet how many of us really believe that we are nothing more than our genes. Sure, we can relate to the colour of our eyes and other physical characteristics, even some personality traits to genetic inheritance but don't you think of yourself as a unique individual, distinct from your parents and free to aspire for a one-of-a-kind life. Who'd think (or want to think) they are pursuing their life for the sake of such inert stuff as a bunch of protein molecules; that's too uninspiring!

If human consciousness / self-awareness and intelligence are a products of our genes then its code has to be found somewhere in the less than two percent difference between our genetic makeup and our closest 'animal' relative the chimpanzees and while the genetic origins of our profound self-awareness remains a scientific mystery, we revel in its existence and enjoy the choices it affords us. We happily adorn ourselves with our ability to mark time and create anniversaries–birthdays, annual remembrances, jubilees–to celebrate or in some cases to mourn and we wonder ceaselessly about possibilities–not just for practical reasons but for fun. Verily humanity can just as well be defined by its imagination, for in this too do we revel. The ability to create fiction and simply enjoy it with care abandon is as much our defining characteristic as is our technological prowess. We will enjoy a good story no matter how outlandish or improbable it may be; it just needs to be interesting or entertaining. Which is why it is very difficult to accept that such complex intelligence, that can traverse the borders of the logical and return to produce art and express love, could arise from something so cut and dry–so seemingly soulless–as strands of protein.

The origins of human consciousness aside nothing is more tangible than our existence from moment to moment. Nothing matters more to us than our individual experience of life, even for the most self-effacing and humble person committed to a selfless life, personal fulfillment is his driving force. It matters to us that we get more out of life than passing on our genes. It also matters to us that our life matters to others or some idea or cause; one could say we dwell more in seeking fulfillment from our abstract concepts of life than basic survival. In fact we are so are passionate about our philosophy, art, religions and politics that have little to do with genetic survival that if these abstractions are products of some chemical function of proteins it is biological evolution gone way overboard. Overboard because some of us can decide to prioritize the abstract above the basics by ignoring the basics completely and voluntarily decide not to bother about genetic survival.

So where do all these abstractions leave us?

The undeniable fact is that we–as individuals arising from consciousness–with every breath we take and every thought we conceive affirm to ourselves that we are self-conscious beings capable of choice and enjoying the nuances of our preferences. That we are the product of our genes has a bearing on the quality or kind of life we may live on Earth but not entirely on the life we choose to live. Whatever that makes us individuals who want to count, to make our presence matter in the time that we have makes us the most unique creature to ever to appear on Earth. We celebrate and lament life–not just survive; we are not passive players in passing time, we play with time itself. We have appeared on Earth, we are unique in ways that only each of us individually can fully appreciate; where one in seven billion is same  as one in one; where our time on Earth matters as much as our life on Earth. Perhaps this is who we are: An evolutionary chance that has become Creation's dearest.

This article was inspired by Nyaya-Vaisheshika methods of reasoning namely pratyaksha (perception) and anumaana (inference).

The Role of Earth in the Spiritual Evolution of the Soul–Its Need and Its Preciousness.

Why life on Earth? This is a natural question that arises on pondering the purpose of life; especially when reflecting on life's struggles and tragedies. If God is Almighty and is the Creator of all that is, why create suffering in the first place? A mystic ponders on these questions as the basis for trying to figure God's Plan or Design. The ultimate answer to these questions that mystics have mused on is more of a process than a law. This process is the spiritual evolution of the soul.

There is a special mantra that I learned from my guru about understanding Creation. The mantra is "It is as it is". There is another saying from my guru's guru, the great sage of Lanka, Siva Yogaswami, he said "we know not". Simple words that bring down into essence that in this world we live equally with facts we can understand and that which cannot be figured. They point to the fact that the world that is governed by both absolute certainties and absolute uncertainties.

We live life on Earth with aspirations of enjoying Paradise; with aspirations of enjoyment, not suffering; with aspirations of peace, not antagonism; with aspirations of love, not hate. These utopian aspirations are what life on Earth seems to proffer; but such is life on Earth that day must follow night, excitement is followed by mundaneness, joy is interspersed by sadness, peace is disrupted by confusion. The preciousness of life on Earth lies in these shifting foundations. For it is these occasional experiences of instability that eventually give us the gumption to question the purpose, even the need, of our existence.

