Thursday, August 30, 2012

Difference between Knowledge and Wisdom

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit!
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad!

Wisdom and Courage

Wisdom is letting go when you want to hold on.
Courage is holding on when you want to let go.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Pursuing peace...

Pursuing peace means rising above one's own wants, needs, and emotions.

(Benazir Bhutto)

Samsara Movie

Deepest Insight and Wisdom conveyed in most fascinating pictures without words. The movie "Samsara" is a must see.

Samsara Movie Trailer

Thursday, August 23, 2012

What would love do...?

When in doubt, ask: 'What would love do here' Then do it!

(Gini Gentry)

Intelligence is ability to adapt to change

Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.

(Stephen Hawking)

Refuse to be afraid

There would be nothing to frighten you if you refused to be afraid.

(Mahatma Gandhi)

Intuition tells thinking mind where to look

Intuition will tell the thinking mind where to look next.

(Jonas Salk)

Peace of mind beyond yourself

When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there.

(George Harrison)

Better to remain silent

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth & remove all doubt.

(Abraham Lincoln)

Science and Wisdom

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

(Immanual Kant)

Monday, August 20, 2012

What time is it?!

When looking at the various real-time estimations provided by Worldometers, you're tempted to to thing: Is it already too late? How much time is left for us to do something?

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Make the most of yourself

The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.

(Wallace D. Wattles)

Truely commit to make it happen

As soon as you truly commit to making something happen, the how will reveal itself.

(Tony Robbins)

When miracles start to happen

Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears.

(Richard Wilkins)

Walk on holy ground

To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground.

(Stephen R Covey)

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

(Buddha)

Life is now

Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be.

(Eckhart Tolle)

Forgiveness enlarges the future

Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.

(Paul Boese)

No act of kindness is ever wasted

No act of kindness, no matter how small is ever wasted.

(Aesop)

To be young, really young, takes a very long time.

To be young, really young, takes a very long time.

(Pablo Picasso)

What we enjoy constitutes our abundance

Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.

(Epicurus)

Make the now and future better

The only reason to pay any attention to history is to make the now and the future better.

(Alan Cohen)

Opening one's heart

Opening one's heart can be accomplished either surgically or spiritually.

(Unknown)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

The invariable mark of wisdom

The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Everyone thinks of changing the world,...

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

(Leo Tolstoy)

Experience - the toughest teacher

Experience is the toughest teacher because she gives the test first, and then the lesson.

(Unknown)

The real and lasting victories...

The real and lasting victories are those of peace, and not of war.

(Buddha)

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Unterschied zwischen Früher und Heute

Ein alter Mann, nach dem Unterschied zwischen Früher und Heute befragt, hat geantwortet:
"Früher, da waren noch alle Glieder gelenkig - bis auf eines.
Heute, da sind alle Glieder steif - bis auf eines."

Monday, August 13, 2012

Revolutionen und Paradigmenwechsel

In der Vergangenheit gab es bereits eine Reihe von geistigen, technischen und wissenschaftlichen Revolutionen und Paradigmenwechseln, die jeweils wesentlich zur Entwicklung der Menschheit beigetragen haben.


Vor ca. 1,5 Millionen Jahren erfand der Homo Ergaster (ein Vorfahre des heutigen Homo Sapiens) durch die erlernte "Beherrschung des Feuers" das "Grillen". Das Braten des Fleisches entspricht einer Art Vorverdauung, sodass durch geringeren Aufwand für Kauen und Verdauen des ursprünglich rohen Fleisches eine ca. 16-fach höhere Energieausbeute erreicht werden konnte.

Die "Neolithische Revolution" ca. 15.000 v. Chr. markiert den Übergang vom Jäger- und Sammlertum zu Ackerbau und Viehzucht.


Die „Kopernikanische Revolution" ersetzte anfang der Neuzeit das Geozentrische Weltbild des Ptolemäus durch das von Nicolaus Copernicus 1543 in seinem Hauptwerk "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" (Über die Umschwünge der himmlischen Kreise) beschriebene Heliozentrische Weltbild, gemäß dem sich die Erde um die eigene Achse dreht und zudem wie die anderen Planeten um die Sonne bewegt.
Inzwischen gilt als gesichert, dass Kopernikus durch die heliozentrische Theorie des antiken Astronomen Aristarchos von Samos entscheidend angeregt wurde. Das von Kopernikus vertretene heliozentrische Weltbild wurde dann von Johannes Kepler verfestigt, indem er berechnete, dass die Planeten in elliptischen Bahnen um die Sonne ziehen.


