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An elegant life

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I recently chimed into a forum discussing the subject of quantum physics, and the implications thereof.

Out of which came some ways of explaining my views in a more 'elegant' manner.

Following are my edited excerpts of my final few posts to this forum:

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Years ago, when in a self-development course, the teacher said "you're 100% responsible for your reality" ... me, in response "nah, that can't be true" (in class), He, "it's 100%". Me, "Nah, it can't be because ... yadda yadda". Class now cranky with me, an upstart who won't sit quietly and obediently listen.

Long story short. It is a literal 100%. I've done a lot of work over the years to nail the mechanics of how that can occur.

But here's the thing. If not 100%, then what figure is it? 100% has a certain 'purity' to it that I found compelling.

Science can't get near that 100%, blaming chance, or randomness or god knows what else. That's inelegant.

100% is elegant.

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Points about points

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I was recently contacted regarding my work -- primarily concerning materials on the Belief Institute website.

The person (supportive of my work) sent me a list of 'points' by another critic who argues good articles, or beliefs should comply to various conditions:

Here's my reply to those 'points'.

  1. should not contain tautologies;

    English is a rich language, and while tautologies are a useful concept, the fact that one can frame an idea or concept (there's one now) differently using different words/approaches, reveals greater nuance to the concept or idea. Pun intended. So I wouldn't get too concerned about grammatical correctness.

  2. should not contain notion-metaphor transmutations (e.g., "power" it is a concept in Physics, but being used in Psychology, say, as "power of imagination", it becomes a metaphor);

    Well, this is a poor point. We don't know what causes 'power' in physics.

    We know now with around 30 years of research data from Princeton's PEAR that our minds have the power (physical) to move objects.

    The enormous databases produced by PEAR provide clear evidence that human thought and emotion can produce measureable influences on physical reality. The researchers have also developed several theoretical models that attempt to accommodate the empirical results, which cannot be explained by any currently recognized scientific model.
    So psychological power is related to physical power. To say otherwise would require certain (incorrect) assumptions to be correct. Which they aren't. E.g. the power to collapse the wave-function.


    Better that you don't get me started on this one ...

    :){C}

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Accidental reflections

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Chatting with a friend about a mutual accquaintenance ("dangerous-tree man"), and how it must be a living hell to not feel the benefits and ease of knowing that we are safe.

Of how we can't not be 'plugged in', and how we can't not be getting the signals of impending events.

My friend then inquired why I accidently cut through the power cord of a circular saw that I was using to cut some timber.

Wasn't I plugged in? Why then the accident?

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Most superstitious era in history?

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

In view of my awkward question concerning the deeper nature of physical movement, in various forums I've received what appears to be unanimous negative responses. Some quite vitriolic and abusive.

It seems then that there is an argument to be made that we're living through one of, or perhaps THE most superstitious era in history.

Many scientists often lambast the church for what they did to Galileo, and prior to him Giordana Bruno. Many argue the demonstrated 'closed-mindedness' of the church held back scientific advancement to a considerable degree.

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Believing is seeing

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

It is with some irony that skeptic Micheal Shermer should write a book on the "Believing Brain" -- that we see things not as they are, but through the lens of personal and cultural belief.

A review of his book (in the Boss Magazine supplement in the Financial Review) explains part of the irony:

A central theme is the purposeful formation of beliefs, emerging from subjective emotional and psychological roots nurtured in social environments and society.

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Giving God some giddy-up

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I was communicating (emailing) back and forth with someone who I suspect is a fundamentalist Christian.

So I thought to use the Reciprocal Test, as previously explained in "The power of the Reciprocal Test", which basically turns belief-systems upside down to show their 'naughty bits' -- the bits that have hairs on them, and/or have holes in them :)

By doing so, the Reciprocal Test (aka The Paradox Rule) shows just how much we, as a childish culture, are subservient to, and frightened of perceived "higher authorities", which as explained in "Consider some stuff", are only there by dint of our cooperation and blessing.

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The jig is up

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on
There is an astonishingly deep and dangerous disconnect between our mainstream world view, and reality. So deep and dangerous is that disconnect I believe it imperils the survival of the human race. That disconnect is demonstrated by modern science's approach: that for every physical effect, there is (in theory) a physical cause. If someone is sick, a physical cause is sought. A bacteria perhaps? Hence the widespread use of antibiotics. It is a simple matter to show that these mechanical-world views are wrong. Dangerously wrong.

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Let's get clinical

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on
While at the wonderful Gulgong Folk Festival recently I chatted to many people, and learned about many diverse and interesting world-views. I'm realising that people will accept and actively champion limitations and fixed beliefs because it serves them to do so. Fixed-systems beliefs gives stability and structure to people's lives (a common example being 'astrology'). And this acceptance occurs despite those beliefs stifling, limiting and denying wonderful potentials and possibilities. Chatting to a young woman at the festival who was open to the deeper quantum-possibilities of life got me thinking of the benefits from sharing good, sound belief-system concepts. As a result I'll start setting up "belief clinics" focused on "Joy, Peace, Ease, Love and Laughter" -- we'll be focused on having fun, ease, laughter and 'letting go' limiting, fixed beliefs about the past, the present and the future.

