Don't be a sucker

Blessed are the competitive and goal-oriented, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are the rich and famous. You are the light of the world.

Blessed are the cunning and clever.

...

Seize the day

All previous civilizations have collapsed; only ruins are left of them. Our civilization will also disappear. We will not solve the climate change problem. The emissions of greenhouse gases are rising despite all warnings from scientists and solemn speeches at international conferences. We all want cheap gasoline, cheap airfares, and tons of electronic gadgets. There is no future for humankind.

So, what shall we do? Well, there is nothing we can do, I think. We will not change our ways. We will keep doing what we have always done: we will do what we can to destroy this planet with our wars, greed, and madness. We are made this way. And we will continue to spin stories about our intelligence, superiority, and the importance of positive thinking.

Those who are able to understand this should jump off their bandwagon and try to enjoy life while they can. Life is an incomprehensible mystery.

Words

C.G. Jung coined the word synchronicity, but he did not discover this phenomenon. For thousands of years, people have experienced mystical events and meetings. Some have explained them as God, Gods, or the Devil, sometimes intervening in the natural course of events. Paul Kammerer used the word seriality in the early twentieth century; in India, Yogis use the word Yoga connection.

Most scientists regard these experiences as pseudoscience or delusions. What you can't prove or disprove in laboratory experiments are meaningless to discuss, they say; such events belong to the realm of theology, metaphysics, or psychiatry. This stance is understandable; you must leave out inconsistencies to make your worldview consistent. Sweep them under the rug so they don't bother you.

However, not just scientists ignore things to make their worldview consistent and understandable; we all do. It is uncomfortable to question one's own worldview.

The inner voice

Psychopaths have no conscience. They have no inner voice telling them what they are doing is wrong, and they don't feel guilt or remorse. Narcissists have a damaged or twisted conscience. Neurotics constantly feel guilt and shame whatever they do or don't do. Healthy people beat themselves up when they have done something wrong. The idea that one must ignore or silence the inner voice with meditation or self-hypnosis in order to wake up is unhelpful advice.

Another aspect of the inner voice is that it produces lots of small talk, commentaries, and explanations, even silly little songs and poems. This mind chatter should not be ignored either, I think. How can you listen to someone else if you can't even listen to yourself?

You have two eyes. They scan these letters and convert them into electrical nerve impulses, which make their way into your brain like a failed New Year's fireworks in pouring rain. (Maybe it's not you who has a brain; perhaps it's a brain that has you.)

Reading is a mystical rite, but you don't experience it as such. You're so used to reading. Think a little. In some incomprehensible way, these letters are converted into an inner voice you can clearly hear inside your skull. Isn't this amazing?

If you listen closely, you can hear that this voice has a dialect and a tone that you recognize. Yes, this is your voice, but it has now been temporarily taken over by me.

Synchronicity, chance with a meaning

Sometimes, you bump into someone and think: How the hell did this happen? I was thinking of her just a minute ago. I haven't seen her for over thirty years, and now she's suddenly here. Jung called this phenomenon synchronicity.

Sometimes, you bump into someone you have never met before and realize that this meeting is not just about meeting someone. It is something much more important. You can feel it. You know it. You may think that this must be your soul mate. Maybe it is. Or, maybe it is not.

Maybe you are supposed to marry this person, maybe you aren't. Perhaps you are soul mates, but you are not supposed to get married. Still, you are connected in some mysterious way. What is all this about?

Sometimes, you bump into someone you don't want to meet and have tried hard to avoid. And now you meet him here, of all places. What's going on? This is ridiculous.

You can also have a synchronistic meeting with a dangerous person, a psychopath, or a narcissist, and you get played. Later, you may wonder what that meeting was about. Was it arranged in some mysterious way to make you learn something about yourself? Or was it a punishment?

However, primarily, a chance meeting is just a regular chance meeting.

Why do meaningful chance meetings, or synchronicities, come about? You can never know for sure.

Apophenia is the tendency to perceive meaningful connections between unrelated things. The term was coined by psychiatrist Klaus Conrad in his 1958 publication on the beginning stages of schizophrenia. He defined it as "unmotivated seeing of connections accompanied by a specific feeling of abnormal meaningfulness." Wikipedia

According to the invisible ships myth, when European explorers' ships approached either North America, South America, or Australia, the appearance of their large ships was so foreign to the native people that they could not even see the vessels in front of them. Wikipedia

Some people can see things that don't exist; others can't see things that do.

Questions

Did you choose your path, or did you end up on it? Are you all alone on your journey, or do you have company? Have you ever befriended someone else along the way who later decided to leave you? Have you ever considered turning around and going back? Have you ever abandoned a travel companion? Do you trust your gut feelings? Do you trust someone else's gut feelings? Do you follow advice from a spiritual teacher or a life coach?

Are you a stranger to yourself? Are you an enemy of yourself? Are you sick and tired of yourself? Are you pleased with yourself? 

Why did the biological evolution come about? Why did the first prokaryotic cell evolve? What kind of force is driving the evolution?

Why is there something rather than nothing? Is the universe really a massive explosion? What was exploding, do you think? Nothing?

How can you be so damn sure that you picked the right way? Or the wrong way? Or that I picked the wrong way? Did you choose the way, or was it selected for you?

What do you expect to find at the end of your journey?

Dishonesty

It is not just politicians who lie; all people lie, and everyone pretends honesty is essential. Even priests and policemen lie. We hear about this almost daily. You know that people lie. This is not big news. Therefore, you shouldn't trust yourself either.

So, if all people lie to themselves and others, this must mean that lying is a natural human trait. But why are you then ashamed when you lie? And why do you get upset when other people are lying to you? What if the birds were sorry they could fly?

Robert Trivers thinks that self-deception has an evolutionary origin. He says that if you can convince yourself that you are better than you are, you can more easily deceive others. Your scam becomes more challenging to expose if you believe it yourself.

Here's another hypothesis I've come up with: Reality is too unpleasant to live in. It's like a winter's day in a biting wind and snow slush. You have to find some kind of mental escape.

It's nice to share a bottle of wine or two with a friend, but drinking a bottle or two every day can turn you into a drunkard. You can't always be sincere, but lying too much and too often can also turn you into an unpleasant jerk.