Die "Landwirtschaftliche Revolution" (Agrarrevolution) bezeichnet die Modernisierung der agrarwirtschaftlichen Verhältnisse und die damit verbundenen Produktivitätssteigerungen.
Zurückzuführen war diese Entwicklung auf den vorangegangenen Strukturwandel in der britischen und niederländischen Landwirtschaft. Um 1660 fanden sich die großen landwirtschaftlich nutzbaren Flächen in den Händen einiger weniger Großgrundbesitzer, welche ihre Besitztümer im großen Stil an sogenannte „Farmer“ verpachteten.
Die Farmer widerum waren aufgrund ihrer Abhängigkeit zunehmend gezwungen und zugleich bestrebt, nach aller Möglichkeit ertragreich, effektiv und produktiv zu wirtschaften. Daher waren sie auch an technischen Neuerungen interessiert, woraus eine tatsächliche Erhöhung der landwirtschaftlichen Produktivität resultierte.
Diese Leistungssteigerungen wurden mitunter auch durch das Aufstreben der Landwirtschaft zu einer neuen wissenschaftlichen Disziplin begünstigt. Eine ähnliche Entwicklung setzte etwas später auf dem Europäischen Kontinent ein.
Durch das daraus resultierende Freiwerden von Arbeitskräften auf dem Land, die verarmten (Pauperismus) und in die Städte umzogen und damit den Urbanisierungsprozess einleiteten, bildete die landwirtschaftliche Revolution des 19. Jahrhunderts gleichzeitig auch Grundlage, Voraussetzung und fördernden Faktor für den nachfolgenden Industrialisierungsprozess.


Die "Darwinsche Revolution" stellte einen entscheidenden Wendepunkt in der Geschichte der modernen Biologie dar, da sie eine streng naturwissenschaftliche Erklärung für die Diversität des Lebens bot und somit der Mensch seine Sonderstellung in der Natur verlor. Charles Robert Darwin leistete mit seinem 1859 erschienen Hauptwerk "On the Origin of Species" (Über die Entstehung der Arten) einen entscheidenden Beitrag zur Evolutionstheorie.


Die "Industrielle Revolution" (Industrialisierung) führte zur tiefgreifenden und dauerhaften Umgestaltung der wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Verhältnisse, der Arbeitsbedingungen und Lebensumstände. Sie begann in der zweiten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts und verstärkte sich im 19. Jahrhundert, zunächst in England, dann in ganz Westeuropa und den USA. Seit dem späten 19. Jahrhundert hat die Industrialisierung auch in Japan und weiteren Teilen Europas und Asiens zum Übergang von der Agrar- zur Industriegesellschaft geführt.

Es kam zu einer stark beschleunigten Entwicklung von Technik, Produktivität und Wissenschaften, die von einer starken Bevölkerungszunahme begleitet wurden.

Der technische Kerngehalt der Industriellen Revolution lässt sich im wesentlichen in drei Prozessen zusammen:
1. die Mechanisierung von Handarbeit durch Maschinen (erste Beispiele waren Spinnmaschinen und mechanische Webstühle)
2. die mechanische Energieerzeugung und Energieumwandlung (vor allem durch die Dampfmaschine zur Erzeugung von Antriebskraft)
3. die massenhafte Verwendung der mineralischen Grundstoffe Kohle und Eisen

Als Folge mechanisierter und gewerblicher Produktion stieg die Nachfrage nach Brennstoffen und mit dem Aufschwung des Handels nahm auch der Transport- und Verkehrsbedarf zu. Kanäle und Schienenwege wurden daher ebenso zu Kennzeichen der frühindustriellen Entwicklung wie Lokomotiven und Schiffe mit Dampfmaschinenantrieb.

