My ArtWork - Dzydzilelya Ania

Dzydzilelya is the Polish Goddess of love, marriage, sexuality and fertility...

Made using Photoshop CS2 9.0.

Psychosis or Transcendence?

To the left is my version of Fritjof Capra's famous 'Cosmic Dancer'.

Click to enlarge.

The original 'Cosmic Dancer' by Capra has a dancing Shiva surrounded by cosmic particles and lit up cosmic particle streaks.

Instead of Shiva, I have portrayed supermodel Cindy Crawford as the Cosmic Dancer here. Much more appealing to the eye. ;-)

This version of the cosmic dancer was made by me using a playboy photo of Cindy Crawford and Adobe Photoshop. Its my first attempt at photomanipulation.

Fritjof Capra is the author of the cult book, 'The Tao of Physics' which compares the parallels between mysticism and modern physics. A book inspired by none other than Werner Heisenberg, one of the fathers of quantum physics.

On Page 360 of The Tao of Physics, Capra writes on Werner Heisenberg's role in his project:

Heisenberg's book 'Physics and Philosophy', his classic account of the history and philosophy of quantum physics, exerted an enormous influence on me when I first read it as a young student. The book has remained my companion during my studies and my work as a physicist, and today I can see that it was Heisenberg who planted the seed of The Tao of Physics. I was fortunate to meet Heisenberg in the early 70s. I had several long discussions with him, and when I finished The Tao of Physics I went through the manuscript with him, chapter by chapter. It was Heisenberg's personal support and inspiration that carried me through those difficult years, when I went out on a limb to develop a radically new idea.

i.e. Werner Heisenberg, one of the fathers of quantum physics, endorses mysticism---something that is not about 'rational thinking', but about 'feelings and meditative awareness'.

In the introduction to The Tao of Physics, Capra writes:

Five years ago[1969], I had a beautiful experience which set me on a road that has led to the writing of this book. I was sitting by the ocean one late summer afternoon watching the waves rolling in and feeling the rhythm of my breathing when I suddenly became aware of my whole environment as being engaged in a gigantic cosmic dance. Being a physicist, I knew that sand, rocks, water and air around me were made of vibrating molecules and atoms, and that these consisted of particles which interacted with one another by creating and destroying other particles. I knew also that the Earth's atmosphere was continually bombarded by showers of 'cosmic rays', particles of high energy undergoing multiple collisions as they penetrated the air. All this was familiar to me through my research in high-energy physics, but until that moment I had only experienced it through graphs, diagrams, and mathematical theories. As I sat on that beach, my former experiences came to light; I 'saw' cascades of energy coming down from outer space, in which particles were created and destroyed in rhythmic pulses; I 'saw' the atoms of the elements, and those of my body participating in this cosmic dance of energy; I felt its rhythm and I 'heard' its sound, and at that moment I knew that this was the Dance of Shiva, the Lord of Dancers worshipped by the Hindus.

I had gone through a long training in theoretical physics and had done several years of research. At the same time, I had become very interested in eastern mysticism and had begun to see the parallels to modern physics. I was particularly attracted to the puzzling aspects of Zen which reminded me of the puzzles in quantum theory. At first, however, relating the two was a purely intellectual exercise. To overcome the gap between rational analytical thinking and the meditative experience of mystical truth, was, and still is, very difficult for me.

They [readers of this book] will find that eastern mysticism provides a consistent and beautiful philosophical framework which can accommodate our most advanced theories of the physical world. Mysticism is an experience that cannot be learned from books.

What Capra describes in the above passage is a 'satori' or a state of sudden, temporary illumination of the mind. When higher mental faculties open up suddenly (if only temporarily), a vision that can (sometimes) be translated into a work like The Tao of Physics, is 'seen'.

The reader must have noticed that Capra writes he "saw" the atoms......"heard" the sound of energy dancing. He writes this way because he is not talking about literal seeing or hearing. This is a reference to the opening up of the mind. Or Consciousness expansion. OR...STEPPING BEYOND THOUGHT, INTO THE REALM OF DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH REALITY.

In my post on 'beliefs', I have written:

"All of us have direct experiences with higher truths, but most of us dismiss them as vague feelings or temporary mental dysfunction.....but there are some who don't....not saying 'hallucinations' are not mental dysfunction---what I am saying is not all 'alleged hallucinations' are mental dysfunction. Some may be visions. Satori."

