The God Franchise

Many people today supplant a healthy thirst for knowledge about deeper meaning in their lives with a packaged set of beliefs their religions espouse.

Because these religions have assumed a license, they can implore people to believe in their brand of explanation as the final authority, so that followers think there is no need to question the subject more deeply.

Scientists Discover Life After Death

We assume we know about Life because we are all alive. But in fact, we know very little about the native qualities of this energy we can observe as distinctly separate from everything else in the physical world around us.

I say “native” qualities, because it appears possible that Life might continue on after the death of the body. We can’t see this energy, measure or detect it outside the body, so of course we jump to the obvious conclusion that it has no post mortem existence. Yet we do know that when Life is in our bodies we live and that in spite of our best attempts at a scientific understanding of this phenomenon, it appears and disappears with equal intrigue. Or does it?

Beliefs Shape Our Reality

“This is how humans are: we question all our beliefs, except for the ones we really believe, and those we never think to question.” -- Orson Scott Card

The eBook: A View Beyond the Stars  cuts right to the quick of that which clings ever so persistently, fiercely beneath our every conscious thought. That we are, each and every one of us special, unique and that somehow we must matter in an enduring way to everyone and everything around us.

Our view of existence is shaped by this simple yet powerful belief. In fact everything we think and do is motivated by a fundamental set of beliefs. How we treat ourselves, how we treat others, what we choose to do in the world and most importantly, what reward we expect from this experience of living Life.

Beliefs are our lens with which we view everything around us. They determine from our most intimate, primal thoughts and concepts, what we will embrace and what we will shun in the world we live in. They both liberate and imprison our actions through both powerful and subtle emotional response, which are without substance and yet bind us completely to what interpretation we make about what we perceive. Of all the influence of forces in the vast Universe that surrounds us, there is no greater impact on any human being than that which results from our beliefs.

What we believe in sets our expectations for existence, causing us to make assumptions for the present as well as the future. These can be as simple as trusting in the good will of people around you, or assuming that people are out to take advantage of you. Most people agree that having a strong set of convictions, or another way of saying commitment to one’s beliefs, is an important sign of character. We learn from experience that nothing much gets done in the world unless a person with conviction sets out to accomplish it.

These are respected character traits in the people we admire and aspire to emulate. But there is another side to being compelled from a strong belief system. It can predispose you to a self-created reality that fixates your attention on a unique view of the world that must be shared by others in order for it to survive. Reality is nothing more than broad agreement on how we choose to perceive and mutually interact with the world we share.

Beliefs become our compromise with chaos. When we first think a thought, or receive a perception from outside ourselves, we are determined to compare it to that which we have already resolved from disorder. From our earliest awareness of unassociated thoughts, feelings, perceptions and decisions, we have worked steadfastly to sort them into familiar patterns. These form our own very personal matrix, or the mesh underpinning our view of reality, which we weave the remainder of our Life’s experience into. We make compromises with what we don’t understand. We trowel over imperfections on the face of the structure of our understanding, with a plaster of beliefs that restores uniformity and control in our view. As infants, our bodies provide us the potential and physical ability to stand and walk against the force of gravity. But the means to do so must be bolstered by the belief that we can. Beyond just standing up in a tumultuous world, with potential for joy or disaster at every turn, our beliefs help us to decide whether or not we will even try - and choose to exist at all.

This book is not difficult to read and yet for many, reading it will be difficult because it will challenge the way you think and most importantly what you believe in the deepest core of your psyche. It is not easy to reconsider core beliefs. They define us and they protect us from spinning hysterically out of control in a world that tugs incessantly at the fabric of our personal reality. And so I am not asking you to just let go of that which literally holds you together, but rather to merely loosen your grip just a bit; to not clutch so dearly to the comfort of your beliefs, while you consider something new, unusual and perhaps even wonderful.

As we continue to plumb the depths of the inner and outer universes, exploring and pushing beyond our human boundaries of perception and thought, we continue to see something inexplicable and awe inspiring at work. Science is just now coming to terms with an intersection of the physical and the metaphysical; an age old concept that had been discarded in favor of only that which is tangible, therefore observable, quantifiable and therefore classifiable. However, scientific method is beginning to discover proof the intangible may be even more fantastic than we could imagine and despite the gossamer appearance of that which had always eluded our human grasp, it is beginning to materialize right before our eyes.

What does it all mean? Are we so invested in our beliefs about the evolutionary world around us, or the gods of creation, that we cannot embrace another possibility which may well prove each of them to be merely guideposts to our final destination? And might it be possible that our quest as humans might be to finally arrive at a place where neither science, nor even gods rein supreme? If in either case your immediate thought after considering that line was: “preposterous!”, then you see the powerful mechanism of the limiting effect of one’s beliefs at work.