Die strukturell bedingte, längerfristige Armut weiter Teile der Bevölkerung (Pauperismus) verlagerte sich zum Teil vom Lande in die Städte, ohne dass hier hinreichende Wohnunterkünfte vorhanden waren. In den entstehenden Fabriken, für die Arbeitskräfte gebraucht wurden, konzentrierte sich ein Lohnarbeiterproletariat.
So standen sich schließlich die beiden beteiligten Gesellschaftklassen der kapitalistischen Unternehmer und der lohnabhängigen Proletarier gegenüber. Daraus ergab sich die Soziale Frage als ein gesellschaftspolitisches Kernproblem, verbunden mit wiederkehrenden Arbeiterunruhen und Bemühungen von Sozialreformern, die akute Not zu lindern und deren Ursachen zu bekämpfen.


Die "Zweite industrielle Revolution" bezeichnet eine zweite Phase der Industrialisierung mit dem Aufstieg der chemischen Industrie und der Elektrotechnik und dem Übergang zur Massenproduktion sowie zu neuen industriellen Organisationsformen (Fordismus, Taylorismus) insbesondere seit den 1920er Jahren.


Die "Digitale Revolution" (elektronische Revolution) ab etwa 1980 bezeichnet den durch Digitalisierung und Computer (Mikrochip) ausgelösten Umbruch, der einen Wandel sowohl der Technik als auch (fast) aller Lebensbereiche bewirkt hat. Etwa im Jahr 2002 war es das erste Mal möglich, mehr Informationen digital als im Analogformat zu speichern, was deshalb als der Beginn des „Digitalen Zeitalters“ gesehen werden kann. Die Digitalisierung von Informations- und Kommunikationsprozessen hat zu einer Informationsexplosion geführt. Während durch die industrielle Revolution die Muskelkraft durch die Dampfmaschine ersetzt wurde, wird durch die digitale Revolution die Denkleistung des Menschen (IQ) durch die Künstliche Intelligenz einer Maschine ersetzt.


Nachdem es bereits eine Reihe von Revolutionen und Paradigmenwechsel in der Vergangenheit gegeben hat, welche die Welt nachhaltig verändert haben, scheint es praktisch außer Frage zu stehen, dass eine nächste Revolution kommen wird. Vielleicht handelt es sich dabei dann um eine "Spirituelle Revolution".

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Contempory Science is based on materialism

Contemporary science is based on the philosophy of materialism, which claims that all reality is material or physical. There is no reality but material reality. Consciousness is a by-product of the physical activity of the brain. Matter is unconscious. Evolution is purposeless. God exists only as an idea in human minds, and hence in human heads.

These beliefs are powerful not because most scientists think about them critically, but because they don’t. The facts of science are real enough, and so are the techniques that scientists use, and so are the technologies based on them. But the belief system that governs conventional scientific thinking is an act of faith, grounded in a nineteenth century ideology.

Here are the ten core beliefs that most scientists take for granted:

1. Everything is essentially mechanical. Dogs, for example, are complex mechanisms, rather than living organisms with goals of their own. Even people are machines, “lumbering robots”, in Richard Dawkins’ vivid phrase, with brains that are like genetically programmed computers.

2. All matter is unconscious. It has no inner life or subjectivity or point of view. Even human consciousness is an illusion produced by the material activities of brains.

3. The total amount of matter and energy is always the same (with the exception of the Big Bang, when all the matter and energy of the universe suddenly appeared).

4. The laws of nature are fixed. They are the same today as they were at the beginning, and they will stay the same forever.

5. Nature is purposeless, and evolution has no goal or direction.

6. All biological inheritance is material, carried in the genetic material, DNA, and in other material structures.

7. Minds are inside heads and are nothing but the activities of brains. When you look at a tree, the image of the tree you are seeing is not “out there”, where it seems to be, but inside your brain.

8. Memories are stored as material traces in brains and are wiped out at death.

9. Unexplained phenomena like telepathy are illusory.

10. Mechanistic medicine is the only kind that really works.

Together, these beliefs make up the philosophy or ideology of materialism, whose central assumption is that everything is essentially material or physical, even minds. This belief-system became dominant within science in the late nineteenth century, and is now taken for granted. Many scientists are unaware that materialism is an assumption; they simply think of it as science, or the scientific view of reality, or the scientific worldview. They are not actually taught about it, or given a chance to discuss it. They absorb it by a kind of intellectual osmosis.
In everyday usage, materialism refers to a way of life devoted entirely to material interests, a preoccupation with wealth, possessions and luxury. These attitudes are no doubt encouraged by the materialist philosophy, which denies the existence of any spiritual realities or non-material goals, but here I am concerned with materialism’s scientific claims, rather than its effects on lifestyles.

