#54 - Universal Perspective

By SG

One can consider each person’s perspective as the observer breaking up a quantum state, and thus an aspect of the multiverse. If one is always seeking harmony than the other could enforce their universe upon you. Consider how the revelation of new information of an acquaintance can entirely change the way you perceive them. Doesn’t that change the universe in which you interact with that person?

It is from the ideas we have of the world that we can shape material reality. Without a group, a monument cannot be built. Without an image of how the world could be shifted in terms of material resources and the fabric of space time to create the Hoover Dam, Great Wall of China, or the Great Pyramid of Giza, they never would have existed. It is perhaps through this conflict of ideas that the Pandora’s Box of war was opened to unleash its human evil into the world.

The individual perception of good and evil in the limited time frame of the potentially single century of existence can lead to environmental catastrophe, interspecies abuse, or short-term thinking which can leave little room to consider renewal. As the old phrase goes, “Wise is the man who plants a tree knowing his grandchildren will sit in the shade.” Even beyond familial inheritance, what about the ecosystem in which sentient mammals have evolved on our small planet in the solar Goldilock’s zone?

I would offer that the small universe that we can interact with on this planet Earth is rare enough in the observable universe to merit preserving, if not leaving in better condition for the millennia which come after and the species which rise up in their own dominance hierarchy in their own epoch.

This is why meditations, talk therapy, and new year’s resolutions are so popular. They provide an opportunity to consciously shape our thoughts of the past and our plans for the future. From these thoughts and plans, the way we physically interact in the world is entirely shifted. This changes the way others interact with us and thus the universe in which everybody lives.

As one considers the power of mind over matter, one can see that one’s perception has a tremendous impact on how one engages with the world. If you don’t perceive a problem, why would you fix that which “ain’t broke?” So, the mind shapes the material reality more than the material reality shapes the mind. In fact, occasionally one may resist what is perceived due to a kind of confirmation bias.

When I was younger, I decided that I had to do something with my life that I loved outside of the money it made me. I eventually narrowed it down to two possible careers and was fortunate enough to have one of the two works out after trying the other first. By planning for the future in this way I could materially move through the world in such a way to build the skills and share my experiences with the appropriate people to allow for that possibility to manifest itself in my existence. At the same time, I ignored or shut the door on other experiences that could have allowed for a different life which could have been as satisfactory in different ways (especially given that I even now have no clue about all the details of various lifestyles).

Consider a mirage, by the way that light is shaped by water molecules our mind fills in the gaps. This is the case for most of that we do. One cannot perceive everything, so we all make assumptions about existence. Sometimes these turn out to be true and efficient styles of managing life. Sometimes the assumption is inaccurate to the point of “making an ass out of me and you.” It may be that the only person one can be true to is oneself.

We make excuses for failing to follow our own rules or losing a competition. Usually, we claim inadequacy because that provides a path to success. I just threw a jab instead of a cross, which totally would have worked if I did it right. This means that it doesn’t matter how successful or powerful the other is. I could win regardless of their ability. This may be untrue, and further as we improve ourselves our opponent may do the same to a greater or lesser degree. This likely depends on their perception of the fight or their future conflict.

Horace Vernet, Mazeppa and the Wolves

When I think back to my youth, there are times where I stuffed my emotions down and internalized emotional pain I felt from a betrayal of trust or a loss of safety and stability. This is to the point that I occasionally sought to reassure others of my ability to support their emotions by taking on another’s pain and allowed that to shape my life for decades into the future in an attempt to bind these people to myself. The death of a friend, or a pet, or the exile of a loved one led me to reject a community of spiritual people. Admittedly this was also due to the bigotry of some of their dogma.

Are restrictions always violence, or do they occasionally provide for safe and creative exploration within the boundaries? When harm does not play a role it seems to me to be inappropriate to behave as if someone from another universal perspective can know that which provides for the best possible existence for another’s individual experience. Advice is useful, particularly with personal experiences or statistics to back it up, but the unique nature of each individual existence is too diverse to have cookie cutter answers.

• SG