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The art and discipline of happiness

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

When chatting with a friend recently we discovered that we had (independently) come to a similar place in our lives -- a wonderfully light, free and peaceful place.

We found that we each had arrived at this place by doing something exceedingly simple -- we had finally "let go" blaming others, or blaming "out there" or "suffering" blame from others, or suffering or feeling lonely, or ...

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The many benefits of quantum physics

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Dialoguing with various participants on a LinkedIn forum, I was mindful to explore some of the benefits of understanding the deeper principles (not necessarily the mathematics) of quantum physics.

As Einstein demonstrated perhaps unwittingly, being too focused on the mathematics can take one away from one's intuitive feel for the deeper rhythms and connections in life.

The following (with shortened urls, including those that link within this site) will be posted to the LinkedIn group "The Pythagorus Portal", topic "Does God Exist?".

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It behoves me, rather than to simply pull the rug from underneath all of you, to advise each of you to a). focus on the irrationality and inconsistency of your beliefs, which then could or should lead you to consider a fuller world view.

and most importantly b). explore methods (e.g. meditation) by which to gain greater 'intuitive awareness' of the world around you, and ahead of you, in time.

I can genuinely assure each of you that there are immense benefits to doing so.

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Does God Exist?

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

In response to the question "Does God exist?" on a forum in LinkedIn, I drafted the following, which seems to be sufficiently well-formed to be posted here, prior to posting there as well:

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There is no "God" in a purely objective, independent sense for that would require weird, nonsensical disconnects (within any holodynamic systems, or indeed any reasonable rational context).

The idea of an independent creator was an idea developed during the childhood of humanity:

Bishop John Shelby Spong:

"Religion ... was for most of human history, always childlike and by definition authoritarian. It was, to be specific, a primary activity of the childhood of our humanity as a species."1

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Consider some stuff

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

I often hear of, or run across people who espouse all sorts of ... well, quite frankly, incoherent, silly ideas and beliefs.

For example, in response to one forum, I received the comment that "there is no right answer or absolute."

Well, let's consider that ... no absolute? Absolutely no commonality, at all?

That begs the question .. if there's no underlying commonality, no absolute common ground to existence, what then enables it and us to all interact? What's the 'connective tissue' that enables that interactivity? What's the ground upon which, and by which, separate things move and connect?

So, here's a response I crafted that kiboshes a few misunderstandings.

Enjoy.

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Consider some "stuff" of which the entirety of existence is composed. Not physical, not even necessarily spiritual. Let's just call it "stuff".

Now, this 'stuff' is, by definition, literally everywhere, in everything, everyone one, every thought, God, Evil ... it's literally everywhere. In fact there is no place it is not. Given its ubiquity, we can say it is 'one-stuff'.

If we want to believe that some spiritual beings or others are not composed of this one-stuff, we need ask of what they are made. Whatever that is, it will ultimately need to be made of said 'one-stuff' in that said one-stuff is the ground stuff of all existence. no exceptions.

Now it gets interesting.

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Science - religiously late

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

Simon Sinek: How Great Leaders Inspire ActionIn his entertaining TED presentation Simon Sinek1 explains what it means to be a laggard (they're the late late-adopters): "The only reason these people buy touch tone phones is because you can't buy rotary phones anymore."

A curious phenomenon is occurring. And it is extraordinarily fascinating to be in the middle of it, observing it live, as we speak! What's so fascinating is that the great bulk of scientific theory is now lagging well behind the advances in quantum fact.2 But for those who are lagging none of this is at all fascinating. Not in the least. Indeed, it's something else entirely.{C}

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It "must be" about time

Submitted by The Belief Doctor on

While chatting to a psychologist recently I happened to explain a bit about my work.

I explained that while I'm happy to dig into the nitty-gritty of quantum theory and experiment, not that many people seem too interested. So I recounted how, talking with a photographer friend, I explained some of the practical benefits of quantum physics -- such as speeding with safety.

Now, I explained to this particular lady that with the benefits of quantum physics we now have sufficient evidence to draw some remarkable conclusions. And that is that (to quote someone I expect is way smarter than me) ...

any correct model of reality has to incorporate explicit non-local connections. No local reality can explain the type of world we live in. Furthermore, (since that model) is based on experimental facts, it is independent of whether quantum theory is correct or not.1

in other words ...

Whatever reality may be, it must be non-local.2

I explained that most of us are as a general rule locally-focused so we don't pay much attention to the nonlocal signaling that's ever-present, ubiquitous and vitally supports our ability to live life (more on that vitality and necessity another time -- hint: Dr Damasio's work with frontal lobe-damaged patients).

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