For or Against Evolution

The question is what is it that we want to evolve. Is it our bodies, our minds? Or our technology, which will all too soon make our bodies obsolete?

There are prophets of impending doom, Ray Kurzweil (The Singularity Is Near) foremost among them. Only he didn’t recognize it as doom. His arguments sounds almost as a blessing, hailing the time when computers surpass the human acumen.

Do we care? Should we?

The scientists will probably have me shot, but, well, I don’t care that much. It is true that the vast majority of us will be replaced by computers. After all, they are smarter, faster, and don’t go on strike. They don’t even get sick, or fat and ugly. I am more concerned how quickly I can replace the dead cells in my brain. How quickly I can make new connections, synapses, between those new neurons and the old ones. Yes, we can do it from childhood all the way to old age.

It takes a little effort.

And then, I got a helping hand from an unexpected quarter. A professor of neurology from Harvard made a statement, which I also made at the age of 14. I asked my uncle, also a professor at a university, if mind was the product of the brain, or was it the other way round.

“Don’t be childish,” he replied. “The brain is what makes us tick. It generates thought.” He said it in a slightly more scientific way. And now, a fully accredited professor from Harvard made a statement, which restored my faith in my youthful ramblings.

“I’m not my brain,” the doc said on PBS, “I’m the user of my brain. I use my mind to control my brain.”

I waited many years to have my thesis confirmed by a man with a PhD after his name. So I am not the raving maniac some of my friend consider me to be. My mind, the intangible, invisible mind, controls the tactile, visible, material, group of cells which other scientists recognize as the centre of our awareness. I, on the other hand, treat my brain as a computer conveniently located inside my head.  

I felt vindicated.

Rudolph E. Tanzi, PhD, the said professor of neurology at Harvard, said so. In public. 

Henceforth, I hope that at least some of us, just a few, will continue to work hard to replace our brain cells until one day, another Mozart, or Beethoven, or Chopin or Moussorgsky, or Leonardo will be born, and we, the few, will be overwhelmed with joy.

And computers, so much smarter than we are, will have no idea what all the fuss is about.

If you’re a student of reality, you might enjoy my thoughts on it in DELUSIONS—Pragmatic Realism. 

My webpage is http://stanlaw.ca.

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When Two become One

Some of us are lucky. We never suffered from millions of expensive toys having been thrown at as, when children, probably to keep us quiet. Being free from the plethora of waste, we had been forced to create our own playthings; forced to use our imagination, our brains, just to amuse ourselves. We invented our own toys, even our realities, which sated our need to exercise our neurons, to quench our inner hunger; to fill our life with vitality, with joy upon which we could grow and mature into adulthood.

Yes, we were the lucky ones.

And if we were luckier still, then our real self, the entity which has chosen to express itself through our physical, mental and emotional constructs, stretched out a helping hand and drew us outward and upward to give us a foretaste of immortality.

Such was The Princess.

Her name was Sandra. It is her story as much as Alec’s that my novel recounts. Being a fable it must start with words, “Once upon a time”, but, contrary to the assurances of most fabulists, it really does go on forever after.

Beautiful as only a princess can be, she is commanding, virtually all knowing, kind, loving… Real princesses are like that. And if they are truly on our side, then, one day, if we are luckier still, they merge their being with ours, for ever — for ever-after, if you like. That’s what fables are for. They make the seemingly impossible — possible, the unattainable — within reach. Alec found his Princess. If you read my book, perhaps you will also find yours. Pay attention, and Alec will show you how.

The Princess [Alexander Trilogy Book One].

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this month, it is free. That’s December 4th, 5th, and 6th. Don’t miss it. Kate Jones wrote that, “The cosmic merging of Alec and Sandra is exceptional writing, even for you...”. She meant me. Would you believe it?!

Enjoy!

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The Question of Self-Realization

When asked who we are, we usually reply by naming the job we do, perhaps our marital status, our nationality. 

The fact is, that most of us walk through our lives with little idea of who we really are, let alone knowing what we are supposed to be, or better still, what role we are supposed to play. Most women seem to think that they fulfill their mission in life by bearing, then, hopefully, raising children. Men, on their part, take on the job of a provider, of one who enables his family to keep “body and soul” together.

We seem to forget that every animal on earth does exactly the same. Shouldn’t we aspire to something more? More than just being sustainers of the human species? Something more than what every mammal, every bird, every reptile does in the course of their stay on Earth? Aren’t we more than that?

Many men in the past tried to persuade us that we are more. We listened, smiled, nodded, and continued walking in the path of Awagawan, the “coming and going”, in seemingly endless circles, without ever taking advantage of the great Masters’ teaching.