The goal of these primal questions is however not so much to find out the reason for the tumult of life on Earth, rather to discover ways to rise above it. That is, to discover a way to reach the aspirations of Paradise that is hardwired into our psyche. That such an ideal state of existence is even possible has been the testimony of countless accomplished mystics of ages past and of contemporary times. The message of the Buddha, of Ramana Maharishi, of Lao Tzu, of Emmerson, of my guru is essentially the same; that Paradise is attainable by uncovering ones spirituality and experiencing the intimate states of spiritual enlightenment.

Contrary to the general understanding of mysticism that mystics are people who disassociate themselves from general populace, mysticism actually encourages involvement in the world and experiencing life on Earth as one chooses. It does not put any constraints to the a persons freedom as to how they choose to live their life, in fact mysticism cherishes any and all experience that the world offers. Established mystical schools such as the evolutes of ashtanga yoga and Buddhism encourage their followers to pursue their worldly dreams, though preferring them to pursue their goals through path of noble values and righteousness as The Way, because it is known that experiences of life gradually nurtures the urge to uncover spiritual reality for oneself, thus achieving transcendence over the roller-coaster ride of life on Earth.

According to the philosophy of Eastern mystical schools our soul is on Earth on an extended spiritual journey. This spiritual journey is spurred on by the unsettling experiences of duality on Earth. Just like how challenges spur development and growth, whereas ease of living cultivates complacency, life on Earth challenges the soul to seek greater heights of spirituality because its unstableness breeds the desire for the equilibrium of Paradise. This desire for equilibrium ultimately leads the seeker to the glorious experiences of spiritual enlightenment.

Thus the great purpose of life on Earth according to the conclusion of mystics is to bring an individual to this very point of questioning–Why life on Earth? Herein lies the preciousness of life on Earth.

The Ubiquitous Science vs. Religion Conundrum Part Two

A friend asked me a common question on Hinduism. Hema is a scientist educated in the science of education. She asked me why Ganesha has an elephant head. What drew my interest most with this question is that all the elements for the answer I was prepared to give involved the revelations (jnana) that I had received from the samayama on spirituality, science and religion. This answer would be the shruti that I promised to evolve when I concluded Part One of this article. (If you are wondering what are shruti, samayama and jnana, please click here to read Part One of this Mystical Musing which explains them).

Here are three revelations of the samayama on spirituality, science and religion. (Click here to read part one to flow with the continuity)

Revelation 1: The first to appear was a large multifaceted glistening diamond like gem that was rotating slowly. The gem remained in view for a while and as it slowly faded from the 'mind's eye' a statement, "we are already multidimensional beings" was heard.
Revelation 2: Then followed another scene where I saw a scientist and a mystic sitting back to back. Revelation 3: The revelations concluded with a final scene of a priest worshipping atop a precarious ledge on the summit of a tall cliff.

Ganesha is one of the most popular Hindu deity. He is the God (more like an Archangel) with an elephant head. There is a very colorful and violent story / myth of how he ended up with the elephant head. If you do not know this story just Google 'how Ganesha got his elephant head'. For this article suffice to know that this story is as scientifically implausible as a story can be! Yet here is a scientist, who loves Ganesha and is looking for an answer that given her training I would imagine, since she knows the story, must have relegated (the story) to fiction. It intrigued me that I could answer this question quite uniquely using the revelations of the recent samayama. I also mused that the original person who emailed me the questions that sparked the samayama, Akashay, is a scientist, and here I am faced with another scientist whose question represented the similar science versus religion debate.

I knew this answer session was going to be long winded, so I started with the short answer. "Q: Why does Ganesha have an elephant head? A: Because that was his choice. He probably had the power choose how he wanted to look and simply choose to have an elephant face. Why he choose that is whatever answer that makes the most sense to you if you believe in Lord Ganesha. Now allow me to give a clearer understanding of this answer."