Consider this quote from Robert Lanza: “Instead of assuming a reality that predates life and even creates it, we propose a bio centric picture of reality. From this point of view, life – particularly consciousness – creates the universe, and the universe could not exist without us.”

Robert Lanza is Chief Scientific Officer of Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) and Adjunct Professor at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

It's Time To Grow Up As Beings Not Just As A Race Of Humans

There is no greater challenge, or reward before humankind, than to (re)discover the truth behind the mystery of the origins of our existence. I believe it is the simple ignorance of this truth that brings forth all the incidence of insanity and despair on this planet.

Taking the broader view, I foresee a not-too-distant future where we on Earth will be introduced into a larger community, even just within this Galaxy. When that day comes, we will be expected to assume a responsible role in the affairs of races of beings heretofore unimagined.

We need to arrive to greater maturity as a civilization in order to prepare for that day. If we are to grow as a race of humans, we will need to grow as human beings to ultimately accept our rightful place in the cosmos. We must shed the ignorance and compulsiveness of youth in order to finally emerge as venerable citizens of the galaxy and not just self-indulgent tenants of Earth.

At this writing the universe is estimated at more that 15 billion years old - while Earth is estimated at roughly 5 billion. The history of the universe obviously did not begin here on this planet. If life can be proven to be perpetual in existence, the question should immediately occur to you: What has it been doing for the last 10 billion years or so beyond Earth? Not just for the last few million we know about in our neighborhood. We need to think bigger! Longer!

Our planet resides in a wondrous universe of other “Earths”, other civilizations, other beings. It is time we throw away the old textbooks and begin to rethink our entire model of existence. We can raise ourselves above the petty crimes we commit on ourselves in this microcosm of life here, if we begin to imagine the unimaginable - that the universe is teeming with life and we are not a small insignificant part of it. We are not merely frail humans tucked away in a backwater alley of the Milky Way. We are beings of stature, wealth and power beyond the belief of those who see our planet as the only history book for life in the cosmos.

Let us rejoin the races of sentient beings within our universe starting with waking up to life as it was meant to be - endless in existence, potential and possibilities for the future. Stop thinking bodies. They are mere articles of clothing which we wear out and must be discarded. Unless you believe yourself to be mittens, or socks or trousers, or the like, do not over value their importance.

We are all part of a vast body of life. That is where all things material begin. Not the reverse. The material universe is the stuff we play with. Otherwise, it is no more important than a dust mote floating through a sunny summer's day.

For more on the subject read the eBook: A View Beyond the Stars.

Flexing Space In New Dimensions

“In the beginning there were only probabilities. The Universe could only come into existence if someone observed it. It does not matter that the observers turned up several billion years later. The Universe exists because we are aware of it.”

A View Beyond the Stars: A Book About Enduring Consciousness

Introduction to the eBook: A View Beyond the Stars
“The world of the mind is an illimitable land whose boundaries are as vast as the Universe itself; and thought is calling us at all times to the undiscovered countries lying beyond the next visible range of mountains.” -- Sam Ervin, Jr.

The average guy on the street doesn’t think about the “Big Bang”, quantum mechanics, or what twisted mood the Creator must have been in to whip up the warped little Universe we live in. Frankly, most of us are busy trying to keep enough money in the bank, the government out of our pockets and figure out why our kid just has to have a nose ring. We haven’t got the time or inclination to speculate technically on why the Universe is the way it is. Most reason such mental exercise should be reserved for those guys with the huge heads and squinty eyes with coke bottle lens glasses. They get paid to think about black holes, why the dinosaurs disappeared and where God might hang out in his spare time. What we do know is that we have a lot of problems, most of our friends have a lot of problems and nobody really has time to hear about ours because they’re too busy worrying about their own.

It appears there is a fair amount of disillusionment with Life in fact for most people, if you pry beneath the surface with them a bit. It’s changed dramatically from the way we thought things were supposed to be like when we were kids. Then, Life was full of simple wonders to explore at every turn. There were no boundaries for imagination and we believed we could have everything we could see and touch. The simple joy of living was pure and good. What happened? Well, our reorientation began as toddlers and by the time we hit our thirties, we have been thoroughly convinced we “know” about Life. It’s not what we hoped it would be, but we’ve got the basics down now and we can deal with it. Is it miserable? No, not usually.

In fact most of us lead fairly decent lives if we have followed the prescribed path, barring missteps or sudden catastrophe. For those who haven’t, well they weren’t as lucky, or should have been raised more responsibly, right? For those of us who enjoy financial and physical health, good families, friends and reasonable goals for the future, Life is pretty good actually. So what’s the problem?

