Sunday, August 22, 2010

The Spontaneous Healing of Belief

"I have no quarrel with the general attitude of scoffing at new ideas. It is better to be skeptical of all new ideas and to insist upon being shown rather than to rush around in a continuous brainstorm after every new idea. Skepticism, if by that we mean cautiousness, is the balance wheel of civilization. Most of the present acute troubles of the world arise out of taking on new ideas without first carefully investigating to discover if they are good ideas. An idea is not necessarily bad just because it is new, but if an old idea works, then the weight of the evidence is all in its favour. Ideas are of themselves extraordinarily valuable, but an idea is just an idea. Almost any one can think up an idea. The thing that counts is developing it into a practical product."

Once, many years ago, I was playing poker with some acquaintances. (We were playing Texas Hold 'Em, if you must know.) In order to make a specific hand during a particular game, I needed the seven of clubs. The seven of clubs remained 'available', which is to say that I had not observed it in play yet during this game. In theory then, the seven of clubs could be the next card that I was slated to draw. All that remained was to force that particular outcome - that is, that specific location for a seven of clubs from all possible locations within the decks - and the seven of clubs (and thereby a quite likely-winning hand) would be mine. Believe it or not, this is not as hard as it sounds. And being able to do so certainly had utility at the time. (I pulled the seven of clubs and won that hand.)

But what I remember more than anything is the feeling of 'So what the hell is the point?' that came over me as we began to play the next hand. As in - What the hell is the point of playing this game if I can just 'pick' the outcome I want? (That was probably one of the last games of poker I've ever played.)

At some point, the idea of 5 dimensions of experience is 'new' to everybody. And each person will have to decide for themselves if that idea has merit. Each individual will have to judge how well the 'old' ideas work for them, and what is to be gained by embracing such a radical change in view. To a similar end, I have wondered what the point of 'enlightenment' was, and what the point of a non-dual perspective is.

I'm a fairly stoic individual to begin with, so I'm not sure that I'd much trust a self-assessment of how well a 5-dimensional perspective might have eliminated any personal suffering on my part. (I've also been doing this for most of my adult life, so I have no good basis for comparison.) Have I benefited from having peeked behind the illusion of 'self', and if so, how? Do I suffer less than an individual who rails against God or an unknowable universe for his/her suffering? And if I suffer less, do I also enjoy less? As I have no good basis for comparison within myself, I am forced to asked... What is the worth of this idea to someone who would have to struggle to embrace it? (That is what you can share.)

Initially, of course, you are alienated from others who don't share your perspective. Does anything compensate for that alienation? Can anything compensate for that? Obviously I still feel lonely, and choose not to engage in an overt struggle to change anyone else's perspective. The desire not to be alienated is fairly powerful.

So what have I gained? What have other people gained from peeking behind the illusion of 'reality'? What recommends a non-dual perspective to someone for whom it is not forced upon by experience?

No comments:

Post a Comment