After this I told everyone in the group about Akashay's questions, the samayama and the revelations from it. Then I began to evolve the jnana revelations into a shruti which was about how science, religion and spirituality integrate. I followed the order of the revelations, remembering the first revelation of the multi-faceted diamond and the words 'we are already multidimensional' while tuning my mind to the feeling of rightness that followed the revelation. Thus I said we are all already multi-dimensional beings. Daily we put on the hats of many dimensions to function. These are simple and practical functions; unless we think more seriously about them they are simply part of our personality. This 'multi-dimensionalism' is about how we act differently with different groups of people. When we are at home with our family we behave differently then when we are at work. When we are with our friends we function on different set of parameters then when we are with our family or at work. When we interact with babies or toddlers, does anyone realize how childish we become from our usual grownup norms. We do baby speak, play with them as if we are babies and forgive babies for all sorts of misdemeanors because they are innocent. Indeed we function / behave / act differently according to situations and surroundings; most of the time making only slight variations in the way we project ourselves to others but at times these variations can be quite radical. From a mystical perspective each of these different projections of personality represents different dimensions of ourself. We pick and choose to project different images of ourself according to whom or what we are around (which is why Facebook included privacy settings to incorporate our yearning for multi-dimensionalism!). What is amazing is that our brains can keep tabs of all of this to make it seem so seamless as we shift from one dimension to another.

You may think that it is too drastic labeling all these subtle shifts in personality as dimensions. However the definition of dimension according to my computer's dictionary–the one that is not related to measuring length or time–is as follows: "an aspect or feature of a situation, problem or thing." Thus dimensions can be as simple as points of view. This is how a mystic views his or her own mind. There are so many dimensions that are available within it, that our mind is our personalized world. The very fact that we can say something while thinking of something out of context and be feeling something unrelated altogether is just a hint of the measure of multi-dimensionalism humans are capable of. Yogis take multi-dimensionalism to the next level by developing extra sensory perception to enable them to explore subtle spiritual realms of existence.

Thus mystics too have come to the conclusion that humans are multidimensional no different than the scientific String Theory notion of multi-dimensionalism. It is just the way we mystics see it in application in life that is different. In fact what some scientists conjure about the multidimensional human is way more far out than that of the mystics. It takes a leap of faith to even imagine that there can be duplicates of us living simultaneously in parallel universes. Wow! makes for great science fiction, but in the reality we are used to we still do not have proof of such possibilities despite all the calculations that point that such a scenario can be.

I am following the natural sequence of revelations that appeared in dhyana and so far I have evolved the meaning of the first one which is the key to answering both Akashay's and Hema's questions. In different scenarios or different circumstances we use different sets of rules to get through life. Each of these sets of rules can be represented by rich traditions, culture and philsosophy; they can even be rules we develop personally based on conclusions from life experiences. Our amazing mind is capable of managing and processing these different dimensions, at times even simultaneously. Going through the simplicities, complexities, certainties and uncertainties of life is made possilbe through multi-dimensionalism. Remember that this is the key is to understanding how spirituality, science and religion integrate.

Now lets go to the second revelation. In this revelation the scene is of a mystic (I saw a long bearded, robed rishi) and a scientist (someone with a lab coat) sitting back to back peering into space. How does this connect to multi-dimensionalism? Here again I just have to tune the feeling of rightness that follows this revelation and it stimulates the flow of understanding. The foundation of both a scientist and a mystic is the same. It is curiosity about and inquiry into nature. What makes them unique is their base in questioning. A mystic starts with 'why life'; a scientist, 'how life'. By these questions we can deduce that a mystic is looking for reasons for life. A scientist on the other hand is looking for the rules of life (in this context 'life' and 'nature' are interchangeable). If we take these observations a step deeper we will discover that a mystic looks at the uncertainties of life and seeks reasons; whereas a scientist looks at the certainties of life and seeks answers. They are both looking at life through divergent dimensions and seeking answers on same or similar subjects under different motivations. The results of both these streams of inquiry is that the work of mystics can evolve into religions and philosophies about life and living, while the work of scientists can evolve into technological inventions.

