Relationships

Relationships
By
Richard Holl
(Copied from my blog Please listen, http://indigo-energy.blogspot.com/p/relationships.html)

It is fitting that the last page I add to this blog is relationships. No man or woman is an island even if they choose to live like a hermit. There are two relationships no one can avoid. The first is between you and the universe or if you prefer, your environment. The second is between your sense of self and your sense of others and other things which is sometimes referred to as our spirit. In most cases, when I use the term spirit it refers to our unique form of energy that continues on after the death of our physical bodies. For those of you who are atheists and reading this, it is totally within reason to believe we have a sense of others and other things and there is no God or no spirit that lives beyond physical death.

If you chose to believe that our sense of others and other things begins and ends with the birth and death of the human body, by all means please do. No one can tell you otherwise until we prove a spirit exists after physical death. When we do prove it those who are atheists will accept the new found information far faster than western religion will accept reincarnation. Look how long it has taken for Christianity to accept the possibility of evolution even if it is by God’s hands. Theistic evolution still is not accepted by the fundamentalist churches of the world.

Aside from existentialist views that everything is an illusion, no one questions their relationship to their environment which is the universe. Most spend very little time studying it. The overwhelming presence of most of it, we can do nothing about. If we could not see starlight we would not have known of it’s existence until we discovered radio. Stop and think about what the world would be like today if we could not see the light from the stars. There is no real reason why we should be able to see it. The photons that light up our night sky have no effect on us or this planet or do they?

Obviously celestial navigation would not have been possible which would have had a huge impact on early exploration but we don’t need starlight for things to grow or cause atmospheric changes or ocean currents. I don’t know how many people know this but the human eye is capable of resolving a single photon of light which also happens to be the smallest particle we know of. I did not say sub particle. That should make most people curious. It does make a few pursue physics as a career.

Since we can see the smallest particle in the universe that is produced by distant stars, there is no way we can deny we do have a relationship with the universe whether we spend a lot of time thinking about it or studying it. It should be studied more. I hope to accomplish that in the lifetime I have remaining. I hope I can inspire others to do the same. There are answers there. We do not have to take everything on faith.

When we go to bed and wake up in the morning we can’t see starlight but we can see the environment we live in and the two are related. The asteroid that created the Gulf of Mexico and annihilated the dinosaurs didn’t fall out of our sky. We haven't done a real good job of taking care of the environment we live in. As we gain the skills needed to travel from one solar system to the next, hopefully we will become better stewards of all environments.

I don’t expect anyone other than the scientists, who dedicate themselves to trying to understand the universe and the environment we live in, to pay any attention to the one relationship none of us can ever be free from in our current form but our life on this planet could be made a lot easier if we did. Relationships that are largely ignored rarely work out.

Now for the second relationship we all have to deal with during our physical life or lives, our sense of self and our sense of others and other things. All that we can be comes from our sense of others and other things. All that we don’t want to be can come from our sense of self. It is a relationship that finds itself in conflict in most of us but the two need each other. Our sense of self seeks pleasure and reward using our senses. Our sense of others and other thing uses our senses to inspire our emotions abilities, knowledge and talents. It’s a relationship that lasts a lifetime and there is no divorce. Our sense of self can choose to ignore our sense of others and other things and tends to do so. It is why we have to meditate which sometimes comes in the form of prayer.

In most people their sense of self is running the show and their sense of others has to go along for the ride and do what it can when it can. In some people the sense of others is running the show and their sense of self has to go along for the ride. When their sense of others is in charge, self sacrifice in the interest of all mankind is not a problem. Sacrifice and martyrdom happen too many be it on the cross or by an assassin’s bullet. This is not a choice most of are expected to make nor one we should decide to make. It really is a calling and the source doesn’t matter be it God, the universe, or the Great Poobah. Those that are called are obvious when we find them among us. Ideally, for most of us, there should be a balance between the dualities of our conscious mind when possible. It is actually more of a teeter totter which responds to the events in all of our lives.

If all this sounds like we all tend to be schizophrenics we are. Keeping that in mind, we need to look at the way we treat the condition when it does get out of hand. Recognizing we will all spend our lives trying to keep the two in balance goes a long way towards treating those we consider mentally ill.

To help me help you understand the conflict between the two I am going to use a very popular movie that epitomizes the conflict. The producer and director and the writers of this movie had to have known their story was about the conflict between the two because of the visual clues that are such an integral part of the movie. If they did not, then it shows us all how subtle our sense of others and other things can be in getting the message out.

The movie is Cast Away released in 2000, starring Tom Hanks and a volley ball in the main roles. Those of you who have a solid connection to your sense of others know exactly what my points are going to be. Those of you who do not are going to be scratching your heads trying to see a connection. How much of a mystery what I am about to say is, depends on how well you are connected to your sense of others. You can choose not to believe that but this is a great opportunity for everyone to learn something about themselves.

This movie is not about being stranded on an island after a plane crash. This movie is about a man who had a good life but was not in touch with his sense of others. Hardship, like it has in so many cases, was the key in connecting to his sense of others but it was a struggle for sure and the connection didn’t happen easily and almost didn’t happen at all.

During most of the movie the clues or signs were right in front of him but he could not see them but he did see just enough to finish the journey. Hanks character Chuck Noland is a type A driven person typical of most who have a weak connection to their sense of others, Their sense of importance, possessions and relations appear to make them happy but underneath they are always looking for that something that’s missing. Maybe the job that no one else wants to do or can do will fill the need so off they go to battle another wind mill. Of course they find no satisfaction.

They ultimately find themselves alone on an island wondering why things never seem to work out. Something is missing and then they see a volley ball and paint a face on it in their own blood and call out it’s name, Wilson. Obviously Wilson was more than an inanimate object but what was he? Look at that face, It is the face of a spirit and their sense of others. Wilson is Noland’s spirit but he is holding it in his hand and talking to it like it is another person.

That’s not where it belongs but he recognizes it and knows how important to him it is. In the back of his mind he also knows as long as he holds it in his hand he can’t lose it but once he lets go it may not be there again. Chuck also had a guardian angel with him on that island. We always do, be it real or simply a figment of our imagination, but, like his spirit, he did not recognize it for what it was even though it had a pair of glorious wings on it. No connection here either but something told him it too was important. It wasn’t Wilson. Wilson couldn’t talk to him but the sense of others Wilson represented could. He vowed if he ever got off the island he was going to deliver the package with the wings on it and left it unopened.

Fate finally releases the man from his island prison in the form of a portable toilet no less which I think is one of the greatest pieces of film ever made. As he sails off to who knows where he loses his spirit again in his mind and almost drowns trying to get it back. Wilson is gone but his sense of others is now where it should be and always has been. A visit from one of the most majestic creatures in the world drives the point home.

His journey is not over. Upon his return to civilization he finds there is nothing left of his old life. It is gone forever except for a truck he had just bought before leaving. His slate was clean. He no longer was the man he used to be, he was like a baby again and he had his guardian angel in the form of a Fedex box with a pair of majestic wings on it.

He set out to deliver that box and to thank the person the box was for, for being instrumental in giving him the drive he needed to get off the island but there was no one at home. He leaves the box with a note on it and drives off. Chuck has found his sense of others and he has finished the task he had set out to do and he arrives at a crossroads in his life with no idea of where to go or what his life is going to be.

His life’s plans were now in the hands of his spirit and fate when a girl driving a pick up truck stopped and asked if he needed directions. She told him his options and, as she drove off, he noticed the wings on the back of her truck matched the wings on the box and there was no doubt in your mind, as the credits rolled across the screen, which road Chuck Noland chose that day. Of course the producer and director of the film had put in a clip that let us know the young lady was available,

Did the people who put this movie together recognize the story they were telling or did their spirit guide their hand in the making of it? Do they even know which? Do you?

