Philosophy of Imagination*Forty Two

I've already talked about how I believe we all have an incredible Imagination from the time that we're born. Something has to keep a child entertained when it's in utero. The mind can't live in darkness. It would drive anyone mad. So, we're born with our fantastic Imagination. There's nothing you can't do when you're a child. 

My theory on this next thing is hard to discuss, because it's so personal, but I think it's worth looking at. It has helped me to understand and heal. I was sexually abused when I was a kid. I'm not sure by whom or how often. My whole life it's something I had always thought may have happened, but I wasn't able to accept it as fact until recently. Medication for depression, therapy and the love of my wife and family helped get me there. But the initial impetus was my thinking on Imagination and how it works. How is my mind/Imagination so strong that it can block entire pieces of time in my life? That blows my mind.

Could the people who suffer severe mental and physical abuse go somewhere safe, until the abuse is over. 

As I've thought over my past, my Imagination helped make clear to me that the past is the past and it could be replayed a million times, a trillion times over and the outcome would always be the same. That there was nothing that I could do to stop the abuse. That the abuse was not my fault. That I am not damaged. That I have the confidence to tell people and not feel judged. That I am exactly me and don't have to be anything more than that. That I accept and love myself, every part and forgive myself for any past moments of weakness. 

Once you're able to forgive yourself, forgive yourself for everything, a magical thing happens. You're able to forgive everyone else for their shortcomings. It's beautiful. Nearly indescribable. 

I have forgiven my abuser/abusers, whomever they may be. I am by no means thankful for being abused, but I am very thankful for what it has made me. I wouldn't change a moment of my life. Even the awful shit. There is no shame or guilt if you have been abused. None. And I know it's hard to think about and face, but if you can see how bright the light is on the other side, it is worth it. But everyone in their time. It took me forty years of life to be able o accept and admit to myself what had happened when I was a kid. Love you all! We're all in this together and we need to help each other. Don't stay in that darkness alone. Come into the light and beauty where everyone will welcome you with open arms. Like Q-Tip said, 'Come spread your arms if you really need a hug.'

Philosophy of Imagination*Forty

I'm forty now and I've never felt so young. It's like a drug, that I've waited for on-line, for twenty years. Worth the wait, bet your ass. I didn't know so many neurons could fire so much goodness at once. Imagination is my drug, my juice, my love--trumped only by my wife and family and dogs. Imagination has given me everything and I can't wait to keep feeding it daily.

I read a recent article about 'Simulation Theory'. It's basically the plot of THE MATRIX, minus the evil human battery overtones. The theory posits that our whole Universe and existence is a computer simulation, a real life Sims. It's interesting to think about. After writing all the code, doing all the math, tinkering with algorithms, did they push the button (The Big Bang) and let us go? Are they constantly manipulating things? Who is it?

I find the theory interesting and fascinating to think about, as do most. The Matrix blew almost all minds and it's remained popular, because WOW! What the fuck? That could be true? Are we in a simulation? Well done Wachowskis! Nailed the jump, didn't stick the landing and I think for good reason. Because when they tried to explain the start and continued existence of us and our Universe, the theory gets too confusing and stupid. I believe mostly, because it's a fun theory, but untrue.

Computers want perfection. Without it, they don't work very well. Ever get a virus on your computer or run outta memory? Shit starts to go bad quick and fast. You're computer becomes a miracle to a pile of junk in no time. Complicated systems have lots of complicated problems and our Universe is most certainly complicated and the most complicated thing in this complex Universe is our complicated brains. 

If we lived in a computer simulation, things would be breaking down all the time. We would see behind the curtain, the wires, the smoke and mirrors of our creation. We would see the fuck ups. They'd be all over, all the time. But not one person has witnessed one or has any proof it. Kinda like God. God as computer programmer--I think not.

Our Universe is imperfection. That's what makes it beautiful. Computers work on perfection and perfection is dull and boring. We aren't a computer simulation. We are a fucked up, disorganized, cluttered mess of beautiful being.

Philosophy of Imagination*Thirty Four

We were discussing the five things we would rescue from a fire. Not counting family/friends. Here are mine; 1. Our dogs, Bean and Gracie -- 2. Journals -- 3. Photos -- 4. All my writing and notes -- 5. Computer and Hard Drives

What were yours?

I have some tangible things on my list, as I'm sure you do too, but what are the tangible items? What do they represent? Why are they important? The answer invariably comes back, 'Things that can't be replaced or reproduced.' These are all items with a tremendous amount of sentimental value. Things that don't have a price. My computer and hard drives(cell phone falls here) are important, because they contain photos and writing that I've done. These physical things hold the sentiment. The memories. The irreplaceable beauty created by your Imagination. 

There will always be a few outliers, maybe those jet skis are your babies, but almost everyone's list will be similar to mine, with some small derivations, all rife with sentiment, all things that we didn't have to buy with money. All things that live in our heart and Imagination.

When faced with losing everything, we save things that cost (almost) no money. We save memories and our Imagination creations. That's what matters. So, why do we spend 90% of our time chasing money. Sure, everyone has to work and have money to survive, but why do we sacrifice our time working, trying to get ahead, at the expense of family and friends? At the expense of ourselves and our mental well-being? Why do we chase cash to buy that new car, when your time and money could be used to create memories, those irreplaceable memories that we rescue from the fire? Why are our priorities so skewed?