By following the line of reasoning of mystics leads us to conclude that the main purpose of all the myriad of religions on Earth is to help us cope with the uncertainties in life, hence the third revelation; the priest worshipping precariously on a precipice. The priest is looking into an abyss in front and below him. He is praying to give himself the confidence through faith or hope to go through whatever he needs to cross over this proverbial abyss. By the way, I use proverbial abyss in case you reason–he doesn't need to look into the abyss. All he has to do is to step back! As easy as it is to reason this way, the truth is, we have to face and cross the abyss of uncertainty at times with no possibility of stepping back.

Ultimately this is what all religion are–the institutionalizing of hope. Just ask why the need for religion? You could reason that it seems that religion is the cause for much human to human violence on Earth. Religionists may justify by saying the violence has nothing to do with religion, the problem lies with its followers; but really what is religion without its followers? We can reasonably say, lets do away with religion, lets just live with science and logic. With all the scientific evidence that can easily debunk so much of the myths or stories that are the backbone of most major and minor religions, science can easily claim reasonable ascendency. Yet today majority of us would rather believe in religion than not. Why?

It is that religion begins where logic ends.

We live equally with certainties and uncertainties in life. As much as we like to get rid of uncertainties and guarantee as much certainty as possible, it is ultimately impossible to get rid of uncertainty entirely. Even as technology advances rapidly on par with strides in scientific discoveries, it cannot guarantee absolute certainty in all affairs of life at all points of time; nothing can. Even science can only absolutely guarantee that all of life is subject to change. Things change; change is followed by a period of uncertainty; and even once we regain hold of cetainty, the shadow of uncertainty remains in the background. Science can conclude that uncertainty is as much a force of nature as the other tangible and measurable forces; and in fact it does through the Uncertainty Principle. Thus we have to recognize that uncertainty is one of the forces that animate life. Unfortunately uncertainty inspires fear and if we have to accept fear and simply live with it without a solution, life could be pointless and dark. Thus the advent of religion.

Religion appears as a solution to the fear that overshadows life. The most important aspect of religion to all of us is to inspire and maintain hope especially during the times when uncertainty looms into reality. This is the most scientifically tangible effect of religion–the feeling of hope and confidence–even when all probable scientific predictions point to hopelessness. This value of religion cannot be usurped by science simply saying that there is no proof of God. There may be no experiment that a scientist can do with any repeatable result that can proof the existence of God, but the existence of God for the faithful is based on their personal (totally subjective) experience of God or their dedication to their creed. It is the effect of faith in upholding hope that can be observed scientifically. It is this power of hope that is the un-discountable value of religion. The ability to inspire hope especially during times of hopelessness is of immense value to living. This is why we do not simply throw religion out the window in favour logic or science, because it is as valuable to us as science is.

Both religion and science are meant for us to cope with different aspects / dimensions of living. In fact both these dimensions are opposites. Thus if you bring science into religion or vice-versa you will simply end up with an inconclusive conundrum. Both however can co-exist through our ability to handle the varied aspects of life by being multidimensional. Thus a scientist can without conflict be deeply religious if he understands that science and religion are different tools meant for different purposes. Herein lies the integration of spirituality, science and religion. Multidimensional living allows us to accept science for what it is and religion for what it is. All those rich illogical myths and stories of religions were never meant to be proven true or untrue; instead they are repositories of spirituality, ethics, culture and most importantly as means of inspiring hope and courage. This is why we dare not throw religion out the window. Otherwise what can science offer us in those uncertain times of darkness; a cold set of probabilities, perhaps hope of discovery that is probably years in the future when you need help now or a scientific explanation of what got you where you are when what you need is a way out.

Try as we may, humanity will never do away with the supernatural, the ultra-natural and its propensity to exaggerate wonder. Just imagine what would happen if we did do away with religion and its nonsensical myths. Like the Taliban who blew the the Buddha statues of Bamiyan, we decide as a race of logical beings, to get rid of all relic, representation and repositories of religion, religiousness and spirituality. I imagine to cure our urge to hope during hopelessness or make possible what seems impossible we will start praying to 'action heroes' like Spiderman or Batman or Superman or Wonder Woman or whomever the new scientific myth spinners conjure.

