Subtitle: Our Purpose
Hi everyone. This website is a reflection of my beliefs. I try to apply science, or at least logical progression to build a foundation for my beliefs, but in the end, belief’s are built on supposition. My beliefs on my purpose in life, your purpose, and our purpose, largely come from a place other than the world of science.
My beliefs are governed by duality. A particle presents as wave or matter dependent on perspective. Right now, there’s no-one in the world who can say with certainty that statement is false. A lot would say it’s true. A lot would like to say it’s false. This is a duality, which coincidentally presents as a reality right here in this universe. Observation, can or cannot be the determining factor of all reality. You decide if it’s real or not. I choose whether I want to see a particle or a wave, and in so choosing, I create new reality. This is a great thing for those of us building our own world. This simple binary system built this whole new world of computers and the internet.
The same wave/particle duality can be found in all things. Neither classical or quantum mechanics can explain this duality on their own. It requires both, and so thee two sides of physics are a duality as well. Two near separate things that make up the whole. When you look, duality is found in all things, and by applying duality, you can proceed with confidence, you are creating new reality. Act on the climate crisis, and you will be creating new reality.
Another duality can be found between science and religion. I dismiss neither when developing my beliefs. The notion of God is easily overlooked in the world of science. I’m not really sure why. In my opinion, this whole wave/particle thing begs the question. Why would something as rock solid as reality be dependent on who’s looking at it? Not only that, it turns out these particles know how we would like them to present before we do. To me, it looks like a whole new independent logic has been revealed with the discovery of the wave/particle. An organic logic other than human.
The selfish motive behind me believing in God, is I want eternal life. My time here on earth is almost over and I’m just getting started. I see an aspect of this eternal God when I think of the edge of the universe where matter chases but never catches infinity. When I see the very real possibility of infinity in the universe, I ask myself why there can’t also be a very real possibility of eternity in the other universe we inhabit, the abstract?
This is the direction in which I want my beliefs to take me. Eternal potential. One of my big questions that require belief is ‘What am I’? Not who am I, but what am I. Am I a Child of God, or just a happy consequence of the Big Bang? As you can see, I’m finding justification all over the place for being a Child of God. I want this moment in time on earth to only one be one moment in my eternal experience. With duality, you choose the one that suits you and then you live it. So child of God sitting right here.
I am a Child of God. That’s my belief. I search for meaning from those who came before me, that believed the same thing. I’ve taken a fairly close look at the major religions and social thinkers to help me firm up my beliefs. I come from a Christian background and after all is said and done, I identify as Christian, although not one you’d be able to pick out of a crowd today. I mostly look for stories in the bible that resonate and build context to my belief.
The story of Adam and Eve provides me with the context I require to have true purpose in my life. The first thing about this story that provokes thought is who wrote it? To me the story is so profound, it must have been told by God. How did a bunch of lunkheads come up with such a powerful metaphor over 2,500 years ago? First of all, let’s not rule out psychedelics and hallucinogens. That would go a long way to explain the burning bush, and there is some evidence, but let’s stick to the story.
To me, the stories in the bible are more relatable if you look at them as metaphor. A Metaphor paints the entire landscape, whereas words can only describe the mountain. With metaphor you can develop a complete understanding. I’ve never considered the lesson to be gained from the story of Adam and Eve, to be of punishment and banishment. Yes, as a result of Adam and Eve eating from the forbidden fruit, they were banished from Eden, and cherubs were placed to guard the east entrance. There was also a flaming sword placed to protect the way to the tree of life, and also talk of all kinds of hardships placed on us humans forever more, but beyond that, God was pretty reasonable about the whole thing. Personally, I see this as a precaution that once you begin a journey, it’s not a straight path back home. We were about to embark on an epic journey.
When we look at the story of Adam and Eve in context with evolution, it becomes a story of the great journey to a new and transcendental state of being. In the story, a serpent, perhaps Eve’s animal nature, convinces her to eat of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He tells Eve her eyes will be opened and she will become as God, knowing Good and Evil. This was later confirmed by God himself who stated, ‘Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know Good and Evil’. Doesn’t this sound a lot like, Behold, the man has evolved, and now is aware of self’? We are no longer simply creatures of God’s earth, but now something in addition to all the other animals on earth. Something with the capacity for abstract thought.
Immediately after eating the fruit, Adam and Eve become aware they are naked. Something has changed about them and from that moment they embark on a journey to discover what that is. They can’t turn back to the garden. The moment of being one of God’s creatures has passed, and there is no way back to that state of being. If you want back into Eden, you have come back as something else. You need to learn your lesson.
Through abstract thought we have the potential to become all knowing just like God. We’re seeing this play out today in science. Our rate of discovery is unbounded, and it’s taking us someplace. To new understandings about the world and ourselves. Maybe it’s taking us from becoming aware of, to understanding Good and Evil?
The story also talks about the Tree of Life. Is that what’s waiting for us at the end of our journey? Is that our next evolution? As there’s recursion in all things, we are recursive beings. When we evolve, we refine. We gain something in addition to what we already have. Nothing is lost. Something refined is gained.
This is why God does not intervene in our lives, at least not as often as we would like. This is our journey now. We have the potential to eat from the Tree of life, but we must come to this place on our own. We must experience it to know it. Access can no longer be gained through Eden.
What if we accepted this great evolutionary reward is waiting for us at the end of our collective journey? What if we’re close enough to the end that we’re getting glimpses of it right now? We know that at least some degree of this new state of being is possible under the right circumstances. We know good health and longevity are absolute certains, if we place our scientific discovery towards medicine, rather than war. We know we can have a sustainable earth if we shift our focus from ravenous extraction to conscious management.
This is our lesson to be learned and we’re failing it. If we want to come back to the tree of life, we have to take responsibility for ‘why bad things happen to good people’. It’s because of our apathy, not God’s. God doesn’t choose the inequity of life; we do, and if we support it, we get what we deserve. We don’t find our way back home.
I titled this post, ‘Why do Good Things Happen to Bad People’. This was my way of drawing your attention to the causal factor preventing the momentum we should have created by now to take us to our next evolution. The answer to this question is pretty simple. It’s because they’re a bunch of greedy pricks who gain a lot more when they function without a conscience, and instead of fighting for our evolutionary entitlement, we allow it to happen.
The more meaningful question of ‘Why do Bad Things Happen to Good People,’ is the same answer. It’s because we’re allowing it. We’re allowing people we know who are not acting in our interests, act in their own, even when their actions threaten to destroy us. Were letting them breed fear and hatred among us, and in so doing, letting them prevent an entire species from finding it’s true nature. One that is a lot more Godly than the one we’re living in right now.
Our purpose is to discover our humanity in all it’s potential. To evolve our state of abstraction to be inclusive and collective, and position ourselves for a species transcendental experience. An evolution. A step beyond what we already are. Organic, abstract, and eternal. This is the promise that comes out of the story of ‘Adam and Eve’. This is my belief.
Sites I visited while writing this post: