Science Musings Discussion
All the old sciences, do indeed, have starring roles.
(I save that which inspires me.)
I hope all of you will indulge me again, but a few weeks ago I was inspired by a moment in my day, and I was compelled to write about it, in hopes of being able to share it, and to simply feel the exuberance of expressing the awe that came with it.
----------------------------
I just want to share some thoughts with all of you. But first I want to say I deeply miss being able to come here and share my thoughts and ideas as frequently as I did a few months ago. But, unfortunately, in relation to this site, my work world has changed dramatically since last fall, and the corporate beast that I have chained myself to is very demanding. While I struggle with this new, and hopefully temporary, reality, I am still moved, on a daily basis, by the thoughts and ideas that I have come to share in common with the individuals that frequent this site. This sounds a bit gushy, but that’s me.
………………………………………….
I had a recent experience, actually one of several similar ones, which intrigued me enough to share it here.
These “experiences” are actually just moments of instant clarity and vision. They usually begin with a simple observation regarding what is usually an ordinary moment is anyone’s day, but from within that moment comes something which, for me, seems quite extraordinary.
The simple observation is typically followed by a question which I ask to myself. And then, while probing for an answer, I am overcome by the momentary flash of understanding and intuition, as if a window shade is suddenly raised, almost as if a revelation. And then, as fast as it comes to me, the moment is gone.
The last episode was during a recent commute, at 04:30 in morning, as I drove to the airport to catch a 06:00 flight. I found myself cruising down the highway in complete darkness, with only the two, red tail lights, from the vehicle some 200 yards in front of me, to guide me down the dark stretch of roadway. And as so many times when I find myself alone, my thoughts were of Life, as it exists on our planet.
And the question which comes to me is, ‘How is it that We exist in the manner that we actually do exist?’
Then, in a flash, the spark ignites, and a blazing moment of clarity comes over me, as if someone turning on a light switch, for just a moment, and then turning it back off. In that blink-of-an-eye instant, I feel as if I can see the complete nature and scope of the unbelievable randomness of our entire existence.
In that flash of a moment, it becomes shockingly clear to me that all that everything around us, and all that we acknowledge as real, can be drawn into question. And it stands to reason that everything, as we know it, could be profoundly different. All of Biology, Psychology, culture, history, religion, and all of the realities which our brain currently acknowledges could be quite different from what has, now, come to be.
Even the fantasy-like creations that have been constructed out of consciousness: the mobile units of vehicular motion, the gravity defying transport devices, the networks of electrons that energize nearly everything, could all be very different… The list is endless, but the realization of the sum total hits me in a flash.
The Wow Factor, contained in only the initial portion of this incredible moment, gives way to sensing that the unbelievable part of this truth is not contained in the machines, systems, and tactile things which are merely end products, but rather in the realization that from their meager beginnings, all the way through to their final configuration, the state in which they currently exist, are all the random outcome from a billion individual factors and events stretched out over several billion years.
The complete randomness of everything that has come to be also implies that with just a few minute changes in the rudimentary factors, from which all of this has came, would mean that everything could, conceivably, be completely different from how they exist in the present. The planet’s entire reality could be altered: its life forms, the nature of man’s physical, emotional, and societal makeup, the entire world as we know it, including my reliance on the two, simple red beacons that exist on the mechanical unit in front of me, would most definitely be different.
It is in that momentary flash of clarity, which lasts but a single heart beat before it is gone, that the inconceivably random nature of ‘What Is’ comes to light, leaving only Awe in its wake
As that single heart beat passes, so, too, does the accompanying surge of understanding and knowledge. In an instant, I am once again aware of the road, the darkness, and the two red lights in the distance. As I drive forward, into the darkness, I shudder, and smile.
I thought of you and your experience as I was falling asleep last night. I'm surprised I don't remember a dream!
The 'shudder and smile' fits right in with lots of mystics' experiences, each of them depending for the context on culture, training, education, religious (or non-) orientation. Awe and delight.
Wonderful! And the sense of impermanence, possibility of different outcomes, all on the edge of your (our) reality --
I hope you have some other people with whom you can share this. It's too much to contain alone. I'm part of a small meditation group whose members are free and trusting enough to talk about experiences we have that may be like yours. It helps a lot. Maybe when you are less busy you can find or start one--
:)
Commenting by HaloScan
