In fact, is is kind of funny that way. Depends on who you talk to.

Certainly there is a real is. What we experience with our senses ain’t it, even with machines to measure what we can’t see or hear or touch. Pretty close, maybe, kinda, I guess.

But what about that other is? The one that some people say they experience but usually they’re crazy? Sure can’t measure that one, since no one ever measured the human heart, or even saw it, for that matter.

Nobody knows. But despite that, and despite my own experience, I think that is is is.

Hopeful,

LWIII

Especially since nothing is everything in my new philosophy/insanity(?) that All is not only One, but it’s the same. Where then meaning? The meaning of meaning is meaningly meaningless if meanings mean meaningless meanings. That is to say, what’s up dude?

It’s about three. There’s two things, opposites perhaps, then there’s the one thing between them, the killer app. It’s all about that one thing between the two. A viewpoint?

I’m guessing,

LWIII

For me, I belong to the second group, kinda. I have a hard time finding fault with the world as it is, or at least the ground rules for that world. Humanity sticks a spoke in things sometimes, but that’s as it should be too. The old reap as you sow effect, and we are often crappy sowers. Majorly crappy.

That too is as it should be to my mind, since you can’t just pull wisdom out of a hat around here, you have to earn it, and the human race is pretty darn young, as species go. We’re trying a whole new thing here on Earth. None of the other mammals ever had the guts to grow a brain. Not a very pleasant experience at times. Quite an unruly organ, the human brain. Hard to ride.

Give us a few tens of millenia and we may bust that bronco. At present our minds ride us.

Time will heal, I hope.

There is one thing in this world I have a problem with, however. Our world is to me a miracle, every bit of it, a wonderland of geometry and biology, with each bit fitting exactly right. Except one: that little unfit bit I refer to as me. To live well in this world of gravity and entropy and time and chance it takes a certain kind of human – one with grace and courage and will.

Oops!

Many writers get their inspiration from injustice and the problems of the world. I don’t see that in the same way. Were I to rail against the problems of the world all I would do is talk about how pusillanimous I am, constitutionally incapable of beating down reality with my forehead. Suppose I could start a screed against procrastination. Join the Anti-Procrastination League and stamp out injustice!

The world is like this because you are like that.

LWIII

Can we not grow now?

Bummer,

LWIII

Attention – paying attention – is bringing more energy to whatever you are attending closely. Thus, one of my few finely-honed skills (ignoring stuff) can be shown to have value.

Some things you don’t want to have more energy. Cool, just ignore ‘em. Put your attention on something you want to become more energized.

Ignore-ance is bliss,

LWIII

Think I finally may have the answer.

Always figured I would have to find a spiritual answer to that question, my existential yawp. An implied communication from God or something. Some kind of deep soul experience of truth. But no, it comes from science and reason. Who would’ve thunk it?

The answer lies in M-theory, which to my shallow understanding is among the latest of quantum mechanical shots at a Theory of Everything. According to some proponents, there are an infinte number of parallel universes to ours. Not just different dimensions, but entire universes. These places – this infinity of complete universes – could vary from completely different from us to almost identical.

By the very definition of infinity that means that whatever can happen does happen. If something is rare or unlikely, infinity just keeps going until it happens, since the odds of something possible happening are always greater than 1 to infinity.

So that means that anything that can happen must happen, in one universe or another, at some time. There is nothing that doesn’t happen. Which leads us to my conclusion – Next time somebody asks, “Why is this happening?” you just say, “Because it had to.” It’s infinity’s fault.

Everything happens,

LWIII

Today’s post is coming to you courtesy of @davidbmetcalfe, renowned creative director of the Absurdist Monthly Review, as well as a master tweeter and superb necktie picker-outer. I begged the folks in my timeline at Twitter to send a topic that might irrigate the present desert of my mind, and voila, David hits me with “Method of Loci”. He sure has a knack for the absurd, getting me to write a post about a theory of memory. Rather like asking a frog to opine on onions.

The method of loci is a mnemonic device whereby one uses locations to assist in recall. Apparently this Greek dude named somethingorother came up with it back in the day. For a more detailed discussion I refer you to the Wikipedia article. It’s definitely worth the read.

Memory as an artform or a craft that can be learned is a valuable concept, I think. I’m all for it. Now if they could just come up with an art of forgetting, I’d be set.

Ever your guy who remembers what he’d rather not and forgets what he shouldn’t,

LWIII

Truth is one of my favorite subjects, so this should be fun, though I have covered truth-ish ground before. A line from a previous blog on the subject: “Fuck the truth.”

The problem with truth as I see it is that I’m not smart enough to figure out what it is. Almost everyone I talk to knows the truth. Feels kind of like I’m a kid getting ditched. How come I don’t get to know the truth too?

Waaah. It’s just not fair.

Truth is a fact and it’s relative at the same time. Lots of stuff is always true, regardless of circumstances. And one can speak the truth, such as: the dog did not eat my homework. That’s a truth. It is fact.

But then there’s that other Truth, the Big Truth, the one I never get to know. I have a sneaking suspicion it’s relative, dependent on the viewpoint of the truth speaker. Can a measly human being really know the One Truth for All Eternity? Kinda doubt it, though I keep trying.

One thing to remember, truth is only a word. Real truth is not a word.

It’s true, I swear!

LWIII

(thank you @forgetfulheart)

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Pfft. Like even. If I did unto others the way I wish they did things to me, everybody would hate me. I’m just not that picky. I sure wish people would cuss more. It really offends me that people don’t say motherfucker more often. And I love it when people lie, especially behind my back. And if I had a dime for every time I noticed somebody who I wished would throw me down, tear off my clothes, and sit all over my face, I’d be rich. No idea why they wouldn’t want me to do that to them.

So it’s crazy to treat people the way you want to be treated. You treat them the way they want to be treated.

Therefore I’m coming up with a new rule. Call it

The Platinum Rule

Do unto others better than you would have them do unto you.

There,

LWIII

Of course too much bad is not a good thing. But too much good is not a good thing either, so that doesn’t prove anything. An example would be a goody two-shoes. Nobody likes someone who is too good. They’re annoying as heck. One good shoe and one bad shoe is just about right.

One of my multitudinous and sadly disappointed spiritual gurus used to be fond of saying, “The wound is the resource.” The thing that attracted me to her in the first place was that she was not all sweetness and light. She had no interest in bringing on the new millenium when everything will be perfect all the time. To her, evil was just another part of what is, and not something to be wiped off the face of the earth.

Poor evil.

Seems like the part of us that is most interested in perfection and immortality is the ego section. The soul or spirit ain’t quite so picky. Spirituality that is all about making everything perfect is the ego talking, as far as I can tell. Spirituality in service to ego, oh yay.

The worst of all bads is death. Yet without death everything would suck. In fact there wouldn’t be anything at all, since death is what we live on. I can’t believe there are people who want humans to live forever. Bummer dude.

Shit,

LWIII