BOOK 2 PART b
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PART II EXPANSION OF THOUGHT The previous query is an example of consciously willing new views from old or parts of old views. This is not an easy task, in fact most shy away, for fear of repercussions, or simply they perceive it to be fruitless. However, they fail to recognize, fruits can only bear after being planted, to not try is to never know. So begins the discussion on “expansion of thought.” Expansion of thought is basically the ability to do one or both of two things; it is the ability to create new ideas (expand reality), or the ability to jump from one reality to another in thought (reality jump). It takes a disciplined and open minded individual to master these abilities. Upon elaboration this will be made clear. Reality Expansion Expansive minded individuals can create images by reassembling observable phenomenon to produce new phenomena or images that has not previously been conceived or concocted. They can take bits and pieces of things and develop things bigger, better or new. This occurrence is a very complex process. It involves the recognition of similarities of functions, the correspondences of objects and the ability to make adept speculation. Similarity, Correspondence And Speculation The recognition of similarity of functions is an elementary concept. This implies that certain things affect or appear in the environment in a similar manner, people tend to presume that this commonness goes beyond the specific recognized functions or at least the observable characteristics. Children quickly recognize it, it is the impetus for the copying and imitating that is done during childhood. In fact, a child after recognizing the similarity of functions between a tape and a CD may attempt to place an audio tape into a CD player, assuming that because of the basic similarity in function, it can be utilized by the same mechanism. Disc may have the same result on adults. Computer illiterate individuals may attempt to place a Compact Disc where a Floppy disk belongs. Correspondence of objects is also another factor that allows for creativity. By correspondence, I refer to the relationship that exist between objects or phenomena that create the basis for commonality. The nature of the relationship can be anything, from common origin to common end, or common color to common shape. Most correspondences are based on sensual similarities such as if two herbs look alike, it may be assumed that they may have the same effect on humans. A good example may be the similarities between oranges and tangerines. This may cause some people to substitute tangerines for traditional uses of oranges, such as tangerine juice. People also create a conceptual association that may allow for the substitution of environmental resources for convenient utilization. Some may presume that all desert growing plants can store water, just as cactuses do, this is incorrect. The false assumption is made based on proximity among other reasons. A more rudimentary example may be, the accidental pouring of salt, instead of sugar into the coffee or tea. Obviously all associations are not always credible but sensual similarities or proximity gives birth to new adaptations and plays a significant role in creativity. Adept speculation or recognition of the benefit of a specific type under a certain condition, is meant to indicate the interaction that develops between two or more factors under certain conditions. When we recognize the relationship that exists between two or more independent factors in a given situation then we can manipulate and control them. For example, if we take sticks (factors) and rub them together (condition), we can start a fire. For this process to work most of the time, one needs to be aware of the specific type of sticks and the specific manner to rub the wood necessary to start the fire. Without the ability to do this, an individual's ability to expand their mind is restricted. Application Now it is necessary to look at the nature of an individual's ability to utilize this process, and the role it plays in imagination, which subsequently contributes to expansion capabilities. An individual's ability to logically deduce the affect one item will have in response to another is ultimately more apt to develop creations that are more practical. Although most people are capable of recognizing similar functions and correspondence of things, few are capable of logically associating different items to perform an intended function. In order for an individual to do this they must acquire knowledge, be capable of rational thought and be able to work in a less than tangible environment, in other words with imagination. It is critical that knowledge is gained of the environment. It enables the individual to understand the functioning of the items, or objects. It allows for the understanding of the observed interactions, the basis of it, the conditions that support it and those that hinder it. Knowing or receiving information is only but the first step of this model. The second step is rational thought, the ability to systematically reach point B from A, a method where the conclusion is reached consistently and independently of subjectivity. It allows for people to act with a relative degree of certainty within an environment and allows specific information to be utilized over a wide array of circumstances. Imagination The most critical, and perhaps the most ignored and also the most difficult to reconcile with the fore mentioned aspects of the approach is imagination. The process of making significant discoveries or making discoveries that serve a purpose is hindered when the scientist lacks imagination. Imagination is the ability to see what is not before the eyes, in other words, the ability to perceive the unsubstantiated. The inability to productively and unmitigatingly imagine will restrict individuals to their empirical observations, and ultimately limits their experience. When the possibilities of the individual are limited, the possibilities for what that individual can become or do are also restricted. Scientists that rely predominantly on the results of their experiments to lead their future work are ultimately objects of their work, when actually, their work should be an object of themselves. The ability to reach or make fruitful discoveries, if the work leads the worker, is less likely than if the worker leads the work. Only through the utilization of imagination can the worker lead the work in a meaningful manner. Then, the scientist by predetermining the work, can gain control over the ultimate product of the work. The work would be conceived, directed and produced under the guidance of science. Imagination enables people to create the practical and impractical, to create those things that may not adhere to the laws and patterns the limited reality has set forth. Imagination is elusive; it may be relevant only to one person, perhaps for only one time, in one place ... it should be celebrated. Imagination was once said to be the only thing that makes humans God-like. Its nature is quite unique; simply, it is a culmination of ones personal perception of experiences driven by personal desires. Although it exists as part of a limited reality, it is distinct from the substantial reality in that it does not fall within the established boundaries of the conceptual guidelines agreed upon by the "relatives" within the environment; or in other words, the consensual reality. Substantial Reality Consensual reality, the shared reality, is similar to the substantial reality in that things become substantial or credible when they are perceived by more than one person. The greater the number of people that perceive a phenomenon, the more credible the phenomenon becomes, and in doing so the phenomenon is shared and becomes consensual. The unsubstantiated reality does not conform to the perceptual rules or prior consensual experience. This is to say that within this reality, norms of perceptions are made void and are not relevant. One may be able to visually perceive an object with one's nose or ears. This ability does not conform to the norms of perception. As a result, the perceiver may be the sole perceiver of the phenomenon. So although the unsubstantiated reality may be acknowledge within the limited reality, it remains unsubstantial; it is perceived by others as imagination or unreal. There is no substance, nothing tangible about it. It can not be physically grasped or understood by others; it can only be grasped innately by the individual that perceives and experiences it. For the purpose of clarity, the substantial reality can also be considered the consensual reality; this includes all that conforms with group perceptions of reality. In other words, the substantial reality operates within the guidelines of the expectation of the sphere; it is dependent on common receptors and experiences. It does not have the range of imagination which can go beyond experiences and can siphon onto wishes and desires. The substantial reality is the height of a limited reality, and the truest expression of a limited reality. The ability to expand one's reality takes a very special talent, it is part genius, and contributes to the amount of knowledge that is available to an individual. Expansive reality refers to an individual's ability to create a larger limited reality. Elements Of Expansion Essential elements necessary to achieve expansive capabilities are the acquisition of knowledge, rational thought, a fertile imagination and a well develop sense of empathy. In order to avoid belaboring the topics that were discussed above concerning knowledge and imagination, brief reminders of them will have suffice. Knowledge is the acquisition of information. It serves as the blueprint of reality. As information comes and goes, knowledge is changed; reality is changed. Rational thought is the ability to connect ideas based on causality. Imagination, on the other hand, while bound by experience is free of conceptual dogmas. It allows for the changing and twisting of reality under a multiplicity of conditions. Empathy is the X-factor in reality expansion; it is perhaps the most significant of the three. Empathy is the ability to mentally, sensually (in term of the physical senses) and spiritually perceive the world as another would perceive it. It is the ability to really walk in another person’s shoe. When capable of doing it, one can actually expand their reality by adapting other peoples’ coders. Coders are the rudiments of empathy. They are the factors that determine how we interpret our environment. Since reality is based on personal perspective of experiences, then when someone adapts another person's perspective of their own experiences (mental, sensual and spiritual CODERS), then they can understand the other's experience. They can not however live another person’s life, except under rare and near impossible conditions. To completely understand the former statement elaboration on the Coders must be made. Coders The mental coder is related to mental activities. It is the coders that affect intellectual, psychic and emotional expressions. The sensual coder affects the five senses and other latent senses; they are the stimuli receptors. The spiritual coder affects innate awareness and the forth-righteousness of internal convictions. The three Coders function in a similar manner to the functioning of the sensual organs that were described earlier. In other words, they each influence the functioning of the other, they all have an influence on the perception we receive and one may at times be more acute than another. Our mental, sensual and spiritual coders influence each other. We may feel physical sensations based on our mental and spiritual disposition. For example, if someone is extremely happy, they might not even feel the thorn of a flower prick them. On the other hand, if they are already sad, they may feel the pricking of the thorn and the pain would be magnified because of their mental disposition. Similarly, because of religious or spiritual convictions, someone may rationalize that a phenomenon they observed was spiritually initiated or inspired, resulting in a quiet satisfaction. Coders therefore influence what we perceive. Saliency plays a role in coders, it refers to the dominance a coder may exert on other coders. The salient coder will effect the actor strongest, it is the