Everyone of us has a relationship with their sense of others and other things, It happens naturally as a newborn. There is no sense of self to compete with. Our spirit or sense of others spends the first year building the brain and conscious mind of its new body. For years medical science has been puzzled about how and why the human brain develops in a newborn. There is no mystery here. It is one of the clues that points to reincarnation but this is about relationships.

Our sense of self develops quickly and it has the priority as it is part of the physical body. The ego is created in the physical body and it will die with the physical body. The spirit will go on as energy if you believe in spiritual existence beyond physical death. Is that energy a part of a higher power or just another piece of a vast universe? Each of us has to figure that out for ourselves but our spirit, should it exist, is energy and energy is eternal. Energy does attain a state of entropy but it is still energy.

The thoughts you hear inside your head in your own voice all come from your sense of self. Your sense of others and other things communicates via your unconscious mind and your sense of self chooses whether to listen. To get a clean connection to our sense of others we meditate . Think back to Wilson staring up at Chuck. Wilson does not speak. Chuck’s sense of self speaks for him.

There are three states that identify our relationship to our spirit. In state one Chuck, in a fit of anger, kicks Wilson into the jungle. Wilson is still there but Chuck can’t see him and Chuck gets no input from Wilson. In this state Chuck is capable of horrendous acts of mayhem. Six million Jews can be put to death when we kick our sense of others into the woods.

In state two Wilson is always where Chuck can see him and talk to him. Wilson gives him comfort but Wilson can’t talk to him but he can influence him and Chuck’s emotions become connected to Wilson. He picks Wilson up in his hand and feels the connection but Wilson is in his hand and not his mind. The majority of the people on this planet are stuck in state two.

Like the movie it usually takes trauma, disease or danger for us to reach state 3 and finally allow Wilson to be where he belongs. To do that we have to release Wilson from the second state. This is very difficult because, to let Wilson go, our sense of self has to relinquish total control. It wants Wilson, it knows it is not whole without Wilson but it doesn’t want to accept the emotional connections that come with allowing Wilson to become a partner and not a subordinate.

In the movie Chuck comes damn close to dying before he releases Wilson from stage 2. He even lets go of life in the form of a rope connected to his raft before coming to his senses. That is how strong our sense of self is. The consensus is that depression is the sole reason for suicide. It is a huge factor but suicide is the ultimate act our sense of self can perform. It releases our spirit but our spirit has no place to come back to. Our sense of self wins, the battle is over.

That night Wilson comes back to Chuck on the wings of a whale. He can’t see Wilson anymore but he was never supposed to see him in the first place. Wilson is where he was meant to be, partnered with Chucks sense of self in his conscious mind. From that moment on fate, purpose of ego and Wilson control Chucks destiny. He finds himself at the crossroads of his life and the right path becomes obvious. Every person on this planet is on the same journey Chuck Roland was. The question you have to ask yourself is, do you know where your Wilson is?

Due to American slang I wish that Wilson had been a Nike but the producers of the movie had no idea I would be using it in my analogy. Maybe a little humor might not be a bad thing. Please think about where your sense of others is. It is your relationship and your sense of self is in the drivers seat.

That brings us to human relationships and now you have a choice. You have a lot of choices because there are many forms of human relationships. Some we choose. Some are forced upon us by the jobs we do and the families we inherit after we form our sexual relationships. All depend on how balanced the relationship between our conscious mind is. There are millions of books about relationships with our fellow human beings so I don’t have a lot to add. I do have a few observations.

First there is no way to predict how any person will interact with their children. I have seen people who have little or no emotional connection to others that have an instant bond when they start having children. I have seen what I thought were compassionate people be unbelievable cruel to their own children. What we cannot do is make excuses for those who mistreat children. Children are defenseless and we all have the responsibility to see they are treated with compassion. People who mistreat children need to be brought to task for it even if they are in your own family or close friends.

The best advice I can give is find your sense of others first and then find your mate. Odds are your respective Wilsons will roll through life together a lot better if you do.

Take a vow to minimize the mayhem you cause in this life. Self defense is not mayhem but know its self defense and it usually isn’t if you have to spend a lot of time thinking about it.

The last relationship on this list is one very few people on this planet ever think about. My mission in the life I have remaining is to make more people aware of this relationship. It is the relationship we have to our species. I call it species identity and it is sorely lacking in the world we live in. Think about it. It doesn’t matter whether you believe in creation or evolution a lot of work has gone into creating our species.

To the best of our knowledge we are the highest life form in the universe. It’s a big universe. I do not believe we live in it alone but, until we make contact, we have no proof other life forms exist at the same level we do or higher. We are the highest life form in this universe and look at the way we treat each other.

There are a lot of people out there serving those that are trapped in poverty, lack of education and sometimes famine. Some give money, Others give their time and some do both but any of them will tell you that what they do is apply band aid's. Yes some get helped but the problems that led to their plight remain the same.

Most of us could care less when the people afflicted are not in our own families, our neighborhood, our community or on the evening news. There is not one valid reason why there should be one person on this planet who has no food. no shelter, no medical aid or no opportunity for an education unless they refuse any help offered.

If someone like me presses the issue the usual response is, “Well what in hell can I do about it?” I’m glad you asked. We can all start working on our relationship to our species. A lot of the injustices in the world are the result of mayhem. Mayhem could stop tomorrow if we all chose to stop it in our own lives, Easier said than done but we could all take one of the first steps by vowing to never call mayhem chaos. I cover that in another section of this blog. We all need to feel responsible for the tragedies in the world we live in when they result from mayhem.

That brings us to natural disasters. Surely we have no responsibility there. The problem is we do. As the most advanced life form in the universe we could accomplish great things like control the weather. We could learn how to prevent major earthquakes and volcanic explosions.

Our species is all on a very small boat in a very large ocean. If we would get serious about our species, we would start working on spreading out more than we are. We are the only living entity that is aware of our existence. We can and do contemplate life and its meaning. The rest of the creatures interface by instinct and routine. We do not know of another species that contemplates its own existence. We have little or no species identity but we have all the tools to make it part of all our lives.

Those of us with species identity find ourselves embarking on a mission. I would love to see a lot more people join us. Stop and think about the moments in history when species identity has come to the surface. The civil rights movement and the outrage against the war in Vietnam are two recent examples in this country. Men like Mandela and Gandhi commit themselves to human rights which is another way of saying species identity. The course of mankind has been changed many times in the past by those that pick up the banner and it can happen again and again and again until it is part of our lives forever..

Connections

For centuries we have contemplated our existence. Religions, philosophies, theosophy's and other concepts to numerous to mention wax and wane in our cultures. Some have become traditional but there is no belief today that is safe from the discovery of new knowledge. It is one reason why so many resist new knowledge and some consider new knowledge the work of an evil demons out to deliberately cloud our minds to reality.

What ever the truth may be, there is only one truth for the current environment we all find ourselves in. Are there other universes, either parallel or totally separate from this one, where we may or may not exist also? There could be but the man with his foot in a bear trap only cares about that trap and, until we figure out our current existence, do all the other possibilities even matter? I don't think they do. We can cross those bridges later.

The more beliefs we have, the greater the chance that the ones we have are not the reality we find ourselves in. Why is this so difficult? Practically everything about our existence is open to conjecture. There is no limit to our imaginations. For all our progress in science and technology and our ability to gather and process information it appears, on the surface at least, that the understanding of our existence grows even more complex.

It appears that way, but the fact is, if one takes the time to study a lot of it, there are amazing similarities between all beliefs regarding our existence in our current environment. The reason is simple. We are all getting the same message. There is only one truth for each of our personal journeys so there is only one message. That message can come from observing our environment, God, an intelligent universe, aliens, the hall of records, the Greek Gods or any other number of sources one wants to attribute it to.