You have got to recognize what is most important to you and throw 90% of your time and hard work behind it. Try it for a week, see how it feels, see how clear your mind will become. Imagine what kind of person you want to be and be it.

Philosophy of Imagination*Six

I am not a scientist, obviously, so if I get facts wrong or whatever, I apologize. I am a curious person and writing about things I don't quite understand (which is Philosophy) so I can study and learn and eventually know the subject better. I don't want to go too deep into evolution, it's dense and I only know the basics. We'll use basics. Evolution is survival of the fittest. The animal, human, insect and plant (and their offspring) will live on if they have the characteristics that make their survival more certain in the ecosystem in which they live. A stronger, longer tail will make a monkey better at holding on and they're less apt to fall out of the tree and die. But if a monkey lived where there were no trees, the monkey with the strongest and fastest legs would survive and the monkeys with the long tails will get eaten, because it's easier for a tiger to munch down on that long tail. So the monkeys who live in trees will get stronger and longer tails as millions of years go by and the plains monkeys will get faster legs and shorter tails as millions of years go by. 

But cyanobacteria is only one cell. It doesn't have differing traits from the rest of the cyanobacteria. How did one unicellular life turn into multicellular? Scientists still don't know for sure, but their thought was some kind of mutation? An abnormality that made that cell better than the rest. More Imagination in that cell? Perhaps. Maybe they were mutating all the time and it took a long time before one of them stumbled on to the right mutation? The other theory is that cells began working in groups, helping each other to achieve something greater than the self. That's awesome! Even on the cellular level, we need others and cells are willing to help out, even if they get nothing in return. The cyanobacteria, the first life, showed up 3.5 billion years ago. More complex multicellular organisms didn't appear until 600 million years ago. That's like 3 billion years the cyanobacteria was all alone, pumping out oxygen, creating our atmosphere, trying to Imagine how to be better, how to make the World around them great. 3 billion years! That is a patient motherfucker. Motivated. No giveup. 

The cyanobacteria mutated and branched off in millions of ways. It is the father of bacteria and viruses and all other unicellular organism in the World, but once it became multicellular, it never regressed back to unicellular. That's fascinating, because once it made some progress after 3 billion years, it didn't kick its feet up too long. It Imagined being three cells, then four, then five, always optimistic that a better future lie ahead. A future that would eventually allow the offspring of the cyanobacteria to understand and enjoy the Universe in which it lived. If that ain't Imagination, I don't know what is.

There is no laziness in nature. It is always trying to grow and procreate and climb upward.

Philosophy of Imagination *Four

A few posts ago, before a tangent took over, I was discussing the origins of Imagination. All the way to the beginning of time -- or maybe to the beginning of life. That scope is easier to hold and look at. Especially because time is relative and obscure and may not exist at all (but that's an entirely different discussion).

We start at the beginning of life on Earth. That we can get our arms around. We have a lot of data and science of life on Earth, hard facts and truths. Give it up for scientists, the unsung heroes of our Universe! Them and teachers. Slaving away to make our World a better place and not asking for acclaim or notoriety beyond the science magazines and 'Teacher of the Month' awards. 

Life on Earth started with a single-celled organism called 'Cyanobacteria'. You get capitalized if you're the first living thing on Earth. Well done! Thanks for figuring it out so I can be here now, typing this thought. It is an aquatic and photosynthetic. It lives in water and makes its own food. It's growth and proliferation is what created our atmosphere. The oxygen we breathe is a byproduct of the photosynthesis of this blue-green algae, floating on top of the Earth's water. We have fossils of Cyanobacteria and they date to roughly 3.5 billion years ago.

The beginning of life on Earth. Cyanobacteria. It created an atmosphere that would allow it to evolve into everything else. That's fucking awesome! If its byproduct from food production had been helium, who knows what the hell our Earth would look like?

Cyanobacteria did not have a consciousness or feelings or Imagination yet, at least I don't believe it did. All this was further down the evolutionary road. It did have one important directive -- multiply -- multiply as much as possible so you will live on. So a part of you will always be here on Earth and in this Universe. 

That's crazy that a single-celled bacteria wants to be remembered. That is why life goes on. We all feel that very strongly. It is what motivates us every day to get out of bed. To be remembered and revered. To stay on Earth forever. We want to survive and procreate (most of us anyhow) so we will never be forgotten. 

Maybe the Cyanobacteria did have an Imagination? It was just waiting for a chance to grow. It needed legs to further explore its Imagination, to understand what it was capable of. Are we here because Cyanobacteria had Imagination and fortitude to be remembered forever? Is it okay to be remembered as a group? As People? As Human Beings? Is that enough? I don't think so. And I think most living beings would agree with me. But no one will be remembered forever and that's okay, because the matter and particles we're made of will be around into the infinite. And if we live a good, happy life, all that matter and particles that make up us, will live on to infinity, spreading that goodness and happiness that you created. Do matter/particles have thought and memory? I believe they do.

We should build statues to Cyanobacteria in every city on this Earth! None of us would be here without it! Cyanobacteria forever!

Time and Space

Imagination

Transcends

Time

and

Space