Of course then again you can expect those 'action heroes' debunkers to come along and continue the question–why in the world are you praying to something that is not really there?! Answer–Well, because science does not have ALL the answers.

Epilogue 

So to the question'why does Ganesha have an elephant head', the answer is as elementary as whatever reason that suits you. However it makes best sense to you, that will be your answer. If you choose to believe in Ganesha and his existence has an effect in your life, then really the reason why is anyone's guess. Ultimately the answer is not very important to anyone else but however you justify the truth of Ganesha to yourself. This is religion and by extension spirituality. They are both subjective art and science for all of life that is influenced by subjectivity. I for instance believe in the reality of God, the angles, heaven and hell because of my personal experience of such matters. They are real to me and therefore their existence matters to me. Why they exist does not matter to me, protecting the belief in them does not matter to me, proving their existence to others does not matter to me even more. But mostly I enjoy having them in my life.

In the end of the day our devotion to a supernatural path does not preclude us from enjoying the benefits of scientific discoveries, unless we choose so. To be an effective scientist likewise does not require the scientist to abstain from religion or spirituality to do his or her work, unless they choose so. To Akashay who instigated this mystical musing, thank you. To Hema who got this revelation going, thank you. I enjoyed the whole exercise immensely and I hope you the readers, did too.

Click Here to Read Part One

Ahh! The Ubiquitous Science vs. Religion Conundrum: Part One

Recently an engineering student–Akashay, who is fond of physics emailed me a litany of questions to answer to try to quell the confusion that has arisen in his mind that I imagine was caused when he tried to correlate recent discoveries in physics with his religious beliefs. He referred to the possibilities of parallel universes proposed by String theorists and recent discoveries on the formation of stars and galaxies–though he did not mention which discoveries. It seems to him that all these theories and discoveries throws into question the role (not reality) of God. He wonders what God does; if our lives are predestined; if anyone has met God; if so what happened to the proof of such meetings?

 He has been waiting for sometime for me to answer his questions, but I was waiting for some time (pun intended) to open up on my side to get into such a fun area of mystical musing. Before you think this is going to be another one sided debate article on the ubiquitous subject of science versus religion or vice-versa, let me assure you that I am an admirer of science, religion and spiritualism. In fact it was my scientific inquisition to want to discover the existence of God for myself that led me to delve into the yogic arts. So to answer Akashay's questions I am going to do what us mystics love to do–look at everything from inspiring mystical overviews.

To discover a mystical answer to this questioning I will use a yogic method of concentration–the samayama. Samayama is the final level of concentration that a yogi has to maintain before the true state of meditation occurs. It is done by dividing a subject of concentration into three related points and then keeping awareness engrossed in the evolution of thoughts, feelings and visualizations of these points of concentration while moving randomly from one point to another; in other words there are three trains of thought progressing simultaneously. The points of concentration can be anything that you imagine is related to the subject. For instance lets say I want to do a samayama on renewable energy; I can divide this subject into any three related points of concentration; this can be the sun, electricity and the welfare of Earth. In a samayama the yogi has to use as much force of intent and will that he can muster to maintain his awareness on the concentration points of the samayama.

To uncover answers for the questions posed by Akashay, I will do a samayama with spirituality, religion and science as the three points of a samayama. I will use the following definitions of these three as the base of my concentration effort with the intention of discovering integration of the three subjects as the goal of the samayama.

Spirituality: Beliefs of faith based on personal mystical or 'otherworldly' experience.
Religion: A set of beliefs (or articles of faith) and culture adopted by groups of people that direct their practices and faith in the supernatural.
Science: A faculty of knowledge that is based on discoveries about the workings of nature that are backed by repeatable results of experimentation or arithmetics.