Until one day, a lightening strikes, and we realize that we are not what we seem to be. We realize that the bodies which we protect with such care are no more than physical enclosures for an incredible individualized unites of consciousness, which for countless years resided within us, desperately trying to make itself known to our physical awareness.

When that happens we become aware of our true nature. We also discover that when we begin doing what the consciousness within asks of us, we reach a level of happiness completely heretofore unknown to us. We also learn, gradually, what are our unique talents, what we are suppose to be doing, how best we can serve the world, serve humanity, to benefit the most for ourselves.

This fact alone gives us a sense of euphoria.

This is the arrival at the gates of self-realization.

At this moment we become aware of our immortality. At long last, we come truly alive.

Some of this is explained by Thomas in my Key to Immortality. The rest is up to us. 

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Blogs from another World

Why from another world? Well, I often feel like a stranger here, on Earth; like a transient visitor who cannot quite figure out what is going on with our world. Perhaps that is why many of my books have metaphysical overtones.

Sue me!

As for blogs, I write them because more people read them than any of my books—and this in spite of the fact that, upon request, I am willing to offer any and all of my books for free. A request sent to my email (mailto:stan@stanlaw.ca) will reward you with a coupon for a free download. Or downloads. Plural. All I ask in return is a short review on the Amazon.

Alas, you seem to prefer blogs.

Of course, the blogs are shorter. Perhaps like an aria, without being forced to listen to the whole opera. On the other hand, my books have chapters, and those are split into paragraphs. You might like to think of them as many blogs glued together. Would that help?

It would help if you liked the subjects that fascinate me. The genre. I write about Human Potential. About what we can achieve when we try. Or even in spite of ourselves. I write about that potential is resting in us, within each one of us, waiting to be discovered. Acknowledged. Recognized. Only then it can swell into a magnificent conflagration. Or spread out into an endless ocean. Or reach the stars. It’s all up to us.

Read my books and you’ll find out.

I’ll tell you what. Try one and we’ll see. I present you the whole spectrum for you to choose from. And remember, they won’t cost you a penny, or a cent, if you reside in North America. And the choice is your. Remember that Smashwords offers downloads to you computer and/or just about any electronic devise you can think of. You have more than 30 books to choose from.

Enjoy!

http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/stanislaw

PS. Tell your friends!

The Good, the Bad and the Indifferent

During the months preceding the elections in the great country south of our borders, I was amazed at the passion of the Democrats, and by their efforts to protect the rights of the (relatively) poor, perhaps even the indifferent. They did so bearing full wrath of the Republicans, who have proven on many occasions, with many public statements, that anyone who is against their policies is anti-American.

Amazing!

As an example, the friends I have outside the States recognize the Fox News as a source of daily humor. This opinion was broadly supported by great many of my FB friends who are very much US citizens. Not one of them took the news channel seriously. And yet they, the newscasters, insist on making a public spectacle of themselves, seemingly unaware of the effect they have on many people.

The Democrats, on the other hand, within a mere four years, managed to restore the respect, which the USA held throughout the world, yet which was virtually lost during the Bush years. Perhaps they managed to do so by showing respect for other people’s views, without treating them all as ‘anti-American’, just because they disagreed with them.

My problem is that, at heart, my sentiments lie with a group that has no hope of ever achieving hegemony in the States, a group called the Libertarians. In my insignificant way I support the concept of limited, constitutional government, low taxes, free markets, honest money and many other aspects of Libertarian philosophy, though never at the expense of helping those which are in need. What I do not support is ignorance replacing common sense, rudeness replacing politeness, lies replacing the truth, hate replacing love, and other unfortunate traits which seem to have become dominant in the political environment.

I am sure there are exceptions. Yet the majority of my Republican friends seem completely oblivious to the observation mentioned above. Not so the Democrats.

Yet there are also men in the USA who have little to do with any of the parties mentions, who try to restore real democracy to their Great Country. Men like Chris Hedges, who, as an example, asks his compatriots to sign a petition to “Take profit out of war”. 

Perhaps the best example of the enigma that exists south of our border is Warren Buffet, who although a billionaire supports the Democratic cause. I am willing to bet all I have that he (like me) is also a Republican at heart. It would be a shame if he could not follow the dictates of his desires for reasons created by the media or, perhaps, some poorly chosen politicians.

On the personal side, my own paradox is that most of my friends south of the border are Republicans (or were friends until they read this), and they in no way support the image which their media had created for them. They are the nicest, friendliest, most generous people. They just choose questionably characters to lead them.

Pity!

Or, perhaps, it’s all just a DELUSION. 