(see also blog written by Rupert Sheldrake)

A garden and a library

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

(Cicero)

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.

(Albert Einstein)

The quality of a leader...

The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves

(Ray Kroc)

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Gehirnfrequenzen

Durch Messungen der Gehirnströme eines Menschen mittels eines Elektro-Enzephalographen kann man feststellen, daß das Gehirn elektromagnetische Wellen produziert, die im Bereich zwischen 1 und 40 Hertz liegen.

Man unterteilt dieses Spektrum in der Medizin in insgesamt vier Bereiche, die mit unterschiedlichen Bewußtseinszuständen einhergehen:
  1. Delta-Wellen (1-3 Hertz) sind charakteristisch für traumlosen Tiefschlaf und komatöse Zustände.
  2. Theta-Wellen (4-7 Hertz) sind charakteristisch für den Traumschlaf. 
  3. Alpha-Wellen (8-12 Hertz) treten im entspannten Wachzustand auf, etwa in einer Meditation oder kurz vor dem Einschlafen bzw. unmittelbar nach dem Erwachen. 
  4. Beta-Wellen (13-40 Hertz) herrschen im normalen Wachzustand vor.

(siehe auch Fosar / Bludorf - Der Übergang ins Frequenz-Zeitalter)

Religion or Tribalism

Organised religion can be regarded as an expression of tribalism.

The power of organised religions is based upon their contribution to social order and personal security, not on their contribution to the search for truth. The goal of religions is submission to the will and common good of the tribe.

Historians and other scholars with an evolutionary perspective have discovered the steps that led to the hierachical and dogmatic structures of modern religions:
  • People began to reflect on their own mortality in late Paleolithic times. Where do all these dead people go? The answer was obvious to them: The departed still lived and regularly rejoined the living in dreams. It was in the spirit world of dreams - and most vividly in drug-hallucinations - that their deceased relatives dwelled, along with allies, enemies, gods, angels, demons and monsters.
  • Shamans appeared and started to interpret these visions. They claimed that the apparitions (=Erscheinungen) controlled the fate of the tribe, whereby the supernatural beings were assumed to have the same emotions, reasonings and motives (e.g. being loving, jealous, angry and vengeful) as living people.
  • With the Neolithic revolution (and particularly during the emergence of states) alliances were made for trade and war, and as different different tribes fought for religious supremacy, the gods were sometimes shared.
  • As social complexity grew, so did the responsibility of the gods for maintaining social stability. The priestly human surrogates (=Stellvertreter) achieved this by top-down political control.
  • Whilst during the early Israelite formation (which was to become the powerful Abrahamic religions) there were still multiple gods, the single god Yahweh gained absolute power in time.

Religious believers today, as in acient times, are not much interested in theology, and not at all in the evolutionary steps that led to the present-day world religions. They are concerned instead with religious faith and the benefits it provides.

The creation myths - which form the core of traditional organised religions - explain all the religious believers need to know of deep history in order to maintain tribal unity. When faced by threat and competition from outside groups, their personal faith promises stability and peace. Religious faith offers the psychological security that comes from belonging to a group, and in particular a group which is blessed by the divine.

These benefits require a submission - but is this an obeisance (=Verbeugung / Ehrerbietung) to God or perhaps an obeisance to no more than a tribe united by a creation myth?

Religious faith can be regarded as an unseen trap which was unavoidable during the evolutionary biological history of our human species. Humankind deserves better ways to find spiritual fulfillment without surrender (=Unterwerfung) and enslavement (=Hörigkeit).


(Inspiration and extracts taken from Edward O. Wilson, The Social Conquest of Earth)

Difference between religion and science

Was Man made in the image of God, or was God made in the image of Man?
This is the heart of the difference between religion and science-based secularism.

(Edward O. Wilson)

Art is the lie that helps us see the truth

Art is the lie that helps us see the truth.

(Pablo Picasso)

Re-uniting Humanities and Natural Sciences

Since the fading of the original Enlightenment during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, stubborn impasse has existed in the consilience of the humanities and natural sciences.

(Edward O. Wilson)

Human social behavior

Human social behavior arose genetically by multilevel evolution. We experience a continuing conflict between components of behavior favored by individual selection and those favored by group selection.
  • Individual selection tends to create competitiveness and selfishness among group members.
  • Group-level selection tends to create selfless behavior like generosity and altruism within groups, which promotes stronger bondage and strenght of the group as a whole.
An inevitable result of the multi-level selection (individual selection and group selection happening in parallel) is permanent ambiguity in the individual human mind.

It is this very struggle in each person's brain, biologically resulting from evolutionary multi-level selection processes, that is the origin of the humanities.

Where do you want to live?

Given the free choice where to live, people across cultures tend prefer the combination of 3 aspects:
  • To be on a height looking down.
  • To be in a savanna-like area with scattered trees and woods.
  • To be close to water (e.g. ocean, lake, river)
This preference is based on old instincts, as all mobile animal species are looking to live in areas which provides them with the biggest chance for survival and reproduction. We therefore want to be in a parkland looking out safely over a distance toward reliable sources of food and water.

Human senses are limited

Human senses are very limited.
  • Our vision is limited to a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum. We don't "see" the higher end of the frequency scale (e.g. gamma radiation), nor do we sense ultra-low electromagnetic frequencies.
  • We only hear a few sound frequencies. We don't hear ultrasound like bats, nor the low grumbling frequencies used by elephants to communicate.
  • Our sense of taste and smell is particularly small, whilst over 99% of all living species rely on chemical senses to find their way through the environment. They are also capable of communicating with one another with special chemicals call pheromones.
And there are a number of senses which are entirely lacking in humans:
  • Electric pulses, as used by some tropical fish to orient and communicate in murky water.
  • The magnetic field of the earth, which is used by some birds for orientation.
  • The polarisation of sunlight, as used by honeybees to navigate.
Humans (...as well as monkeys, apes and birds...) are among the rare life forms that are primarily audiovisual.  Only through science and technology we are able to transform the immense sensory spectrum of our biosphere into the the small world of our own natural senses.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Höhlengleichnis von Platon

Wir sind Gefangene, die angekettet in einer Höhle sitzen, mit dem Gesicht auf eine leere Wand gerichtet.
Draussen vor der Höhle brennt ein Feuer, vor dem Leute vorbeigehen, ohne dass wir sie direkt sehen.
Wir sehen nur ihre Schatten an der Wand, und verstehen dieses Bild als Realität, weil wir uns nicht umdrehen können und die wahre Quelle der Schatten erkennen können.

(Höhlengleichnis, Platon, griechischer Philosoph)

The secret of healing

The secret of healing – meditations for transformation and higher consciousness.

There’s only one secret to healing and it is enlightenment.
Enlightenment means going beyond your ego-encapsulated identity and realizing that you are the universe, manifesting through a human nervous system and becoming self-aware.
When you feel unbounded and free your will heal yourself.

The word healing is related to the word wholly. Healing is the return of the memory of wholeness. When you’re whole, you’re wholly and you’re healed. When you’re whole you also lose the fear of death, because you recognize that death is a creative opportunity to re-create yourself. So the secret to healing is actually the secret to enlightenment.

The wisdom traditions say that the best way to reach enlightenment is through yoga, the yoga of meditation.

According to the great wisdom tradition of Vedanta, when you read Mahavakys's big ideas, cosmic ideas over and over again, at first you may not understand some of these ideas, but as you read them, they cause a shift in your consciousness and everything changes.

These sutras activate self-repair mechanisms because they’re revealing to us our true identity. Self-recognition and self-repair is healing.

Very spontaneously the way you think changes; your emotions and feelings move to a higher level; there is greater power of intention. Everything that you intend becomes much more powerful. There is more freedom of choice, more creativity. You also find yourselves experiencing loving kindness, compassion, joy, equanimity or peace of mind. All this happens very spontaneously because we’re getting in touch with that part of ourselves that is inseparable from all that exists.