It depends on your perspective, but since we are fairly sapient beings, meaning having higher awareness of self than say, field mice, we have to tune out a lot in order to live peacefully within ourselves. For instance, unlike dogs and cats, we contemplate our existence, our mortality and even our place in the broader Universe – routinely. That is, before the all-ness of it all presses in on us and we quickly divert our attention to more productive, safer mental havens. Yet, for just a moment sometime in our lives, we have all paused upon an ancient path most merely peer intently down for just long enough to discern it is an eerie one. We shake our heads and proceed down the well worn trail followed by the rest of mankind. Only a strange few seem to be drawn to the rock strewn incline leading to the foggy rim of the cliffs over the abyss beyond. Like places of mystery beyond the known world on the maps of ancient mariners, we are warned: “here be dragons”! It’s certainly no place for the level headed. Besides, it’s probably just a dead end anyway. No one has really reported back with anything truly important from out there, have they? Still, we know something very odd is going on beyond our view of reality.

As the speculation goes, 15 billion years or so ago, give or take a few eons, our Universe blazed into existence from a single point of light. Everything else is history. We can measure it, define it and speculate about the rest we don’t know about. What went on before this “Big Bang” is the subject of this book. Obviously there has been no greater influence on humans, than the creation of our Universe; the beginning of all we know as reality. But what was happening just moments preceding its ignition? If indeed there has been a single author of our Universe, reasonable speculation into the motivations prompting its creation should prove to be fascinating. This is exploration into our essence as human beings and that which came before and follows beyond the horizon of our existence – beyond the crepuscule .

This book is not a religious treatise. There have been far too many of those. And there is nothing here but the barest possible discussion of science, because we are feeling around in the darkness which preceded all things measurable by science in fact. This is not a work that particularly embraces philosophy, though it obviously ponders familiar concepts. Quite simply, this book is speculation into the mind of the Creator. Therein only will we discover the answers to questions that equally plague and yet fascinate mankind. Can we and perhaps most importantly for some, should we be so presumptuous as to assume the right to step onto what many would proclaim as sacred ground?

We are presently at a crossroads, poised tentatively at the threshold of breakthroughs in science, medicine and genetic engineering which will more expansively pass traditional powers to mere mortals, formerly preserved for the exclusive use of the gods. We are technically meddling in affairs we have been raised to fear reprisals for already. Our religious programming, which is part of the bedrock of human society even still, gives us pause at each milestone in technological advance to tremble slightly in anticipation of the lightning bolt from the heavens from which we have yet been spared. Have we merely failed to apply the final straw to the proverbial camel’s back?

In any case, we must endeavor to precede the technological juggernaut we have created in our world, with a new understanding of a deeper heritage for Life many find lacking despite the huge volumes of work of science and religion. Something is missing. There appear to be plenty of clues, but it isn’t all quite adding up. Yet, it is essential that we explore our earliest roots as sentient beings, different in character and body – though identical in origin - for our civilization to usher in yet another major era of newer, more powerful technology. Don’t think it has all been figured out for you already. It hasn’t been. The answers are still out there waiting to be discovered. Now, more than ever, it’s still so very important for you to wonder “why”? Notice the ever so slight shimmer in the reality of the world around you. There is something there, just out of reach, but never really out of mind. And there is that question imbedded deeply in all of us. It can be answered. And it will not be what you expected. And yet, it is more than we humans could ever hope for.

This work has been incredibly uplifting and a result of more than 20 years of investigation, pondering and rethinking most of the paradigms we have taken for granted about the birth of human consciousness and our progress to civilization. This book is not for everyone. It is blasphemous, irreverent and probing without conscience. Though, for those who thrive on exploration, it should prove to be more than merely intriguing; hopefully fascinating. For those who fear we are tempting the wrath of various deified super-beings, who would object to merely questioning their motivations, I can only suggest they stop reading and head for their bunkers. For those who are merely skeptical of anything that appears too radical, I offer that the very nature of exploration is to push beyond the already known boundaries into potentially dangerous new territory. What harm is there here to a little intellectual adventure? Perhaps even you will be pleasantly surprised at what you might discover.

By this work, I do not seek anything short of rattling the rusty frame of a society which gamely insists on building higher, more complex social structures, which teeter ever more precariously. Our modern Golden Age of high technology is capable of launching men to the distant stars, in bodies we can genetically engineer to last the journey. But, we insist on subjecting ourselves to psychological ruin from a tug ‘o war created by the hyper-speed pace of our modern civilization and the archaic myths of religious dogma that mire us in the same primordial mud we have slogged through since the dawn of time on Earth; perhaps even longer. It is time to break free of the gravitational pull of primal fear, human guilt and ignorance of our past in order to truly reach the stars.

The real irony is that we will survive everything we do, no matter how badly we muck up our civilization. The pity may only be the quality of that Life we impose on ourselves to dwell in from now to eternity.

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