What is obvious is we are all hearing it differently and the reason I believe we do is based on how our conscious mind works. Mine has been altered by what appears to have been a near death experience (NDE). I cannot say for certain because I do not remember the event. If it happened it happened while I was under deep sedation for a repair to the trigeminial bundle in my brain stem. The procedure, which uses very deep sedation to perform, involves inserting a needle into the brain stem and inflating a balloon to compress the area and desensitizing it. I suffered from trigeminial neuralgia for three years prior to having this procedure and it eliminated my pain but it also drastically altered my life. I discuss the changes in my life in other sections of this blog and in two other blogs I have but what happened to me is far better described in the NDE web site. I have submitted my case for their review.

The surgeon who performed the procedure acknowledged the sedation used could very well be a factor in what has happened to me. One of the more dramatic results has been the acquisition of what I believe is new knowledge. I am certainly not the first to experience new knowledge. Many believe that new knowledge comes solely from education but that is not true. New knowledge also comes from intuition especially when there is limited or incorrect knowledge regarding a given subject. Thomas Edison was living proof if one needs proof. The man very possibly was the most intuitive person who ever lived. His education was limited to the things he was researching. He did learn the basics from his mother who home schooled him into his late preteen years. Intuition can also provide the initiative to pursue an education because there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Knowledge is only new if there is no record of it existing anywhere else.

A young man walks into a classroom and hands his teacher something he has been working on which he believes has value. It turns out to be the theory of algorithms and the teacher is amazed when he realizes this young man has developed algorithms all on his own with no prior knowledge of them. It happens, probably a lot more than many people realize. All any of us can do with new knowledge is hand it to others. Either it is a false observation or you are not the first to think of it. Is that grounds to keep it to yourself? New knowledge changes our world and the perception of our world and if it isn't new, you can bet that young man went on to a very productive career in mathematics.

The huge problem new knowledge faces is it often contradicts old knowledge and far too many times we find excuses not to pay attention to it and we end up suffering ignorance and even illness and death because it contradicted what we think we believe.

I believe this new knowledge I have opens a new approach to the field of psychiatry and the workings of our universe. I can find no record of it anywhere else and no one has stepped forward and told me it is false information. I will keep trying to hand it to people until one or both happens. If neither happens I will continue even if it isn't taken seriously in my remaining life time. If it is false, I will want to see the proof.

Some say that all we experience and sense is an illusion and there is good reason to say that. The reason is there is a one sided power struggle that never ends between our sense of self and our sense of others and other things. It is critical that anyone reading this does not make the mistake of substituting ego for a sense of self. Ego is a trait exclusive to a sense of self but it is only a trait and, as such, is a subset of our conscious minds sense of self. The same applies to calling our sense of self our physical mind. Once again our physical mind is a subset of our sense of self. All of our sensory input makes up our physical mind and there is very little difference between our physical mind and the physical mind of any other animal when it comes to processing sensory input. Evolution dictates how our physical minds work but do not substitute physical mind for sense of self. I easily fell into the pit myself.

The same warnings hold true when it comes to the sense of others or other things that makes up the other side of the human mind we call consciousness. Here the tendency is to substitute spirit for our sense of other things, There are many emotions associated with our sense of others and many skills associated with our sense of other things. The question now becomes why not divide the conscious mind into three components not two? Others of course refers to other people. Other things refers to everything else but the emotions, traits and behaviors associated with our sense of others and others are closely intertwined. We can love another person and we can love watching football. Love is an emotion that covers others and other things and a quick rundown of the emotions, traits and behaviors associated with our sense of others and other things shows how the two are closely connected.

One final point before introducing the hypothesis a conscious mind is made up of a basic duality. We need to make a distinction between how a conscious mind works and why a conscious mind works. The tendency among all those in the field is to ask why not how. Focusing on why means the how is being overlooked and it is my hypothesis that more effective treatments will come out of the how instead of the why. Why is critical in fixing diseases like ALCS, dementia, Parkinson's and all the other diseases of the brain. The same holds true for paranoia and other mental manifestations for which there is not a lot of information. Understanding how the conscious mind works will lead to better treatment for anxiety, some forms of depression and other debilitating mental issues that have no foundation in any disease currently beyond our control..

Take a moment and perceive how you sense conscious thought. It is in the sound of your own voice as you hear it. You can do a little experiment. Using ear plugs vary how much you block the sound your ears can hear. Think about something. Say something. You hear your thought as you say it in the same voice. By blocking your ears you can change the sound around what you hear but it is the same voice.

Now think about how startled you were when you first heard your recorded voice. It is not you. I remember how startled I was the first time I heard my own voice played back. It made me think about whom and what I was. Today we totally understand why this happens. It has been thoroughly researched. The important thing is to recognize our conscious thoughts happen in what we perceive to be our own voice.

The reason that is so important is our conscious thoughts that do not involve sensory input are solely a function of our sense of self. Our sense of self is the one that has the direct connections to all our physical senses. Our sense of others and other things connects through our unconscious which is why I hypothesize the the connection happens in our physical brain at a point on our brain stem. That connection is controlled by our sense of self.

Our sense of self can turn off our connection to our sense of others anytime it chooses to do so. There is a huge sacrifice involved. The person who has switched off their brain stem connection is incapable of all the empathetic emotions that connect to our senses via our physical brain. If a person is a sociopath the switch is frozen in the off position.

Our sense of self is not left without emotion. It brings it own set to the game, rage, greed, lust and power are the primary ones. It is why all the evil there is resides solely in our sense of self. It can easily compartmentalize when to allow access to our sense of others and other things. The Nazi war criminal gassed people by day and went home to his loving family at night. Hard to imagine for most of us but we see it all the time. It should not be a mystery to anyone.

What amazes me is how balanced the design is. For every emotion on our sense of self side there is one on our sense of others and other things side. Examples are lust and greed in our sense of self are matched by love and compassion in our sense of others. If you find this confusing try making your own list. It isn't difficult when you accept the premise of duality.. So far I have only identified two traits that take elements from both sides. Those traits are personality and humor. No doubt there are many more.

Balance is so important. Very few of us are capable of allowing our sense of self to become the silent partner in our duality. If you feel compelled to do a great deed, compare yourself to Mandela, Gandhi and the Dalai Lama. That is the commitment that faces you. As a species most of us are not ready for total awakening in our sense of others. I have met those who try and bless them for placing their sense of others first but the men I mention above all can and could interface with those of little or no sense of others and prevail. Very few of us can and surrounding ourselves in peace and refusing to contemplate negative thoughts is a total illusion unless you have the power these men have or had over others. If everyone vowed to eliminate all mayhem from their lives, we would all be living in an ideal world. Such a world is not in our foreseeable future so please stay balanced.

There is one trait that divides society right down the middle and, resolving it. would be a major step in putting an end to the polarization currently controlling interaction between people. The trait is responsibility. Responsibility is solely a function of sense of others and other things both in how it is practiced and perceived. If you lack responsibility, you are ignoring your sense of others. If you are judging those that you perceive as lacking responsibility, you are ignoring your sense of others. Neither is right and that is a bitter pill for both sides to swallow. If I could wave a magic wand and suddenly swap all the new born babies between the suburbs and the ghetto and ten years later observe the results, the only change would be the color of everyone's skin. Keep that thought when you start to put down the other for either lacking responsibility or being critical about your lifestyle. Both sides need to change their point of view. Engage your sense of others and balance your mind.

Evolution is adaptation by change. The permutations and combinations of genes in a living organism are almost beyond imagination. The system is designed to try new things and some work and some don't. Our physical body is not very different than that of any other similar life forms like members of the ape family. The system that allows our sense of others to integrate with our sense of self to form our conscious mind also adapts by change until new genetic patterns are established. We have recently discovered that evolution happens in spurts. Periods of stability are interrupted with periods of rapid change. We are in a period of rapid change.

Many try and blame the drastic increase in conditions like ADHD on failures of our social order and disease. Because of recent research in genetics we are discovering the human genome is experiencing an onslaught of changes. Those changes appear to be focused on the connection between our sense of others and our sense of self. Is it God or the process of natural adaptation? That is for each of us to decide but we all need to keep an open mind and not treat the changes like we treated homosexuality in the past. There is no good or bad here. We are slowly ridding ourselves of the past prejudices of our social interactions. We need to learn from our past mistakes and approach these changes with an open mind.

The job of parenting will not be easy. Children that do not conform may have real issues or they may be the products of our changing genome which will come with problems. We need serious research. Thomas Edison did not conform and his teacher said insulting things about the lads chances in this world. His mother home schooled him and the world was changed by a great inventor. What would have happened if Edison’s mother had insisted he conform to the teacher’s demands?

We are all a product of the connection between our sense of others and our sense of self and our sense of self controls the connection when it wants to. At birth the only thing present is our sense of others and other things. The newborn has no sense of self, leaving the other side of our conscious mind to do most of the work before our sense of self starts to take control. We call this period the terrible twos. From that point on every factor we can conceive of is in play and how well balance is maintained will determine how a person handles puberty. In most cases, our sense of self ignores our sense of others and other things during the years when we know everything.

Considering it is our sense of others and other things that is providing our knowledge, ability and talent it is ironic how one can be in denial of their sense of others and still know everything while their sense of self is struggling to find it’s identity. By puberty most of us will have gained enough of all three to make it through to our adult years. Our intelligence resides solely with our sense of self as it is strictly a function of physical evolution.

The question becomes does our sense of others and other things evolve also? To do so means it has to reincarnate. Does a spirit even make sense if it cannot pass from one physical life to the next? To answer that, I would have to get way off topic and I cover and will be covering that topic in other sections of this blog. To understand the connection between our spirit and sense of self we need reincarnation. Each new life is a new connection. Keep in mind the term spirit only applies when our sense of others and other things is no longer connected to our sense of self due to the condition we call death.

Our sense of self brings our intellectual potential. Our sense of others and other things brings ability, knowledge, talent and the resultant intuition and inspiration. Our compassion and love and associated emotions are products of our sense of others. Our sense of self is driven by a sense of superiority and ownership of all that we desire. It’s associated emotions like lust for love and initiative for inspiration or intuition merge with our sense of others and other things to form our conscious mind.

I have to go a little off topic here and discuss origins. There is no mystery where our physical body and our accompanying sense of self came from. It was either created or evolved depending on ones beliefs. If we apply only science, which I certainly prefer, our physical body has evolved. Where did our spirit with its' sense of others and other things come from? Is a new spirit created every time a new body is created and if that’s the case how does reincarnation happen? Good questions and no one has an answer that can be proven.

Anyone who is in touch with their sense of others knows it's there and they can easily see it in other people. Everyone can see it in the eyes of newborn children and infants. We call them angels. There is a significant amount of evidence reincarnation happens. I believe we could prove our spirit exists if we would do some serious research. We spend millions researching minor aspects of science that will have no significant impact while we arbitrarily chose faith or the metaphysical to define our spirit.

Maybe we don’t want to know the truth. Or could it be, if we prove spirit beyond any point of denial, we apparently feel we will lose any control we think we now have? I think so. That explains why we haven’t seriously tried to identify our spirit. Still no explanation of how our spirit got here. Can a species evolve to a point where a spirit is created for the first time? To answer that, we need to do a little reverse engineering.

We know what makes up the elements of our spirit. For any species to have those elements they would have to evolve them first. That is where abilities come in. Abilities like language spoken and written, using tools to make tools and social structure indicated by an increase in life span, place our species evolving a sense of others and other things about 20 to 30 thousand years ago. Somewhere in that time frame our species evolved the capacity to develop individuality of spirit and modern day man was born.

I say evolved but there are other possibilities. Maybe this new species was created by God, maybe aliens dropped us off, or maybe our spirits are eternal and a new species with the needed requirements became available.You chose. No matter the reason, we can all work together to prove we have a spirit. If you don’t believe in spirit I don’t know why you are reading this.

A huge area of debate has always been what is illusion and what is reality? Our spirit connects to all the knowledge there is. There is no illusion when it comes to our sense of others and other things which is highly ironic because we mentally depict anything associated with our sense of others as being nebulous, a ghost, a sudden chill, an astral projection, out of body or witness to heaven.

All illusion is strictly a product of our sense of self. Our ego has a direct connection to our senses. Our sense of others connects to our senses through our unconscious. Take a moment and think about how you experience a feeling of anger in reference to a feeling of compassion. Which has more thought involved? Which is connected to what you sense as you? It is that obvious. Compassion is a sense of others and is instantly felt. Anger is a sense of ourselves and usually results from a build up of conscious events or negative thoughts over time. It is far more explosive than compassion but stress is pressure, compassion is not.

I doubt anyone reading this will dispute this country is mired in polarization no matter what your political beliefs are. An idea is a thought. If you do not allow opposing points of view to affect your thinking, your idea becomes reality and you will defend your reality until your last breath. We are social beings. We are structured to bring our ideas together and merge them into reality. When we fail to do that we end up with a mess like we have today. Is this the reality you want to live in? Never forget, when you turn your ideas into reality, those who differ will not accept your reality and that can lead to war. What you so strongly believe is an illusion if it was not arrived at as part of a consensus.

One last point regarding sense of self versus sense of others, ideally there should be no conflict. They are supposed to work together in order to end mayhem and chaos in the universe. We don’t always get a good connection. Sometimes there is no connection at all. If you believe some of what I have outlined here, you should know by now that evil is a sole function of sense of self. There is no Satan, and no evil force. There is only our sense of self that is either not connected or ignoring it’s associated sense of others and other things.

Yourself

The one relationship you can never escape is the one you will have with yourself from the moment you are born until the day your physical body dies. Medical science is rapidly increasing the length of the only relationship you have to come to terms with and it is possible that future generations will see life spans of hundreds of years. If you believe in reincarnation as I do, that will someday be your lifetime. If you do not, we simply owe it to future generations to resolve the problems people find themselves dealing with when this relationship goes wrong.

Currently it goes wrong in at least 25% of the people on this planet and it appears to be increasing despite all the research being conducted to solve it. Let me make this perfectly clear. There is nothing in my following hypothesis that suggests our personality is split by the fact there are two distinct areas of our conscious minds. Just the opposite is true. Our personality is the combination of the two distinct areas of our conscious mind.

All of what you are about to read came to me as intuitive thought first. My ongoing research into Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and the most effective way of currently dealing with it, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) are the result of how best to present my concepts to the mental health world. I am convinced that my intuition offers a new way to look at all mental conditions and will result in new methods for treating them.

I am not a person with any training in this field and I am the last person to come up with any form of treatment. I have experienced a significant increase in insight. The story is well documented in this blog and others. This is my first excursion into using that insight to help others. I have been using my insight to help others I come in contact with. I do not seek them out. They usually come to me. I know that sounds delusional and I have discussed that possibility with others who are trained in the field. Their opinion is, if I am delusional, it is the strangest case they have ever seen. I will let you the reader, make that decision for yourself. All I ask is you take the time to read this and think about it before casting me into the crazy pile.

Before we get started think about this as you read this. You are sitting in front of your computer and suddenly the door to your home crashes in. Men dressed in black surround you and incapacitate you with physical, chemical or electrical force and drag you out of your home into a waiting vehicle and take you to a cold damp concrete room with only the floor to lie on and a bucket in which to put your wastes. There is no schedule.