I began this mystical musing by going through the mill of yogic preparations. First, I do some yoga poses to reset the mind to a soft concentrated poise. The next step in (ashtanga) yoga is to do breath modulation–pranayama to consolidate the concentrative poise. Following pranayama is pratyahara which are subconscious concentration techniques. The particular pratyahara I did for this session involved an esoteric pranayama that locks as much energy as possible in the third-eye (the sixth / ajna chakra) and mutes awareness of and sense inputs from the physical body. With this accomplished I now progress into the super-concentration state of dharana to begin the samayama. I bring into thought and visualizations the three points of samayama and evolve them successively at first and then jumping from one point to another at random. I think about scientists and their inventions, famous scientist from my memory appear; I remember my spiritual experiences of God and how I discovered the mystical realms of experiences, the great sadhus and rishis came to mind; I think about all the religions of the world, of their customs, their founders, their places of worship. All these stream continuously in thought, while in the back of my contemplation I have integration of these three points of samayama as the goal of the revelations I am seeking.

The goal of a samayama is achieved through attaining the true state of meditation–dhyana. This occurs when the samayama reaches a pinnacle in effort where all the faculties of the mind–the intellect, the emotions and visualization capability–becomes so saturated with accrued mind energy (prana) that all its (the mind's) voluntary processes becomes so overwhelmed that they quiet down. Pin drop silence occurs in the mind, the yogis awareness will feel like it is floating in a quiet space filled with energy. He might experience seeing a whitish, yellowish or purplish glow in his mind if his third eye is sensitive enough. If this condition of quietness in the mind is maintained the true state of meditation, dhyana, can occur. Dhyana appears of its own accord; the transition from dharana to dhyana is very smooth. A yogi knows he is in dhyana when he feels relief from the tense mental effort of maintaining a samayama. This natural relaxing of mental effort is one of the signposts to the yogi that he has attained dhyana. Peace descends and the yogi becomes aware that he has entered a new level of consciousness. I liken the experience of this transition from the frenetic intensity of mindfulness in dharana to the intense calm of dhyana to an airplane as it ascends over cloud cover. (Incidentally this my most favorite part of flying. If I get a window seat I wait eagerly for this moment. All of a sudden the airplane breaks free of the cloud cover; you see below the tops of the clouds shimmering in sun-glow and, above and all around, nothing but clear blue space....bliss).

The other telltale sign that confirms to the yogi that he has ascended in to the plane of dhyana is when he experiences revelations. Revelation is known in yoga as jnana. Jnana is a faculty of the superconscious mind (or the mind of the soul) that generates knowledge on a subject from Cosmic Intelligence. As revelations occur, the yogi is a passive observer enjoying its flashes of pictorial scenes, emotions and intuitive thought. It is as if the yogi is watching a television screen in his mind through which he experiences revelations. Though the details of what the revelations mean are not intellectually clear yet, these flashes of jnana come with a feeling or rightness, or a feeling like the proverb 'hit the nail on the head'. For all the intense effort it took to sustain concentration in samayama, to attain the inspiring state of dhyana and experience revelation is well worth the effort.

Thus the concentrative poise that the yogi labors to produce in a samayama eventually maintains itself of its own accord in dhyana which will reap answers to the yogis subject in question as jnana revelations. After the revelation, dhyana goes through a final stage in the evolution of yogic concentration when the yogi experiences blissful spiritual enlightenment, samadhi. Samadhi is the culmination of all successful yogic concentration effort. After samadhi the yogi's awareness gently descends back to normal consciousness from the lofty heights of superconsciousness, usually somewhat intoxicated by pleasurable spiritual feelings and with memory of the revelations that can then be extrapolated into discourses, articles or other practical applications of the knowledge.

The more adept one is in doing samayama the faster results are attained. Though during the samayama, due to the intensity of concentration the perception of time slows. A five minutes samayama can feel like 25 minutes. It took me about three minutes of doing this samayama looking for integration between spirituality, science and religion before I reached the state of dhyana.