Put your attention in your body. Be aware of your heart or put your attention anywhere in the body where you need healing.

What you’re doing is seeding your consciousness with words that come from the universal domain. And even though you may not understand these words in the beginning, they will be like seeds in your own inner being. And when seeds are left alone in that inner being, they wait for the right season and they blossom into manifestation. In every one of these words there is the promise of thousands of forests.

So just take it easy, put your awareness inside and read the following sutras:

Sutra 1:
I’m space. I’m the sun. I’m the directions, above and below. I’m the gods. I’m the demons. I’m all beings. I’m darkness. I’m the earth. I’m the ocean. I’m the dust, the wind, the fire and all this world. I’m omnipresent.
How can there be anything but me, the spirit?
You will rise beyond joy and sorrow.
The world exists in me, the self, the infinite consciousness.
Even as a reflection seems to exist in the mirror.
I am the fragrance in flowers, the light in radiance, and even in that light I’m the experience.
Whatever mobile or immobile beings exist in this universe, I’m their supreme truth, or consciousness, free from conceptionalisation.
I’m the very essence in all things in the universe.
Just as butter exists in milk and liquidity exists in water, even so as the energy of consciousness I exist in all that exists.
When we are established in Being, the mind, body and the senses are playthings.
Purity, total fulfillment of all desires, the absence of cravings, friendliness to all, truthfulness, wisdom, tranquility and blissfulness, sweetness of speech, supreme magnanimity, lustrousness, one-pointedness, realization of cosmic events, fearlessness, absence of divided consciousness – these are the constant experiences of one who has established in Being.


Sutra 2:
He sees the truth who sees that there is no division at all between the self and the other and that the one infinite light of consciousness exists as the sole reality. Whatever is in the mind is like a city in the clouds. The emergence of this world is no more than thoughts manifesting themselves.
Be firmly rooted in the non-existence of your ego-self.It came into being through ignorance and delusion. When we lose this false identity, we will realize our essence as the supreme Being or infinite consciousness, and we will be freed from all conditioning and all limitations.
The universe is but a long dream. The ego-sense and also the fancy that there are others are as real as dream objects. The sole reality is the infinite consciousness which is omnipresent, pure, tranquil, omnipotent.
He sees the truth who sees that the non-dual consciousness which dwells in all beings is omnipotent and omnipresent.
When bondage is non-existent, surely liberation is false too.
All these worlds are no more than manifestations of consciousness.
In the infinite consciousness we have created each other in our fancy.
We create worlds as the natural expression of our own being.
Hallucinations become reality when experienced by many.
Even as a statement made by very many people is accepted as truth.
When these are incorporated into our own lives, they acquire their own reality.
After all, what is the truth concerning the things of this world, except how they are experienced in our own consciousness.
Enlightened beings, although they are constantly engaged in activity, do nothing.
The enlightened beings inner state is: “Even though I’m constantly engaged in activity, I do nothing.”
All happens. Living happens. There is nothing to cling to or grasp, nothing to renounce or run away from.


Sutra 3:
What is the duration of a life span in eternity. This life span of ours is but a trivial moment. Eternity stretches before and after it.
Existence is the infinite unbounded consciousness. A life span is just a single thought in that consciousness.
That which is known as a person is nothing other than the self-experiencing of the infinite.
In truth, it is the magnificent and infinite ocean of consciousness in which numerous universes appear and disappear like ripples and waves.
Just as the silk-worm spins its cocoon and its cottoning, so do humans weave the web of their own concepts and are cotton them.
When we turn away from the notions of “I and the world” we are liberated.
The notion of “I am this” is the sole bondage here.
If the mind is elsewhere, the taste of food that is been eaten is not really experienced. If the mind is elsewhere, we do not see what is right in front of us.
The suns are born of the mind, but not the other way around.
When the mind ceases its agitation all the good and noble qualities blossom. There is peace and purity of heart. We do not fall into doubt or error. There’s friendship which promotes the happiness of all. Worries and anxieties dry up.
When the darkness of ignorance is dispelled, the inner light shines brightly. Mental distractions and distress cease.
Just as the ocean becomes calm when the wind ceases to agitate its surface, infinite consciousness alone shines.
Just as space is unaffected and untouched by the clouds that float in it, this infinite consciousness is unaffected and untouched by the universe that appears in it.
Just as light is not seen except through the refracting agent, even so the infinite consciousness is revealed through these various bodies.
It is essentially nameless and formless, but names and forms are associated to its reflection.
When many candles are kindled from one another, it is the same flame that burns in all candles.
Even so the one Brahman appears to be many.
When one contemplates the unreality of this diversity, she is freed from sorrow.