You are given barely enough water and food to survive. For apparently no reason, they come in and torture you with never a word being said. There is no pattern to it. You have no idea how long this goes on because you have no way of measuring the passage of time. It seems like forever. Once again they enter the room and you prepare yourself for another round of pain and suffering but this time it’s different. A hood is thrown over your head and you are taken out of the room thrown in a car and taken somewhere else. They throw you to the floor and leave. You struggle to free yourself and finally are able to yank off the hood. That's when you discover you are back in your own home, There is no explanation and you have no idea why any of it happened. Ask yourself how would you deal with it after the fact?

That is what those who suffer mental illness have to deal with. The only difference is they know who the men in black are. How can this happen? It happens because our mind is divided into two distinct areas and the communication between the two gets severed or damaged by disease, trauma, stress, or the actions of others. When it is not working properly, our own mind becomes the men in black.

The problem with modern day mental health is they only treat one side of our conscious mind. The other side has become the property of religion, metaphysics and the paranormal. All those things may or may not have a part to play but the part of our conscious mind that connects to the sense of others and other things has to be working correctly or none of them will mean anything to our conscious mind as a whole. How often in the mental health field do you hear, “that just doesn’t work for me or my patient.” All our treatments today focus on the grey matter in our brain. That grey matter is the home and kingdom of the first major component of our conscious mind, our sense of self.

The second major component of our conscious mind is our sense of others and other things. The two work very differently. If our grey matter is our sense of self where does our sense of others call home? My hypothesis, which we could conduct experiments to prove, is the sense of others and other things resides in our brain stem. We do not know how the mechanism works. We see the effects when it is broken but we cannot fix it for anyone until we know how the mechanism works. That knowledge is the key to preventing many mental health conditions from becoming issues.

We do know how the grey matter works. Not as much as we need to know but there is a lot of research being done. Basically our cerebral cortex is a battery. Actions and thoughts are energy generated by chemical processes. I do not need to teach a course on the functioning of the main component of our sense of self. My focus is on our sense of others and how it connects to our sense of self. We assign the attributes associated with the sense of others and other things to the same part of physical brain that is ruled by our sense of self and we wonder why we make little or no headway in solving issues associated with our sense of others and other things. If you think we are making progress take a long look at the world we live in. Our relationships fail as much as if not more than they succeed. We fight wars for totally idiotic reasons like religion, ethnicity and nationality. Our one sided approach to our conscious mind results in little or no research on how our conscious mind is interconnected.

When it comes to our sense of others and other things we focus on what is external to us and pay small heed to how the two main components of our conscious mind connect and share our thoughts, emotions and sensory capabilities. Up until now I have combined our sense of others with our sense of other things as they both represent things external to our conscious minds. There is a distinct difference though most of the associated emotions, traits and behaviors apply. Our sense of other things is reserved for intuitive and inspirational abilities. It opens our minds to the possibilities of all faith, philosophy and scientific study. Unfortunately our sense of other things draws attention away from how our conscious mind functions and focuses the understanding we all seek on religion, the metaphysical and the paranormal.

There are benefits to focusing on other things not associated with our conscious mind. First they are all capable of healing the damage in our spirit connection depending on how the damage was caused. In the case of substance abuse, the damage comes from the ego side of our conscious mind. For those subjected to the abuse of others the damage comes from outside themselves. There are conditions that cannot be healed by applying the concepts of other things and anyone who says they can heal all conditions with their belief system might as well torture those who cannot respond to healing from faith or the ethereal sense of spirit.

Those who treat only our sense of self are no different. The use drugs and therapies that give mixed results and convince themselves, that helping a few is helping everyone. All anyone has to do is step back and look at the results from either side and it is blatantly obvious there is no one magic bullet when it comes to treating mental disease. If I go to the doctor for a cut finger and he/she puts a band aid on my toe they have used the proper item in the wrong place. That defines where mental health care is in the world today. They do get the band aid on the finger sometimes but far to often it ends up on the toe.

Any medical doctor will tell you its all in the proper diagnosis. How can we diagnose mental illness when we are only look at one side of the patient? There are some dedicated, highly intuitive spiritual healers in this world. but they should never forget the oath all healers must live by, Do No Harm.

So how does this sense of self and sense of others and other things work ? The clown in me wants to say, “not very well” which brings up a point. Personality and humor are two of the things I have come up with that are shared equally between the two major components of our conscious mind.. Our sense of others and other things is always out for what’s best for us and seeks to protect us but our sense of self is always in the drivers seat. Nothing happens that it doesn’t want to let happen. Every person who has been hypnotized proves our sense of self is always in command..

This section is all about figuring out yourself and I believe I have come up with a tool to do that. All you need is lined notebook paper, I prefer 8x11, and a pencil and an eraser when you do change your mind and you will a number of times if you are being honest with yourself. As in all tests of this nature honesty is mandatory. If you are not honest the only person you will cheat is yourself and you will have wasted your time. With pencil in hand start listing every possible trait, emotion and behavior you can think of. If it helps, number them. One of the things I have found that helps is most things have an opposite state. If you write optimism the next logical thing would be pessimism so go ahead and add these to your list. I will address these two after you are done.

Keep in mind emotions like love cover a whole range of sub emotions so break any emotion, trait or behavior down where you can. Think of every emotion, trait and behavior you can and write it down along with the opposite if there is one. Take some time to do this. If your list seems short to you put a line under the one you are stuck on and read up on human emotions, traits and behaviors. If it takes you a month to make this list, take a month.

Some of you are no doubt saying. “Why doesn’t this lazy so and so give us a list? Why do we have to do all the work?” My answer, “It’s your list!” Remember that line you drew where you got stuck? That line is going to tell you if there is any change after you had to look up emotions, traits and behaviors. My hypothesis is you will not forget the ones that are more important to you. Once you hit the line there is one other thing you need to do. Don’t think of your emotions alone. Think of the emotions, traits and behaviors of other people before you resort to the books for further information.

Once you have exhausted the emotions, traits and behaviors of others (Do not duplicate any you had listed for your self) draw another line. Now hit the books and add as many as you can find even if they disgust you and it is not an emotion, trait or behavior you have ever felt or something you would never do. Examples are worship, idolize etc etc. You cannot write too many. You can write too few. If your list seems short make sure boredom is on it along with impatience. It is important you make this list as long as you can and it is equally important neither I nor no one else creates it for you. It is your list.

DO NOT READ BELOW THIS LINE UNTIL YOUR LIST IS COMPLETED!

The reason I said the above is you are among the first to do this. Those who do it in the future will have some knowledge of why they are performing this exercise. Those of you who do this for the first time with no knowledge of why, set the evaluation criteria for those who will have some knowledge why this exercise is necessary. So for the last time, are you sure your list is complete?

Once your list is finished it is time to set the criteria. For the purposes of this test we will assume the following conditions:

First our conscious mind is divided into two distinct parts, our sense of self and our sense of others and other things . Our ego is a part our sense of self and our spirit encompasses our sense of others and other things. Second our sense of self can set all the rules and ignore the other side of our consciousness. Third assume your sense of other things or spirit has two ends. One connects to a higher plane that could represent, God, the Hall of Records, multiple universes or aliens. It does not matter what the other end of it connects to. It is the end that integrates with our sense of self we are testing.

After each emotion, trait or behavior you will select either 1 for sense of self, 2 for sense of others and other things or 3 for both. I find the easiest way to do this is place 3 bubbles to the right of each emotion, trait or behavior representing three different columns with the first being 1, the second 2 and the third 3. Just fill in the right bubble. This is not always easy. Emotions, traits and behaviors are not always straight forward so your initial response may not be right. Think about your answers.