With awareness blissfully poised in dhyana these are the packets of revelations that were the results of my samayama. The first to appear was a large multifaceted diamond like gem that was glistening and rotating slowly. The gem remained in view for a while and as it was slowly fading from the 'mind's eye' a statement, "we are already multidimensional beings" was heard. Then followed another scene where I saw a scientist and a mystic sitting back to back. The revelations concluded with a final scene of a priest worshipping atop a precarious ledge on the summit of a tall cliff. I knew this scene was the conclusion because immediately after that I was transported into a blissful samadhi. I experienced savikalpa samadhi in the ajna chakra (the third-eye). In this variety of samadhi my awareness had expanded into a vast deep bluish inner-space. I felt both the intensity of pin-pointed concentration and expanded consciousness simultaneously. This was an intense spiritual energy state bereft of emotions until the sound of a distant car broke through the samadhi and my awareness along with all that spiritual energy flowed into the body. As the energy traversed into the physical nerves they expanded into blissful feelings. When I finally opened my eyes I was feeling as if my body was floating and everything was silent inside me and outside.

What could these revelations mean? How would you equate them to the original questions posed by Akashay? For now I will leave you with this puzzle. In Part Two of The Ubiquitous Science vs. Religion Conundrum I will uncover these revelations using yet another ancient mystical method–shruti. You can then compare your reasoning with my shruti. Have fun!

Click here to read Part Two

The Perspective of Fact & The Foundation of Love

In the last blog, I explored my theory of the perspective of fact. The perspective of fact is based on accepting situations or conditions as they are. This point of acceptance provides a most effective platform in working with any situation since it is free from denial, regrets or worry. The other perspective is the conciliatory perspective. The conciliatory perspective is akin to the proverbial half-full or half-empty cup. Both these perspectives have important roles to play in life. A mystic strives to predominantly maintain the perspective of fact, and applies the conciliatory perspectives when there is a need.

Continuing in the exploration of the perspective of fact, this time we will get into how understanding the source of this perspective can be valuable to us. The perspective of fact is based on a strong foundation of love in the subconscious. This foundation of love can be provided by any source such as family, friends, creed, a cause, spiritual enlightenment, even a pet. This foundation of love creates the condition of security in oneself. The natural perspective that arises from this condition is the perspective of fact. When one views life and is able to handle its challenges from a strong base of security in oneself one feels equanimity and wholesomeness even in the face of adversity. This perspective also allows one to enjoy life holistically with a subconscious free from insecurity.

The lack of a firm foundation of love is the cause for insecurity in the mind. Without this foundation of love there is little direction or purpose in life and confusion eventually sets in. If this condition remains with no solution, confusion eventually becomes depression.

One of the signs to look out for to diagnose the onset of the condition of insecurity is a developing addiction. especially chemical addiction in the form of drugs, smoking and alcohol. The use of these substances may not necessarily be a sign of insecurity. I know people who smoke and drink alcohol purely for recreation and are not addicted to the habit. It is when the substance becomes a source of security that addiction occurs.

From the mystical point of view the most effective solution to recover from insecurity, confusion or depression is to start at the source and rebuild a foundation of love. One does not need to go through extensive psycho-analysis to find out why one is in a hole of negativity. The quickest solution is to first create a new foundation of love first. Once a new sense of security is established then one can return to the perspective of fact and unravel the morass of the past using acceptance and forgiveness. (Click here to go to the Yogic Self-Development Seminar on the power of acceptance and forgiveness)

The conciliatory perspective of the proverbial half-full cup comes in handy in recreating a new foundation of love. It starts with taking stock of the good that still exists in ones life. During this period of introspection one can uncover a passion or hobby that has remained unrealized. This passion or hobby must be something through which care and love can be expressed. Some examples of such effort include being a volunteer in a welfare organization, doing community service projects, taking care of a pet, cultivating a garden, growing food, learning to play an instrument, song, drama, dance, rekindling faith in God, joining a loving religious community.

With the heart and mind active in developing this new passion in life a new foundation of love will begin to form. As this foundation becomes strong one will begin to feel security in oneself and gradually a sense of purpose in life will appear. At this point one can regain the wholesome perspective of fact and let go of the conciliatory perspective.  From this firm footing complete recovery from previous conditions of confusion or depression is possible using techniques of acceptance and forgiveness.