In Capra's case, it was a genuine satori that inspired him to write The Tao of Physics.

An experience with satori is not a 'rational' phenomenon. It is not psychosis either. It is transcendence.

The Tao of Physics is full of examples of how mystics gather information. It is pretty direct about how mystics realise higher truths by transcending the known world. Werner Heisenberg endorsed it all. And I doubt Werner Heisenberg was deluded or insane.

*** A short note on satori: My understanding of satori is that it is a sudden & temporary illumination of the mind. As compared to Enlightenment, which is sudden and permanent.

Soulmates

Soulmates is a topic I have pondered often. The human lives a short life, has relationships that have very little substance in them and then vanishes, or so it seems.

Even otherwise, it is very difficult for even a genuine relationship to survive the madness of this world.

I believe it is all due to the immature emotional worlds that humans have. Immature and overtaken by negative feelings and selfishness.

I believe eternal soulmates exist. I believe multiple eternal soulmates also exist...but I feel soulmates will come into a human's life (to stay, once and for all) only after his/her emotional world matures.

Immature (and often selfish and negative) human beings cannot fall into long lasting relationships. So, even if one meets an eternal-soulmate-to-be, the relationship will not last.

But I believe they will meet again, in some other lifetime, when both are ready...and this time it will be eternal**.

By "ready" I mean people who are serious, unselfish, patient, and comfortable with their dark side.

Unselfish at least with the person they claim they love.

I believe that the presence of REAL romantic love can defeat death and turn people into eternal beings.

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**I have approached the subject of 'eternal life' in one of my blog entries, 'The Journey'.
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Update:

At the beginning of this blog entry, I wrote that most humans have relationships that have very little substance in them. I'd like to elaborate on that here...i.e the *substance*.

In her blog 'The Art Of Intimacy', Jennifer Jones writes "Love is what we do". The complete text of this post can be found here: Love is something that we do.

This makes sense. Because talk is easy...it's the actions that matter. I always found the phrase 'I love you' very corny, and people who use it at the drop of a hat, odd.

Feeling love and allowing it to translate into actions are two different things....real love ALWAYS brings with it real action. Or at least the pure, genuine intention of real action.

Without effort/action, or without the genuine intention of real action, it is not love.

Question:What about goddess worship? Should I not worship the goddess, who is prior to everything, including my soulmate?

Ans: Your soulmate is nothing but the infinite reaching out to you, in a form that melts you...and makes you FEEL life to its proper depths...instilling in you all the qualities that make you a human she can admire.

Your soulmate is your personal goddess. Make no mistake - She IS a real goddess by virtue of her influence over you. She is the infinite one, the one prior to all else, prior even to manifestation.

She is your cosmic mother. And when you are with her, you find yourself saying "I am home!".

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Update August 3, 2013:_______

Some songs to let your imagination drift...

Random Thoughts (Guest Author)

It is not easy to step beyond thoughts, at many points in life. Once gets overcome by anger, fury, and says/does things that one regrets later.

At the same time, the mind needs to do this, to keep itself together.

But the very fact that one is aware of all this means one is already going beyond such thoughts.

And all this can be avoided to a large extent. By not mixing with people more than what is necessary.

Everybody works, everybody is busy...but...I feel a person who TRULY focuses more on his/her work, than on people, will be able to lead a healthy, balanced life.

Apart from focusing on work, regular exercise helps one deal with the hostile emotional world, of self and others.

Exercise and work calm the mind. The situations that used to hurt, don't hurt that much anymore.

Eckhart Tolle says one should not worry about stepping beyond thoughts, but focus on the 'gap between thoughts'.

The silent space between thoughts IS the door that takes one beyond his/her thoughts, although this may not sound very convincing at first glance.

While working, you may notice that you are not paying attention to your thoughts, but are focused on the task at hand. This state of mind is called 'presence'.

Presence automatically takes you beyond thought.

The more you live in presence, the more the personality evolves, the more you go beyond old thought patterns.

Deep breathing, on a regular basis, will also do WONDERS, in making a person feel healthier and stronger.

Only recently, a very critical medical emergency, a heart attack, was controlled, just through DEEP BREATHING.

If deep breathing can do so much for the human body, you can imagine what fantastic benefits deep breathing can provide to the human mind.