For example, if we take optimism and pessimism, two obvious opposites, it may not be intuitive that optimism is a function of sense of self and pessimism is a function of sense of others and other things. Our sense of self tries to tell us reckless behavior is worth the risk and nothing will happen. Our sense of others and other things seeks to protect us and keep us from making foolish mistakes. You really need to focus on each one. Comparing two opposites makes the task easier. Another example is happy and sad. I drew a blank when I first thought of the two. I didn’t know which side of my conscious mind was associated with either. My conclusion is happy is a sense of self and sad is a sense of others and other things. Obviously the sense of either state of your conscious mind is always conditional. Taking this test may make you bored. That is not the issue. The issue is, is boredom associated with a sense of self or a sense of others or other things?

What about checking both or 3? If you are a very well adjusted person there will be a lot of both’s but the bottom line here is most of us are not well adjusted people so please be honest with yourself. There are a few easily spotted both’s. They are not always shared equally but they come with their own set of responsive behavior. Two of those I believe are fear and harmony. It is easy to get a sense of self and others for both. Both respond with unique differences. When fear comes from our sense of self it can be illusional. On the other side it comes from our sense of others and other things and is always real. The same holds true for harmony. If this exercise has been boring until, now it should be starting to excite you. You are starting to understand how your mind works.

When you have completed the test there is one more thing you need to do.Instead of assuming our conscious mind is a combination of a sense of self and a sense of others and other things, think of it as a proven fact. If you remain content with your answers knowing your conscious mind is a duality, do not change any of your answers. If you are not content write 1, 2 or 3 after your original answer. Do not erase your original answer.

Most of you are probably thinking, "Well that was a lot of work now what?" First you need to add up the number of traits, behaviors and emotions you came up with. Next you need to add up how many you thought of when you only considered your self, how many you thought of when you considered the same things in others and how many you had to look up. Then you total the three columns in each group and total them all. Keep in mind you are a beta tester and the this will all have to be entered into a data base before we can come to more detailed conclusions. The magic word here is balance but balance between what?

It is my hypothesis that there are two basic mindsets in our species. The perfect people among us, rare as I believe they are, are in balance though they still have two separate mindsets, Those in balance process all any of us can think or feel equally no matter which mindset they get input from. In the first mindset a person must be physically stimulated before becoming mentally stimulated. In the second mindset a person must be mentally stimulated before becoming physically stimulated. As in all things, there are permutations and combinations of both mindsets but one mindset will be prevalent in all but the rare individual. It is my hypothesis, when people who marry someone who does not align with their mindset, their marriage will probably end in divorce. Since there are two states of mindset, the divorce rate supports my hypothesis.

The test you just took will help you identify whether you are a physical/mental person or a mental/physical person. For physical we can substitute sense of self. For mental we can substitute sense of others and other things.. If you answered both you are balanced for that one trait, emotion or behavior. If you are getting serious with another person you need to know what their leading mindset is. If it does not match yours, your relationship will always be a struggle and you will end up wondering why it is so easy for some other couple to get along and you and your spouse can't. Those who score the highest on either mindset need to be with a like minded person.

What happens if we fall in love with someone who is our opposite? The first factor will be how different? I believe this test will one day measure the degree of both mindsets. It will take gathering a lot of data before we can analyze ways to quantize differences and devise treatments. In the interim look for someone like your self. If this is split right down the middle, half the population is the same as you are with varying degrees,

If you test close to each other look at the traits, emotions and behaviors where you differ and discuss them so that you can arrive at a consensus. One thing you should have noticed. There are no good or bad scores here. The test simply identifies your mindset. Two highly physical mindsets would no doubt be difficult to be around but they would be happy with each other.

I totally believe this exercise can benefit every person who decides to take it. This test will not fix anyone with serious mental issues. I believe it will facilitate the field of mental health in coming up with more effective treatments for many problems that remain difficult to resolve. First of all I need to identify the goal. As in all things balance is the goal. The individual with excellent mental health is so well balanced that their sense of self and sense of others and other things merge and conflict between the two is minimal at worst and non existent at best. I believe this is a rare state. If you need examples the Dalai Lama, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela come to mind.

If you are a mental health professional you should have at least an inkling of how this approach can be both a benefit to you and your patients. There is an initial fear that using the approach tends to make all of us schizophrenic but look at the world we live in. Our religions, politics, ideas , customs, etc etc divide us. If we are not all schizophrenic, the way we all tend to live our lives is and I defy anyone to show me the difference. If you don’t identify the problem you can’t treat it.The two major components of our conscious mind may live and die with the body. I don't believe that but I nor or anyone else can discount the possibility until we have used the scientific method to prove our sense of others and other things comes from our spirit alone.

Let’s assume I am right and our spirit is a particle with no mass at rest somewhere in our brain stem. Assume our spirit contains our sense of others and other things. Treating the cerebral cortex for all mental issues is putting the band aid for the cut finger on the toe for some of them. The spirit is not in question here. It is non corruptible but the connection isn’t and that connection is in the brain stem and all that the spirit is, is passed through the unconscious and into our conscious mind. Substitute subconscious for unconscious and I can hear Freud flopping around in his casket with glee as I say this. He did have half an answer. Modern day psychiatry has half an answer. It is time to put the two together and start working with the whole answer.

The answer is balance. The problems become obvious when only sense of self is running the show. Personal gain, insensitivity and even holocaust happen. In Disney World there is a ride that features the adventures of Nemo, a story of a cute little fish that travels the world looking for his lost son. As you walk into the ride you are surrounded by walls of rocks, piers, the sea and a lot of seagulls. The seagulls only know one word, “Mine!” It is the world we live in.

So surely the answer must be turning to our spirit, put it in charge and all will be well in the world. It sounds good. It even feels good but I call it bubbling up. In the popular on line game “World of Warcraft” some characters have the ability to “bubble up” and put a protective shield around themselves. Nothing can damage them while they are in their bubble. Of course there is a problem, actually two problems. The bubble never lasts as long as the battle and it has a cool down so you can only use it once unless it is a very long battle. Replace that battle with life. If we eliminate every last vestige of mayhem from this planet we will still have to deal with chaos. Your spirit bubble is going to run out when you need it the most. Balance people, balance in all things.

In a world controlled by the ego of individuals, evil is not only possible, it often rules the day. If you could ask 6 million Jews and gypsies they would tell you. The only evil in the world exists solely in the minds of our species. The ego of our species created a devil so they and the victims of their evil had someone else to blame. If that violates your belief too damn bad. Isolation is the only excuse for ignorance. Knowledge is an equal opportunity employer.

The world of ego is a world of illusion. Ideas are illusions until they are shared with other ideas and compromise established. Even then they can still be an illusion that has to be put to the test of reality and the bugs worked out. In contrast the world is not an illusion. Stick your hand in a fire and it will get burnt. Experience a loss and you will be sad. These things are all very real. The illusion happens when we think abstract thoughts about others and other things and our sense of self. Political beliefs are always illusions when they are not shared with an open mind to compromise. Look how real they are in today's society. That should make anyone cry.

Know yourself. You already know others. Just let it happen.

For this test to be proven, a lot of people need to take it. The data needs to be put into a database and the results analyzed. Simply taking the test provides insight and those who do will have an idea which mindset dominates their thought processes. There need to be forums to discuss the concept and the results. There is a lot of work to be done. Those who elect to work with me in the beginning will be the first to be hired if the effort leads to actual clinical trials. As we learn more and see the value there is no reason those who are well versed in analyzing the data shouldn't be allowed to start up counseling services based on the test, They will not be treating mental illness, they will only be helping those who want to better understand themselves.. Life

Can we call life a relationship? In the beginning there was no life no matter what your beliefs are. Be it created or the product of a chaotic state, it started and from that beginning all life was born. Our DNA tells us that and our DNA can be traced back to RNA which no one will state emphatically is life if for no other reason than we have created it ourselves.

