A Compulsive Desire To Know The Truth

Chapter 1 - Reality

There’s no reality except the one contained within us. That’s why so many people live an unreal life. They take images outside them for reality and never allow the world within them to assert itself. – Hermann Hesse

What is real? Reality is what you believe – nothing more than your perception of life, and you can only perceive that which you understand and know to be true. Therefore, those aspects of life, that are unknown, can’t be a part of your reality until they can be recognized, verified, and accepted. The world can either be a beautiful or harsh place, and the experience is a personal choice. If you can learn to change your perception you will be able to alter your reality, and to change your perception you only need to open your consciousness, increase your awareness, and start to recognize that which was there all along. Reality is certainly real, but it’s not totally accurate, and is limited only by your imagination. Much of what is experienced is not true, and there is much beyond perception that goes unnoticed. To see Truth you must learn to separate it from your inaccurate perception. It, however, can’t be forced into reality, but rather allowed to emerge from the thick lie of what you believe to be real. Perception is never complete, because what you see is not always what is. You decide in advance what you will experience, and this preconception (or more accurately misconception) interferes with your ideal life. There’s much more available to you if you can simply learn to have it.
What tools do we have that allows us our perception of the physical world? They are the things that receive the raw data from the world, and deliver the information to the brain for interpretation; thus transforming the information into recognizable reality. They are the eyes, the ears, the nose, the tongue, and the skin. What is it then that causes a thing to look, sound, smell, taste, and feel like it does? It’s our perception, and this creates our reality. So, how do I know I have the same perception of the world as all others? Is my perception of green the same color scheme as everyone else? What if the color green to me actually appeared to another as orange? Think how the world would look with orange grass and trees – it would be weird would it not? Not at all, because if you grew up recognizing the grass and trees to appear as orange that would be normal to you. The only difference would be that the color you see would be called green. Unless, of course, your perception of the audible word “green” sounded like something else.
Everything emits energy, and our visual perception is only our personal interpretation of that energy. This energy comes to us in the form of light rays entering the eye, and the different shapes and colors are created by the varying rate of vibration and degree of intensity of those light rays. It’s simply an electrical impulse the eye sends to the brain, and the brain is the instrument that takes the raw data from the eye, and arranges it into what we see. So, where is reality really located? Are our experiences in the outside world, or is true reality within our mind? I believe we experience all the world has to share inside our consciousness, and then express ourselves out to the world by living the life that we have imagined. In other words, I’m not only in the world – the world is in me.
The same interpretation goes for the receivers of the ear, the nose, the tongue, and the skin. Does a falling tree make a sound if no one is present to hear it? Does a rose emit a scent if there is none to smell it? Does a lemon have a sour taste before someone tastes it? Is a rock actually hard before it’s felt? Our five energy receptors do nothing more than collect the information from the world, and deliver the raw data to the brain. The brain assembles the information into perception, and can only assimilate information it’s familiar with; which happens to be the information we understand and believe to be true. Most of the raw data coming into the brain doesn’t connect up as recognizable information, so it passes away as useless. This data only becomes part of our reality once it’s accepted by the brain. So, the questions we should ask are: how can we expand our perception; thus allowing the brain to recognize and accept more of this raw data from our receivers, and transform this information into new reality? And, how can we have a clearer understanding of what is true by subduing our misconceptions of what is real? The outside world is only energy, and is not where reality originates. Reality begins with perception before it goes forth to manifest in our outside world.
In order to increase awareness, we need to develop and fine tune the receivers of this raw information by soaking up all that is out there – noticing even the slightest subtleties of life. We also need to increase the ability of the instrument that processes the raw data into our reality, which is the brain, or more accurately our consciousness. This is accomplished by being totally open and accepting of new views and ideas. When we open ourselves to new things we automatically subdue misconceptions and dogmatic beliefs. We should embrace the new and different, because no one knows enough to be skeptical.
It’s impossible to conceive all the world’s contents, and to understand all its secrets. It’s well beyond the capacity of the human mind. We can go back through history, and identify certain specific things we call inventions to realize the beginning of totally new reality. Those inventions were created by new thought that, when once understood, manifested into the physical. How do you think we were able to harness and use electricity to power things? Someone had to initially recognize this new thing, and imagine all the endless possibilities that would ultimately come from its use. Electricity has been around forever. It’s been recognized as part of our world for thousands of years, but it’s just within the last hundred years or so that we figured out how to harness, store, and use it. It all began with a new thought, and once the sufficient amount of concentration was devoted to all the endless possibilities, the possibilities became true within the realm of our reality. Concentration is the key word here, and is the basic condition for manifesting life.
