The Grand Design

... common sense is based upon everyday experience, not upon the universe as it is revealed through the marvels of technologies such as those that allow us to gaze deep into the atom or back to the early universe. 

In the history of science, we have discovered a sequence of better and better theories and models, from Plato to the classical theory of Newton to modern quantum theories. It is natural to ask: Will this sequence eventually reach an end point, an ultimate theory of the universe… or will we continue forever finding better theories…? We do not yet have a definitive answer to this question, but we now have a candidate for the ultimate theory of everything… called M-theory.

M-theory is not a theory in the usual sense. It is a whole family of different theories, each of which is a good description of observations only in some range of physical observations. 

The different theories in the M-theory family may look very different, but they can all be regarded as aspects the same underlying theory. They are versions of the theory that are applicable only in limited ranges. 

The quantum model of nature encompasses principles that contradict not only our everyday experience but our intuitive concept of reality. Those who find those principles weird or difficult to believe are in good company, the company of great physicists such as Einstein and Feynman… In fact, Feynman once wrote, “I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.”

Regarding the laws that govern the universe, what we can say is this: There seems to be no single model or theory that can describe every aspect of the universe. 

From "The Grand Design" by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow


Physicists can‘t accept the idea that there is also a spiritual dimension, so they leave out this aspect from their theory constructions. They ignore this piece of the puzzle. I think that this is a shortcoming. There is a spiritual dimension and this dimension has nothing to do with religion.

The best evidence I know of, that a spiritual dimension actually exist, that it is not just a fantasy, is the strange phenomenon called synchronicity.

I think I can safely say that nobody understands life.

See “On meaningful coincidences” August 3 2008 in this blogg.

New wine into old wineskins

Most Christians are not Christians really.
They don’t forgive their enemies,
they store up for themselves treasures on earth
and they blow trumpets when they give alms.

Likewise, most spiritually awakened people are not awakened.
They’re still sleeping,
They’ve simply created new dream worlds,
with recycled Hindu beliefs,
obsolete metaphysical speculations and ancient superstitions.

                                   ***

Does this kind of thinking make you feel good?
Isn’t it better to construct positive thoughts?
Smart thoughts are useless, as I see it,
if they make me feel that people are mad and that life sucks.
It’s not important if thoughts are true or not
as long as they are not harmful to other people.
Self-deceptions can be much more helpful than truths.
They can make us encouraged instead of miserable.

                                   ***

Well, maybe self-deceptions can be helpful in certain situations
and in certain periods of life,
however, they are not always helpful.
They are like potent drugs with dangerous side effects, as I see it.
Sometimes we have to resort to convenient explanations,
sometimes we have to question our explanations.

(You can fool yourself completely, at times,
and parts of yourself till you die,
but you can’t fool all parts of yourself, all of the time.)

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_said_'You_can_fool_all_the_people_some_of_the_time_and_some_of_the_people_all_the_time_but_you_cannot_fool_all_the_people_all_the_time'

Identity

You’re a Catholic or an atheist,
a leftist or a rightist
black or white,
upper class or outcast…

You have an identity.
You are someone.
You belong to a group,
a gang, a community.

You’re a Zulu, a gypsy or a Croatian,
a Sunni or a Shia Muslim, a Brahmin,
an intellectual snob or a spiritualist.

It’s obviously very important to have an identity.
However, you forget your identity during large parts of the day.
You forget who you are because you’re engrossed in work,
a sunset, playing with kids or whatever.
Identity and no-identity are two aspects of life.

The great unknown

The world you know of,
the everyday world,
the world you can grasp,
is just a tiny, tiny part of the universe.

Outside your little world is the great unknown.
What is it like out there?
You have no idea.
You can only speculate and fantasize,
parallel realities, other dimensions, ancient kingdoms…
or just darkness.

The conscious self is just a tiny, tiny part of your mind.
The world you know of, the world here and now, under your nose,
is like a small, small boat out on the Atlantic ocean, at night.
A hurricane lamp dispels demons and bad spirits.
Beneath the surface, tons of mysterious sea creatures,
whales, octopuses, eel…
above, the sky filled with stars.
The world self is enormous.

When I die, I believe, I will disappear.
I will not end up anywhere and I will not come back.
However, the world self will always be there.

Spiritual compartmentalization

Spiritual teachers rarely work.
They are monks or earn their living by talking about spirituality.
This is why working people often find it difficult to understand them.
We simply can’t relate to their life experiences.

Spiritual teachers and monks live in a world of their own,
secluded and cared for.
This is OK.
However, you will get confused
if you try to apply their wisdom in your daily life.
Their wisdom is not meant for you.
It is meant for other monks or for those who don’t have to work
to earn a living.

For example,
they often overemphasize the importance of the now.
For a working person is the now not all there is.
Of course it’s important to be able to be present.
It’s important to not get lost completely in dream worlds.
It goes without saying.
However, the present now is not all there is.
Working people have to accomplish something and they have to be finished in time.
They have to get past many obstacles.
The idea that “Only the now is real.” is a typical monk idea.

Rich folks eyes

If you’re a rich man, you will see the world through a rich man’s eyes.
Your religion is adapted to a rich man’s needs,
your political opinions, your values and your preferences
are of course also adapted to your life situation.

If you read spiritual, self help books
you will prefer books that confirm your preconceived notions.
This is natural.
We all want to have our preconceived notions confirmed.

If you read the Bible, you probably like the line
“To those who have, more shall be given“.

The line, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
will probably not make much sense to you.
You will have to find an interpretation that works for you.

You play the rich folks games; say what rich folks say,
do what rich folks do.
You probably donate money for charity.

If you, on the other hand,
is a social climber, on your way up,
you are probably also playing the rich folks games.
Well, your climbing wouldn’t be very successful if you didn’t.

Therefore, if you write spiritual self help books,
you have to leave out all the horrendous economic injustices,
exploitation of poor people in Asian sweatshops
and how we are ruining this planet because of limitless greed.
You will have to go on and on about how to find the innermost self,
mindfulness, the power of positive thinking and stuff like that,
non-combustible material.

Spiritual teachers are playing the rich folks games
and cherish Status Quo,
like priests and religious leaders always have,
in order to make a living.

What if I'm living in a spiritual bubble.

Spiritual bubbles are made of thoughts.
Political opinions, ideas, fantasies and values
are also made of thoughts.
All people live in bubbles made of thoughts.
Some people live in filthy bubbles
others live in sweet little dollhouse bubbles.
Some live in teenage bubbles all their lives.
Their spirituality, religion and political views
are formed in these neurotic bubbles.
All the idiotic wars, all bullshit, all bigotry, have its sources here,
not in the DNA.
Your bubble is perhaps somewhat different from mine, yes,
but is this an important fact?
What do you say,
can these dream bubbles suddenly burst?
Is this an unpleasant experience?
What do you think?
Or, maybe we will have to live in our silly dream bubbles till the day we die.
Maybe it's impossible to see clearly?