There is no reason to believe the process that happened on this planet hasn’t also happened on untold numbers of other planets especially since there hasn’t been enough time for the light from most of them to reach us. Unless we turn to the metaphysical we cannot make a case for having a relationship to any life on other planets. Can we make a case for a relationship on this one?

Our DNA says we have a common ancestor but are we related in any sense of the word other than origin? We tend to focus on species that are close to us like the chimpanzee but is that a good idea? That relationship is obvious. We can safely say Homo Sapiens and Pan Troglodytes are over 90% compatible. The debate goes on how far past 90%. What about the amoeba?

Right off the amoeba is vastly outnumbered, 1 to 75 trillion as it only consists of a single cell. Compare any single human cell to an amoeba and we start to see amazing things. Some species of amoeba have 670 billion base pairs compared to 2.9 billion base pairs in human DNA. The genes per base pair have to be sequenced and my goal here is not to teach a course in genetics but medical science is making amazing discoveries studying amoebas which display adaptability we can only envy.

If something were to upset the balance of life on this planet so only single celled organisms survived and the environment remained intact, all life we see today would once again evolve. Because of this, I put a little thought into how we could compare an amoeba to a human being and I came to the following conclusion.

To compare the two we need to take away at least two senses amoebas don’t have, sight and sound. They can respond to light based on surface stimuli but they do not see. The amoeba cannot taste or smell either but they only form a small part of a human’s knowledge base, important ones to be sure, but small in comparison to sight and sound. How do we even imagine what it is like to live without sight or sound? Fortunately we don’t have to. There are people who have but the ones who ultimately attained a state of normalcy in their lives are rare. I have researched this and I have not found a single case of anyone who was both blind and deaf at birth going on to lead what could be called a normal life in which they could learn at will and attain fully developed communication skills with the world outside them. There are many who have but they all could either see, hear or both at some level for a period in their lifetime.

There is a reason for this. Over 90% of those born blind and deaf have other health problems as well. This makes the task extremely more difficult and it is far from easy without added health conditions. It takes extreme dedication and training to transfer tactile sensation to communication but it can be done. Helen Keller was one of the youngest to attain full communication, being only 19 months old when she lost her ability to see and hear completely.

To put that in perspective how much do you recall from your 19th month? To be fair you have all those years of sight and sound to make your life at 19 months a non reachable memory and she did not. Most people have seen her movie. Everyone needs to read her books. Stop and think about this. How do you recognize your own thoughts when you cannot hear your own voice? Obviously deaf people think. Some say they use visual components but Helen Keller didn’t have that option. I have read many different ideas on how deaf people think who have been deaf since birth. They boil down to one. If you can hear, you simply cannot understand how a deaf person thinks and I believe them.

If my hearing continues to deteriorate I will be deaf before I pass from this mortal coil but I have heard all my life so I will think like all people who hear think, in my own voice. No matter how anyone thinks it is a learning process. How in hell can anyone who can’t see or hear learn? I have blocked my hearing and sight in a room I was familiar with and ended up totally confused unless I got lucky and encountered something I immediately knew what was. Try being led into a strange environment blindfolded and ears plugged knowing all you know about the world around you. Experience that and then try and put yourself in a world you know nothing about. You have no language, you have no reference for your thoughts. You feel things but you don’t know what they are. Now learn something and start thinking abstract thoughts.

At first you are basically no different than the amoeba. You obviously have a ton more potential than the amoeba has but you don’t know that yet. This part you have to really think about. Be glad you can. How can ego exist if there is no way to relate to it? All you have is a sense of others and other things. In other words all you have is spirit. I basically jumped out of my chair when this realization slapped me across the face.

I have a good friend who is a lightbringer who constantly reminds me that all things have spirit. I would just roll my eyes at my woo woo sister and disagree in a nice way. One should never cause grief for any healer they happen to cross paths with. I finally got what she was trying to tell me. All living things do have spirit and it is the Helen Kellers of the world that prove it. I am now trying to convince her that all things do not have individuality and without individuality, spirit has no soul and it does not reincarnate. The amoeba does have a spirit. It does not have an ego. Without an ego it is mindless and can only react to its sense of others and other things. In all life others is awareness of its own kind and we are no different than the amoeba in that regard.

That awareness of others would be huge milestone for you. You can feel their arms and hands and you can feel yours. Your sense of identity starts to emerge and your ego is born. The amoeba has no where to store that information so nothing is learned. A chimpanzee looks at a fire. The acrid smell of the smoke and the heat and way it consumes everything frightens him but if the fire burns long enough and does not approach him. If he gets curious enough he will try and touch it. All he learns is never try and touch it again. The connection he was warm when he was next to the fire is not made. His spirit does not develop individuality though his ego has. That is what separates man from every other species on this planet. Our spirit has attained individuality.

So back to the original question are we in a relationship with life? It is our origin but we are unique on this planet. Odds are we are in a relationship with other beings on other worlds but time and space will keep us apart until we have developed the tools to manipulate both. Either that or they do and they come to us. When I think about that possibility I defer to Gene Roddenberry. There is a thing I call species identity and no man who has ever walked this earth has had more species identity than this man. Every episode of his series “Star Trek” was about species identity and how important it was to protect it. He called it the “Prime Directive”.

We do not have the right to alter the course any species has set for itself and I am convinced that any life form, who solves interstellar and intergalactic travel, will unequivocally honor the “Prime Directive” unless it is done in the form of colonization.They will know planets where evolution has peaked out and no advanced life form is possible. They may decide to seed such a planet and that could explain why our ancestors discarded their 24th chromosome pair. It would be an easy task for an advanced civilization. We are close to having the ability ourselves.

Roddenberry knew he needed action so he threw in Klingons and Romulans to add excitement as the Enterprise went where no man has gone before. Underneath the photon torpedoes and phasers the real draw of the series was the allure of species identity. We know we need to do a better job but our egos get in the way of our spirits. If we want to “Live long and prosper!” we need to look to our spirits. Roddenberry did though he never openly admitted it.

Is life a relationship? I think not but it is what you want it to be if you can avoid mayhem and chaos. It is why we all have free will.

Abortion

I had to really think about this topic before adding it to this blog. It is important I do because there is no subject that divides people more than this one. No matter which side one believes in, pro-life or pro-choice there is little chance that current reasoning will change your outlook. Many dedicate their lives to changing the outlook of those that do not see it the same as they do. In most cases there exists a reason for debate because in most things there are many people who are undecided and the debate helps form public opinion and one side will typically win out over the other. That is not true in this case.

In a society that attempts to follow social order and democracy, the side that society has the most to gain from usually wins. In this case one side will never change the other sides mind and the best society can hope for is we will all ultimately grow weary of the debate and constantly changing laws and find something else to bother ourselves with. If that happens in this case, and it is a long way from happening, everyone loses.

If you are either strongly pro-life or strongly pro-choice (I believe you won't be reading this if you aren't either) you are not going to like some of the things I am going to say. I have my own opinions. I will do my best to keep my opinions out of my observations. My observations are based on my intuitive skills. My opinions are based on my upbringing and social values. I strongly suggest that anyone who has strong opinions on the subject needs to try and step far enough back from the subject to maybe see some of the reasons why those who disagree with them do.

I am at somewhat of a dilemma here because of this hotly contested debate. Which side do I cast an arrow at first without appearing to be a spokesperson for the opposite side? I made the decision by flipping a coin.

To those of you on the pro-choice side, any society that can drop nuclear weapons on other human beings, fly planes into buildings to justify ones beliefs or put six million people to death in gas chambers is easily capable of justifying the killing of unwanted unborn children. Since this debate is not about the subjects I mentioned above, I agree with our decision to drop nuclear weapons on Japan and understand why it had to be done. I despise terrorists for what they do, and there are no words available to me that can describe the disgust I feel for the Nazis that committed the most heinous act ever perpetrated in the course of mankind's history.