coder the actor will respond to or at least first recognize. This is similar to the example of the sun in the chapter on Plurality. In terms of mental coders, intellectual and emotional states affect how something is interpreted. If mental or emotional states are dominating an individual, they will be more susceptible to their mental coders. The physical sensation such as sight or sound are examples of coders that influences how people interpret a phenomenon. If these coders are dominating, an individual will react first to the stimulus of that coder. When the physical coder becomes more salient it can cause great pleasure or pain. It overrides all other coders. Someone experiencing a strong physical coder may disregard all their mental and spiritual faculties. Spiritual disposition creates a standard for observing the world, all that is encountered, will be observed in context of personal spiritual convictions when something is recognized from spirituality. Some coders are more acute than others in an individual. When a coder is more acute than the others, they become pervasive and affect all aspects of the individual's life; they are no longer restricted to their sphere of influence. For example, the mental coder may overlap and influence the spiritual coder. The individual would likely dismiss many, if not most spiritually inspired actions because it would become irrelevant to his life. Although a coder may be very recessive, it must sustain; destruction or riddance of any coder would lead to insanity. The insanity would be due to the individual's inability to cope with the situation that the destroyed coder is responsible for interpreting. The congruency of the world would be significantly altered if any coder is destroyed. Empathy Each Coder, (and sense for that fact) operates on its own efficiency frequency. An Efficiency Frequency (EF) is the level of efficiency that an object is capable of functioning. This can best be illustrated by the human eye sight, since it has already been enumerated. One can be said to have 20/20 vision, this is a human abstraction of the frequency. Although human beings have not determine frequencies for all coders, and even those that are established are not necessarily adequately quantified, it serves well as an example of the efficiency frequency. EF is much more gradated in nature, and as such, it creates a plethora of frequencies. If an individual can, (and I do consider this near impossible), alter each of their three coders so that each would be in balance with another person’s Coders (identical EF), then they can achieve complete empathy. With this empathic ability, their capacity to expand reality becomes only limited by their capability to endure the stress that would result from the activity. Abstract Examples Here are some examples of using imagination as a tool for furthering our perception of reality into creating a more beneficial existence. Look at a square there are easily 16 sides. But to simply reiterate, the sides to the traditional square, has four sides of equal length. However, if each side of it is viewed independently relative to the other four sides, then when they are all added, the sum is sixteen. Such as this diagram. This can be done also with equilateral triangles and other congruent polygons. Now, to look at mathematical equations. Most people accept that one plus one is two but if imagination runs wild you can see how one plus one can equal one. In fact, one plus two can equal one and two plus five can equal one. In other words, any group of numbers added to another group of number or numbers will result in one; I like to call it the theory of numerical fusion. Take two drops of water, place them next to each other, the result should be one drop of water. The same should happen with 3 drops and 2 drops, placed together; they result in one drop. This can also be seen in science, it contradicts and violates some conventional, traditional and fundamental laws of math, but both theories are rational and true, it is simply a matter of perspective. Such as the paradox of symmetric halves. Where two halves can equal one whole. 3 halves +4 halves = 1 half and 3 fulls. Conclusion Reality expansion by conventional means is done by most people every day. In the attempt to understand the world, people constantly learn and adapt to the new information in the world. They make it a part of their lives, their personal realities and in-doing-so, they expand their realities. Reality expansion can and has been done by mind altering paraphernalia, such as drugs, hypnosis, sensual stimulation and even daydreams. The insight into new perspectives achieved in these states are perhaps the most overwhelming; the input of information is numerically and conceptually immense because the number of sensual receptors increases during these states. Apparently, in the active conscious state, dormant receptors are suppressed, and commonly only the prevalent five may protrude. These, however, are limited reality expanding mechanisms; they can only expand reality to a point. The ability to expand is not infinite. Also, the ability to manipulate conditions within reality is limited in almost all cases, except rare instances such as hypnosis. However, it is limited by the scope of the hypnotist and their ability to suggest perceived conditions to the subject. Reality expanding can best be done by accident. It takes a truly gifted and special person to consciously control the effects. This is because, although reality can expand, it is extremely complicated to structure the assimilation of new knowledge so that it would be meaningful. Most new knowledge just lie dormant, unused and flounders until it is required, which may never occur or when the time is right it may be inaccessible. The truly gifted have the ability to allocate the knowledge in areas that are accessible and can be utilized upon need. These are the geniuses. Phineas created an atmostphere in which I continued now to live, a way of sizing up the world with erratic and entirely personal reservations, letting its rock like facts sift through and be accepted only a little at a time, only as much as he could assimilate without a sense of chaos and loss. John Knowles p. 194