This is the yogic solution for rekindling the zest and purpose back in life and coming back to the wholesome perspective of fact. I must also point out that it can be dangerous to unravel states of confusion or depression without first establishing a condition of security because, if the cause of the confusion or depression is resolved successfully one may end up seeing a deeper abyss in the mind than previously. Especially for those facing chronic depression, the depression itself may have moulded into a habit of life that without it one can feel very insecure. The yogic way is safer as it involves creating an alternate habit that will become the source of security which will act as a safety net. This method also does not substitute a chemical addiction with a different chemical addiction.

Modern psychiatry can learn from this yogic technique and even possibly free its patients from the use of anti-depressive drugs by first making an effort to develop a foundation of love in its patients. Once the sense of security is established, the source of depression and confusion can be resolved with the help of professional psycho-analysis without the need for drugs (or at least much less drugs) to deal with the backlashes of this tedious process.

In conclusion, the perspective of fact is a natural perspective of life when there is balance in ones life. This balance arises from a strong and stable foundation of love in the subconscious.

The Perspective of Fact - Video Blog

The Spiritual Perspective of Fact–It Is As It Is

How do you see half a cup of liquid – is it half empty or half full? I guess this proverbial question is a cliche. Our trained response will be half full of course. What if you don't like what is in the cup. Is it then okay to say that the cup is half empty? Or is that a no-no!

The crux of the matter is that perspective is a very powerful faculty of our mind. How we understand the world or view it in our mind determines how we act. If we like what is in the cup and decide that it is half full, then at least we can enjoy that much, though we may be craving for more. If we despise what is in the cup, at least we can console ourself that it is not a full cup of torture!

Besides these two perspectives of halves there is another perspective that is often overlooked and even underestimated. This is, that the cup is half filled... so there! It doesn't matter that it is half full or half empty. It is just plain fact that the cup is half filled and there is no need to console oneself one way or another than to accept this fact. This is a brave spiritual perspective that the mystics know as, 'It is as it is.'

Holding this perspective, especially for serious events in our life is not easy all the time (that's why there is the half perspectives). It does not allow room for blame transference or transfering responsibility to anyone but oneself. It takes stock of any kind of situation we may be in and puts us is the thick of it. If the situation is a mess, then we hand ourself the broom to clean it up. If the situation is good one, then we enjoy it to the fullest without any baggage of guilt or remorse. The challenge of this perspective is that we have to be completely honest with ourselves. Its rewards are the powerful feelings of freedom and clarity within us.

'It is as it is', is the perspective of the enlightened ones, and this is why such souls are sought after. The unreserved honesty in perspective that they hold is occasionally valuable to others who hold the consoling perspective of 'halves'. The 'half full' or the 'half empty' perspectives are mirrors of some form of inability to accept fact. In fact, these perspectives of 'halves' puts emphasis on the empty part of the proverbial cup. It assumes that we have to consider the empty part and do something with it. Instead the perspective of fact doesn't concern itself with the empty part of the cup at all and focuses entirely with the filled part and working with that.

One of the first lessons on spirituality that one learns in training with an enlightened master is to accept that whatever the contents of ones mind, especially the memories, as one's own and that they cannot be transfered to other persons to be resolved if they need resolution. I am referring to those heavy memories that cause all sorts of problems and negativity within a person (these are the memories that may be cause for us to look at the cup as half empty). The perspective of fact gives the ability to correct all wrongs by first pointing the finger at oneself. From this starting point one has the full power of the spiritual faculties of acceptance and forgiveness to put right all negatives and move forward positively. Any form of denial curtails spiritual power from utility.

The positive memories (these are the memories that may be cause for us to look at the cup as half full) are much easier to handle though they can sometimes be a hinderance in spirituality if one pines for that which one can no longer have. The perspective of fact teaches the enjoyment of the consequence of memory without craving. (To find out more about the subconscious mind, resolved and unresolved memories click here.)

I don't want to totally discredit the 'half full', 'half empty' perspectives. They are useful where there is the need for consolation. However, if we are looking to live life to the fullest, we will have to gradually develop the courage to look at life as it is in all its grandioseness, ordinariness and even its rawness and accept them wholeheartedly. From this pinnacle, we can improve what we can and adapt to what is as it is.