To those of you on the pro-life side there is nothing that has any substantial merit, that proves human life starts at conception. Using the word life without the word human included is both inaccurate and disingenuous and possibly even deliberate in order to frame your debate. Human sperm and eggs are alive before conception just as any single cell organism is alive. There is nothing unique about either. Untold billions of sperms and hundreds of thousands eggs are exterminated in the process of fertilization. Very few become actual human beings and is each one that does a miracle? That depends on ones faith and most of the people in this world do not follow the faith that is most vocal about when human life begins.

Now how do I frame the rest of this? Most will agree that we have a long way to go before we can really call ourselves a moral and righteous society. Some believe there is an evil presence at work while others believe we are the way we are because we evolved from animals. I don't think it matters. The end result is the same. We kill each other over things that could be resolved by other methods and hopefully the day will come when we won't. I personally don't care whether that day comes through spiritual awakening or logical development, I just want it to get here. In this regard, abortion is just one of the many issues resulting from our moral irresponsibility and it, along with the other travesties we commit on each other, will fade away as we socially evolve. That is a far bigger debate than the one I address here.

I have decided to frame this debate around a single moment, conception no matter where, when or why. We are all here because of it. Of course we see it as a miracle. We are genetically predisposed to worship our newborn children and create them. Procreation is one of the prime motivating factors in all our lives regardless of what our religion is. I do not think it is an exaggeration to say most people would risk their lives to pull children out of a burning building. Small wonder so many people make the protection of the unborn the motivating factor in their lives.

Conception can also happen for many wrong reasons rape, incest, male insistence, momentary loss of ones rational abilities due to drugs or alcohol or letting our emotions take control of our reasoning. In these cases, conceiving a new human being is the farthest thing from anyone's mind. Those who refuse to accept educational solutions and practice failed programs like abstinence live in a world full of denial. I personally know many devout people who have spirited their daughters off to other countries in order to abort the child that neither they nor their daughter wants. Any policy that generates substantial hypocrisy is suspect.

Conception is the key. It frames the whole debate and if we could arrive at a consensus regarding when human life starts we could put this issue to rest. There has not been a lot of science pursued on this matter because people of faith have drawn a line in the sand that says, "Life starts here!". I wish they would at least say, "Human life starts here!" Life has existed since the first microbe emerged in the primordial soup during the early days of our planet.

You want a real miracle contemplate how life could ever emerge as early as it did but emerge it did despite being blown out of existence time and time again by the incessant bombardment from asteroids and other debris that existed at that time. The surface of our moon is all one needs for evidence of what it must have been like during the early days on our planet. Before any of you think I am totally sold on evolution, consider the fact that the history of man points to a single location in Africa which lends creditability to mankind originating from a common point. No one side has all the answers. That too is another debate.

Let's focus on conception. Too bad more people don't. We might be a little more careful with it if we did. Many religions contend that human life starts at conception and, if all we focus on is physical life, they are absolutely correct. The thing is it is not the physical aspect of life that drives this debate. The debate is whether a human soul or spirit is created at conception. That is what makes us unique. So unique that we become eternal. That's unique. Eternal existence. Still some believe every life form that has ever existed is eternal. They argue it is eternal because of the energy it carries and physical science proves energy lasts forever in one form or another.

They may be right. It certainly merits consideration and study. It may be eternal but is it unique? Is the energy created by the formation of every amoeba ever formed unique? Said another way does it possess individuality? Since the conditions under which the vast bulk of life forms on this planet are the same and whole populations of things like tube worms growing along the volcanic vents under the ocean are destroyed in an instant when conditions change suddenly, there is no way for them to reach a state of individuality. They are true borgs even if their energy is eternal. If it is eternal, I believe their energy is returned to a common pool all energy has when it has not attained individuality.

No one will argue that we as a species have not attained individuality whether we have a spirit or not. So are we eternal? I say we are based on my studies and the intuition I gained when I underwent a Near Death Experience (NDE) in November of 2010. I also believe we have a spirit for the same reasons. This makes me a person of faith. I was a Deist prior to my NDE which for those who don't know what a Deist is, a Deist is a person who believes in God, but sees God taking no active role in the running of the universe after it was created. I no longer believe God is a bystander but I can find no religion that fits my current beliefs so I don't know what I am for now. Enough about my individuality.

Let's get back to that line drawn on the ground, "Human life starts here!" Those that hold no spiritual views or see no merit in them we can call the independents in the abortion debate. They are in a very small minority so unlike the next presidential election they do not hold the fate of the nation in their hands. it leads me to wonder why we even have the debate because those who are the most vocal have no chance of convincing the other side. My goal with this is hopefully to open a few doors that lead to consensus.

Conception is the key. Eternal life is the clue. What existed before God existed? Most people of faith would say nothing but we have no proof and science has no way to prove people of faith wrong so we easily win this debate by default. Using my new found intuition and spiritual awakening I can easily say, "God has always existed and there is nothing Stephen Hawking can do about it!" If anyone could he could. Not one person of faith is going to argue with me when I say we all have eternal life. If I say there is no hell I will get a lot of arguments but I suggest those who would argue need to sit down and really think about why there needs to be such a place. Is the only way to get people to toe the line is to threaten them with eternal damnation?

If God has existed forever, is there any reason why each of us couldn't have existed forever? If we are eternal why do we have a beginning? This physical body we find ourselves conjoined with had a beginning and it has an end. We may some day attain physical immortality barring unfortunate run ins with chaos but we are not there yet. Christianity certainly believes in resurrection even though it is a very exclusive club. That said it proves that a spirit can leave the body and return. The only difference is reincarnation is a change of bodies and we all get to do it.

The concept violates no ones faith. Christianity accepted reincarnation in its early years and many faiths do today. In fact a study of religion shows, the more repressive the religion, the further away from the concept of reincarnation it becomes. The irony here is the faiths that follow reincarnation are the ones who hold the greatest respect for human life. That seems odd when they know we all come back when things don't work out in our current life.

From the above paragraph, I don't think anyone who reads this has any doubt where I stand on reincarnation. I have believed in it since my NDE. So much so that the first thing I did afterwards was write a blog on the subject that could easily be a book. If anyone wants to publish it I would be happy to make it a book.

The simple fact is if we are reincarnated any single conception is no big deal. Compare it to waiting at the train station for a train. You miss one, you catch the next one and in spirit form, I honestly do not believe we are aware of the passing of time so there is no waiting. There may be awareness in spirit form. That is up those who study the supernatural to figure out but I think mankind has to spend some serious money and time researching whether or not reincarnation happens.

In spirit form distance is no issue. Energy can be somewhere else before it leaves its current location (You have to study physics in depth but that's a fact). No rooms on earth, you pop up on the planet Gorp. Hopefully they have figured out war kills people on Gorp so you get lucky. Pop up on a planet occupied by Vikings and you only spend a short time before moving on. I don't know about you but it sounds a helluva lot more interesting than lounging around in heaven with my Aunt Edna.

Abortion is not a humorous subject but reincarnation is. I have a lot of fun with it with friends and family. Though I make fun I truly believe in it and if we are reincarnated, abortion really does become a non-issue. That said there still has to be a lot of respect for human life. Believing in reincarnation doesn't give us the right to to put a couple of rounds in our next door neighbor because we don't like the way he trims his hedges. What makes this totally ironic I alluded to earlier. Those that believe in reincarnation have more respect for the lives of others than people who do not. It almost doesn't make sense until one realizes that with total spiritual awakening comes compassion, a lot of compassion.

What I am saying is the knowledge that we are reincarnated not only takes away the abhorrence of abortion it also brings the wisdom and compassion to never have to resort to getting one. Now that's something I can live with.