Sutra 4:
The self does not go, nor does it come.
For space and time derive their meaning from consciousness alone.
Where can the self go, when all that is, is within it.
If a pt is taken from one place to another, the space within it does not move from one space to another, for everything is forever in space.
If the mind is fully saturated with something, whatever happens to the body does not affect the mind.
The mind is even unaffected by the good and bad intentions of another, even as the firmly established mountain is not moved by the horns of a little beast.
The body does not create the mind, but the mind creates the body.
The mind also is the seed for the body.
When the tree dies, the seed does not, but when the seed perishes, the tree dies with it.
If the body perishes, the mind can create other bodies for itself.
When we are bound by the ego-sense “me” and by the conditioning of the mind, even if we are regarded as a great person or a person of great learning, we can be defeated even by a child.
The unreal has no existence and the real does not cease to exist.
When the infinite vibrates, the worlds appear to emerge.
When it does not vibrate, the worlds appear to submerge.
Even as when a torch is spun fast, a finely circle appears and when it is held steady, the circle vanishes.
Vibrating or not vibrating is the same everywhere at all times.
Not realizing it, we are subject to delusion.
When it is realized, all cravings and anxieties vanish.
In everyone’s consciousness there is a different idea of the world.
Death and other such experiences are like cosmic dissolution, the night of cosmic consciousness.
When that comes to an end, we wake up to our own mental creation, which is the manifestation of our ideas, notions and delusions.
Even as the cosmic beings creates the universe after comic dissolution, we create our own world after death.

Sutra 5:
When the intelligence is established in the conviction of its eternal nature, the physical body is forgotten.
Even as in youth one forgets life as a fetus.
In truth, the cosmic mind, the personal mind and the infinite space are all of one substance, pervaded by the infinite consciousness.
Therefore, regardless of what you have created, you can create as many worlds as you like.
Individualized consciousness appears as the subtle or ethereal body.
And when it becomes gross, that itself appears to be the physical or material body.
That individualized consciousness itself is known as the soul, where the potentialities are in an extremely subtle state.
And when this juggling of the soul ceases, that itself is the divine or supreme Being.
The one infinite consciousness alone shines in all names and forms.
The individualized consciousness perceives what it thinks it perceives on account of its conditioning.
On account of ignorance, when the notion of an ego-self arises, at that very moment the delusion of a beginning, a middle and an end also arises.
Millions of universes appear in the infinite consciousness, like specs of dust in a beam of light streaming into the room through a hole in the roof.
Just as in this universe, there are countless beings of various species in other universes too.
There are similar beings with different bodies suited to their universe.
The inexorable passage of invisible and intangible time eats up all creatures.
Knowing this, the wise keep their attention on the timeless.
You are at peace when you are established in witness consciousness.
The mind only knows its own point of view, which it considers the truth.
I’m the infinite consciousness whose kinetic state alone appears as the whole universe.
The ignorant man’s body is composed and decomposed on account of the status of his mental conditioning.
In the case of one who has no such conditioning, there is no momentum for decomposition.