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The Two-Edged Sword

We all get so much help from the Universe that most people, yes, most, feel compelled to create a wonderful god in their own image and likeness to justify the munificence that most of us experience.

And this in spite of the way most of us live.

Many of us tend to overeat; we don’t exercise; we breathe polluted air (which we have created); we cut down on restorative sleep short; we drink alcohol—often to excess and… yet, we continue living. When we can no longer cope with the consequences of our actions, we go to quacks—pardon me—physicians, who treat our symptoms but seldom if ever the causes of our self-induced delinquencies.

Let’s face it. The vast majority of us abuse the generosity with which the Universe endows us.

And when we can no longer cope with our physical condition created by our persistent peccadilloes, we blame others. Always others. Why didn’t the government tell us that we shouldn’t eat so much sugar (red meat, white flower, drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes-cigars-pipes, etc., etc., etc.)? How were we supposed to know?

Eve had given us an apple to know good from bad. Why didn’t we listen?

That’s a parable. ‘Eve’ symbolizes our subconscious, our soul, the place where we store our knowledge acquired over millions of years. If human race survived to this day, that only means that we, the human race, had the knowledge to survive, before we had learned to treat symptoms rather than correct the root of the problems we create.

Linus Pauling (1901-1994), the only double Nobel Laureate, was the first to notice the dangers of relying on ‘medicine’. Since his time, a small group of physicians have joined the cause. Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Alan Fuhrman… there are a few others.

And yet, the Universe continues to support us with air, food, drink, and all other necessities of biological survival.

Nevertheless, in a world that is set on automatic (see my blog “Innocent”), the generosity of the Universe is a two-edged sword. While it supplies us with seemingly inexhaustible amounts of food, energy and other items, our superb immune system extends our life beyond our due. In fact, thanks to our immune system, long life is no longer a blessing. Rather it looks very much like punishment for our abuse of that generosity. We spend the last years paying for our errors. Dementia, Alzheimer’s, a variety of cancers…

This can be avoided if we learn to listen to our subconscious.

PS. The long promised historical novel, Peter and Paul, is finally published on Smashwords. For now you can download it for FREE. Please let me know if you enjoyed it with a brief review. Your input is important to me. 

[Ask for coupons for FREE downloads at stan@stanlaw.ca]

Generosity of the Universe

Sometime ago I shared some thoughts about the benevolence of the Universe. There I did little more than scratch the surface of reality. Now I wish to go further—into the realm of incredible, magnanimous, indescribable generosity of the Universe.

Yes, I am still talking about the same reality, our temporary home-away-from-home. Our real home is our state of consciousness, but when we peek outside, open our eyes, or perhaps our hearts, just a little wider, we cannot but be amazed by the gifts which the Universe bestows on us in a truly flabbergasting generosity. Suddenly we find ourselves in awe at the beauty that surrounds us.

First, there are the flowers.

Some colors are there, I am told, to attract various insects, supposedly to propagate its life. But if so, what is the butterflies’ excuse for competing with flowers with their plethora of carefully designed colorful patterns?

And talking of patterns of colors, did you ever dive into the Caribbean sea? The colors are mindboggling!

Yes, we are surrounded by an abundance of beauty.

And after we’re through admiring the symphony of hues and shades and pigments that fill us with euphoria, there are trees, and rock formations, and even shapes created by fleeting clouds. And then there are the sunrises. And as you sat after a day’s work bathed in the beauty of a sunset, did you ever watch a kitten play?

Or a puppy?

Or a deer peeking at you from behind a bush?

Or… ah yes, and sometimes—though this is much more subjective—even your own child at play?

And still later, did you gaze at the night sky that inspired thousands of poets?

 The question is why? Why such generosity? Is it but a foretaste of the heaven that awaits us?

Well, that’s precisely it.

The question remains why, and more precisely how, did the Universe supply us with such an abundance of, surely, gratuitous beauty? And what is perhaps an even greater mystery, what makes us aware of those gifts?

Unless…

Unless, at some unfathomable depth of our psyche, of our consciousness, we, you and I, are its creators; are the creators of both, the beauty and of our ability to appreciate it. Unless even here, on Earth, we are all but trying to recreate the heaven that is eternally waiting for us to return. There, some say, the same beauty is multiplied manifold. And its sole purpose is to make us happy.

One thing is certain. Anyone sensitive to beauty, whose heart is not filled with gratitude is missing out on his or her perceptions of reality.

And one day, we shall all return home to enjoy the fruit of our labors. You can get a foretaste of it in my novel: NOW—Being and Becoming. You might enjoy it even as you enjoy the beauty of the Universe around you. Well… almost?

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