Today, let’s tackle something simple. I am a believer in what is called the block universe structure of existence theory. Or, that everything, everywhere in this universe exists all at once, all the time. It is not an odd theory as you might think. Let me explain.
If the Big Bang Theory of creation is correct, we are living in a reality that is shaped by time and space. It may help to think of our universe as time being the horizontal factor always pushing us forward, while space is the vertical dimension, giving us the ability to see and gauge the physical world in terms of having an up and down direction.
Now, and here is a big leap, if we can assume there is also in addition to the physical world, an ethereal world, what is in it? I would argue that given the combination of where is here, and what is there, the difference being we can’t “see” what is on the other side so to speak, the entirety of the universe, meaning all that is, was, and will ever be are all contained and accounted for, right here, right now and forever, all at once, all the time.
However, isn’t it true that as humans we can only experience “reality” through the lenses of our senses? That we are not creatures of absolute and complete knowledge, and that time and space are the forces that help guide us while we attempt to navigate this maze we all call life?
And then there is light. The precious gift of illumination for those with eyes to see. I have often compared light to fate. We are given an entire universe of positive and negative frequencies, vibrations and energy, yet can only see the parts our senses allow us to see, hear, feel, smell and taste. In this manner, all and everything are parsed out to us in those quantities that we can accept.
Think of life this way, as if you are watching a carousel or slide presentation. From the beginning of the show till the end, all the individual images caught on camera are present, yet we can only see each image on each slide when they are illuminated, by light. Is this not so?
Why would the world be any different? This is what I believe is meant when we refer to our lives as guided by the light, as opposed to blinded by the light, that I will leave Bruce Springsteen and Manfred Mann to explain for themselves. Good song, but theoretically somewhat challenged one might say.
If we are willing to include the idea that someone other than ourselves has picked the who, what, when and where, perhaps even why slides for each of us to see at the right time, we have an interesting basis for assuming the existence of a Creator, or certainly a being far more all-knowing that us, as well as the concept of fate.
Meaning, our fate is revealed to us, all of us, in a different highly tailored fashion by what we can see of the “whole” at the predestined time, and in the predetermined place. If we can throw in free will as our responses to the present determining what secrets, what knowledge, what wisdom will be illuminated next, we have a working description of the interplay between free will and fate.
Although they may sound at odds with each other, truly, they are not, with free will being yet another gift from above we should all cherish as it gives us some control over our own rate of learning, experiencing, and growing. You know, a say in our own destiny. Remember the saying your actions speak louder than words? Tack on “all the way to heaven and back” and you’ll get the picture.
As for our ultimate fate, it is predetermined. We all come from the same place, the same eternal womb, and from there we will go back to whence we came. So, where do we come from?
Here is my answer. We don’t. We are already there. We just need to shine the light upon it, to illuminate our way there as we all return home. The trick is to realize you do not need to change your surroundings, but yourselves. For at some point the journey must become an internal struggle, or as I like to say, if you change yourself, you change the universe and when you conquer yourself, you conquer the entire universe.
If we follow what little is known about the inner part of our journey, we must sit down, take our time and become quiet until the stillness and space in our souls awakens to the epiphany we are all interconnected to each other, to the something, to the nothing, that exists, everywhere and nowhere, at the same time. The only “real time” being, now.
When life becomes a series of “now” we can begin to appreciate the 10,000 miracles that we encounter all day every day (and night) as part of the incredible gift of sentient existence.
I remember the first time I approached “oneness”. It was a sunny, humid day in the bayous behind Downtown Houston, TX. I was walking down a dirt path with every stride taking me further away from civilization. I passed a rickety old and long abandoned building that had written on the side “The Chocolate Bayou Theater Company”. A sign on the side of the road pointed the way to Freedmen’s Town. I sat down to rest and re-hydrate in a small clearing in the marsh. It was quiet. Then it wasn’t.
For the first time, I began to “hear” the world around me. I could hear the water in an out of sight but nearby stream flowing, insects, mostly dragonflies and bees buzzing around, and eventually, the wind rustling between what seemed to be a never-ending field of cattails, scrubs, and trees.
Then I started to wonder what sounds I might be making and whether “nature” was taking note of my presence and, at a minimum, listening to me as I was to my surroundings hoping to find a subtle message floating in the breeze.
It was then, for the first time I realized the universe, all and everything, was not a flying carpet I was sitting on far above the fray, but that I was a fully integrated, intertwined and integral part of the magic tapestry we all too causally call life, the universe and everything that is, was and will ever be.
Then I laughed. As suddenly, it was all so incredibly obvious. We are all one living and breathing entity dependent on one another in the singular and collectively, and importantly, when you change yourself, you alter all of nature, the world and indeed, the very intertwined fabric of the universe.
Why am I telling you this? Whenever anyone asks me what they can do to change the world, I answer with all sincerity and conviction, because I’ve seen for myself what happens when we listen intently to the music of the universe. It changes you and when you change, the world, universe and everything will follow. The world is different because you are different. Be kind, generous, loving, caring and fair, even when nobody else is, for this is where you are most needed. Who’s in?
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What a philosophy! Right along with that of Spinoza "Nature is our 'God'". I bow to you. I particularly like your words, "We are all one living and breathing entity dependent on one another in the singular and collectively, and importantly, when you change yourself, you alter all of nature, the world and indeed, the very intertwined fabric of the universe." Jaime Casellas