One of the best examples I could find to explain this concept comes from the invention of the storage battery by Thomas Edison. His philosophy towards his work is best summed up as, “hard work based on hard thinking,” and his invention of the storage battery epitomizes patience, persistence, and incessant effort. He was optimistically hopeful, beginning each day as open-minded as a child. How many average people do you think would give up after failing to accomplish a thing after a couple of tries? Where do you think our civilization would be if there were none to persevere? How’s this for perseverance – it took Edison over ten thousand attempts before he was satisfied with his work on the storage battery. He worked constantly day and night to accomplish it, and never had a breakdown in his faith to get it done. Each attempt that did not produce the desired result was simply viewed as just another way it didn’t work. He knew nothing of failure, as each failed attempt just brought the goal a little closer through the process of painstaking elimination. I believe the primary reason he was able to accomplish it was because he injected the sufficient amount of thought energy, in the form of concentration, into the task. It’s the seed of thought which sprouts desire, which leads to concentration, which creates even more desire, leading to further concentration, which brings forth understanding. It’s only when the understanding becomes “perfect” that the work can be completed, and the riddle to that particular reality solved. Nothing will change until it’s completely understood. The problem with today’s society is most don’t care enough to reach the necessary level of perfect understanding.
Most modern day thoughts are dead. The great thinkers of our past were able to achieve great discoveries, partly because they had far fewer distractions. Because of various discoveries, which manifested into new reality, our lives have become very accommodating but extremely complex – accommodating to the point that we no longer have to think for ourselves. Even this word program I am using automatically corrects my spelling, and informs when a grammatical error has been made. With the invention of the calculator, very few people actually know how to do simple math. Do you think we would be able to navigate the seas as we once did without GPS equipment? What would your life look like without your cell phone? What would happen if electricity were suddenly removed from your reality, and you had to exist without it? Life as you know it would obviously change – it would slow you down a bit, but allow for more time to think and contemplate life.
The most dangerous cause of ignorance is modernization, so you might conclude that modernization is stifling our ability to develop new thought; which in turn limits the creation of new reality. It’s a vicious cycle of creation that’s killing our ability to create, and the process is spiraling out of control. Because our civilization is transforming into an existence that no longer requires deep thought, the majority are evolving into a society of ignorance and complacency. The media must follow the masses, so you may have noticed that the various shows that occupy the television have become extremely watered down and irrelevant. I swear I loose brain cells every time I walk past the thing. It, however, is the norm, and unless you’re on top of the drama of who’s having an affair with who, or who got voted off last weeks reality show, you really have no grounds to engage in any social interaction. We have moved from a society of doers, to one of admiring the few who had the courage to go after excellence (and thus deserving of admiration), to being engrossed by those who outdo all others in absurdity. Face time is awarded to the most ridiculous clowns. What ever happened to seeking significance for ourselves? How did the fire of desire go out, and is there a way to rekindle the flame towards understanding, meaning, and significance? To do so will isolate you from the majority; however, in your search for greater meaning from life, you will seek and find relationships with those of like mind. I’m not here to change the world, but rather to change myself, and once I can break free from the chaos, and learn to just be still in contemplation, I can excuse myself from the world’s absurdity; releasing the masses to go on eating bugs, swapping wives, and kicking each other in the groin.
Within the pages of this writing, I will attempt to describe the various Truths that govern our existence. They are the basic building blocks that go beyond the surface of life to a deeper explanation of reality. This is more than a “power of positive thinking” exercise, as it incorporates much more than attitude. It goes much wider than the “law of attraction,” which is certainly part of it when viewed in terms of the acquisition of things. Material acquisition is the shadow side of the law, so I would rather refer to it as the “Law of Absorption,” and hope that through further explanation you will realize life is not so much about the acquisition of things, but rather about having a purpose, and learning what you can do without – simplifying your life, and obtaining your increase from within. The getting of “things” for accumulation sake is not what this message is about. Sure, it does work for those ends, but I hope that once you obtain the power, and through greater understanding, you will be extremely careful in its use – not letting it be directed by ignorance. There is understanding in contentment, and within it lies true power which will multiply your ability, increase your awareness, and lead you to the ultimate treasure – to think like God thinks.
It’s pointless to yearn for your ideal reality, or to push yourself through the world in order to take what you believe you’re entitled to. Your ideal will discover you when you meet certain conditions. These conditions are the basic Truths that must be understood and mastered in order to reach an exalted level of life. The laws of reality are seven very simple concepts deserving a book unto themselves. The purpose of this writing is to speak in very basic terms regarding each – not dwelling on any one law, as they are equally important, but to summarize the general concepts, so it will evoke thought. I shall not expound on these principals to the point that my own personal understanding taints your perception of their true meaning. Everyone will receive their own interpretation of the laws, which will allow for his or her own version of reality, but we need the basics to construct the foundation to build upon our own personalized version of what is true, and real, and good. God created us to create. He gave us all we need to accomplish this work, and will give us all that we’re devoted to. It’s our obligation to use the gift, and our responsibility to use it for good.
Before going into detail of the seven Truths regarding reality, we must first answer the question – “why does any of this matter?” The answer is within ourselves: how are we made? where did we come from? and what is our purpose here? What makes us different from all other living things? And are we at risk from losing the greatest gift God has ever given?