Sutra 6:
If you do not have the notion “This I am and this I’m not” then you will not limit your consciousness.
If your ego-self is dead, you will not limit your consciousness.
If you knew the very notion of calamity, poverty, elation, pride, dullness and agitation do not arise, then your ego-self is dead, the you will be liberated while living.
Utter purity will prevail in you because you will be a liberated sage whose ego-mind is dead.
Such a mind of a deliberated sage is full of noble qualities.
Intense friendliness, love, compassion and natural goodness will alone remain in you.
What is the truth?
I have nothing to do with sorrow, with actions, with delusion, with grasping or clinging.
I’m at peace, free from sorrow.
I’m Brahman, such is the truth.
I’m free from all defects.
I am the all.
I do not seek anything, nor do I abandon anything.
I’m Brahman, such is the truth.
I’m blood.
I’m flesh.
I’m body.
I’m consciousness.
I’m the mind also.
I’m Brahman, such is the truth.
I’m the firmament.
I’m space.
I’m the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the galaxies.
I’m all things.
I’m Brahman, such is the truth.
I’m a blade of grass.
I’m the earth.
I’m a tree stub.
I’m the forest.
I’m the mountain.
I’m the ocean.
I’m the non-dual Brahman, such is the truth.
I’m the consciousness in which all things are strong and through whose power all beings engage in their actions.
I’m the essence of all things, such is the truth.
In the infinite consciousness in every atom, infinite universes come and go, like particles of dust in a beam of sun light that shines through a hole in the roof.
These come and go like ripples on the vast ocean of consciousness.

Sutra 7:
Renounce all notions and then renounce the renouncer of those notions.
When even the notion of the ego-sense has ceased you will be like infinite space – free, unbounded, eternal.
As long as there is a “you” and “I”, there is no liberation, no freedom.
Even as movement is inherent in air, manifestation is inherent in consciousness.
Whatever the mind things of that alone it sees.
We who know the deathless nature of the self are not afraid of death.
Egotism is but an idea based on a false association of the self with the physical elements.
In reality, this egotism does not exist anymore than water exists in the mirage.
This life time of ours is transient as autumn clouds.
To watch the birth and death of beings is like looking at the movements of a dance.
A lifetime is like a flash of lightning in the sky, rushing by like a torrent down the steep mountain.
But now I’m free.
I’m grounded in Being.
I’m grounded in the infinite consciousness.
And I can see lifetimes ripple by like waves in the vast ocean of consciousness.
I’m free.
I’m awake.
I’m liberated.

(Inspiration from Deepak Chopra - Healing)

Glaubst Du an ein Leben nach der Geburt?

Ein ungeborenes Zwillingspärchen unterhält sich im Bauch seiner Mutter.

"Sag mal, glaubst du eigentlich an ein Leben nach der Geburt?" fragt der eine Zwilling.
"Ja, natürlich, auf jeden Fall! Hier drinnen wachsen wir und werden stark für das, was draußen kommen wird," antwortet der andere Zwilling.
"Ich glaube, das ist Blödsinn." sagt der erste. "Es kann kein Leben nach der Geburt geben - wie sollte das denn bitteschön aussehen?"
"So ganz genau weiß ich das auch nicht. Aber es wird sicher viel heller als hier sein. Und vielleicht werden wir herumlaufen und mit dem Mund essen?"
"So einen Unsinn habe ich ja noch nie gehört! Mit dem Mund essen, was für eine verrückte Idee. Es gibt doch die Nabelschnur, die uns ernährt. Und wie willst du herumlaufen? Dafür ist die Nabelschnur viel zu kurz."
"Doch, es geht ganz bestimmt. Es wird eben alles nur ein bißchen anders."
"Du spinnst! Es ist noch nie einer zurückgekommen von 'nach der Geburt'. Mit der Geburt ist das Leben zu Ende. Punktum."
"Ich gebe ja zu, daß keiner weiß, wie das Leben nach der Geburt aussehen wird. Aber ich weiß, daß wir dann unsere Mutter sehen werden, und sie wird für uns sorgen."
"Mutter??? Du glaubst doch wohl nicht an eine Mutter? Wo ist die denn bitte?"
"Na hier - überall um uns herum. Wir sind und leben in ihr und durch sie. Ohne sie könnten wir gar nicht sein!"
"Quatsch! Von einer Mutter habe ich noch nie etwas bemerkt, also gibt es sie auch nicht."
"Doch, manchmal, wenn wir ganz still sind, kannst du sie singen hören. Oder spüren, wenn sie unsere Welt streichelt...."

(Henri Nouwen, Priester und Psychologe)

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Anthropic Principle

The Anthropic Principle says that the laws of physics and their parameters had to be finely adjustes in order for the star systems to evolve and for carbon-based life to evolve.

For example: If the big bang bad been a bit more powerful, matter would have been blown apart too fast for stars and planets to form.