Wednesday, April 6, 2011

What's It All About, Alfie?

For the last couple of days, I've been going through a bit of, "What's it all about, Alfie?" Every answer I've received, whether from my own inner listening or through the thoughts of friends when I posed the question to them, came back to this: all that matters is Now, and the value we ourselves ascribe to it.

Last evening, I was reading Rob Brezny, a metaphysical writer, and he posed a similar question with some additional things to think about. He said,  "A thousand years from now, everyone you know will be long dead and forgotten. There will be nothing left of the life you love, no evidence that you ever walked this planet."   Now, that's not necessarily a grim scenario, just one without higher meaning, and I have long been someone who ascribes higher meaning to, well, pretty much everything. And I'm not counting it out. I just want to be certain I'm being very present to my life as a human being on planet Earth now. What happens later, in any supposed afterlife, is of little consequence compared to how I'm living my life right here and now.

I look at awakening, resurrection, reincarnation, alternate realities in parallel universes, other lives I may be living in those universes, simultaneous time (which happens to be a favorite and feels right) and all things in between and on either side of that. It's all very fascinating and much of it rings true as I look at the possibilities. That's what I do. I look at everything in this field of possibilities. So much so that I've often told people, 'It's the air I breathe.'  But, what about the air that seems to be here and now, in this Universe as I know it?  How am I doing with that?

In going back to the original question, I am reminded of the title of a John Mellencamp album from several years ago, the title of which was, "Nothing Matters and What if it Did."  It's another twist on the "What's it All About, Alfie," question from the movie of that title, and the crux of my current introspection.

Anyway, Brezny went on to say, "Suppose the truth is very different. What if in fact every little thing you do subtly alters the course of world history?  What if your day-to-day decisions will actually help determine how the human species navigates its way through the epic turning point we're living through? And finally, what if you will be alive in a thousand years and reincarnated into a fresh body and in possession of the memory of the person you were back in this era?"

He adds,  "Live as if your soul is eternal."

And I agree. It really doesn't matter if you accept reincarnation or not, or any of the other theories that are out there being examined and reexamined. At the very least, we should still be living as though what we do matters. If to no one else, now or down the line, than to ourselves. It feels like a win-win to me.

Kindness. Love. It seems pretty simple.

But, good can come in many forms, be lived in many ways. I'm not talking about being a do-gooder, self-described or otherwise. I'm not talking about what we do to "earn a living."  I'm not talking about how we serve the greater good through community work (I have my own views on this and other forms of altruism), and I'm not talking about what others perceive to be good. As much as I strive to live an honest and ethical life, I'm not a believer that someone holds the rulebook and we must toe some imaginary line. Human culture, as developed down through the ages by an aristocratic, patriarchal, intolerant religiosity is not my thing. What's most important, maybe all that matters, it seems to me, is how we live our individual lives when no one's looking.

And even that can get tricky.



26 comments:

  1. I very much enjoy how you frame things Teresa. It's nice to think that when one's light go out there may still be a candle on somewhere else.

    BTW-it's dumping out once again.

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  2. Good Morning, Tom! Thank you. I love your candle metaphor.

    But please keep your snow in the Rockies. :)

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  3. This is getting so old and it's going to last several days.

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  4. Well ,I Suppose It's Our Modern Mindset.We Are (literally)Taught That we cant control our world.We Grow Up to believe it as fact.As inevitable. But, yes, every action causes a reaction & our actions may well live on forever .We just become Anonymous Authors.And anonymity aint such a bad thing!

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  5. Too little space to write all that I believe (currently...) But, I agree with Tony, every action causes a reaction. I am also a Buddhist, so I believe in rebirth, and I know my body is part of this earth, so whatever happens to this earth, happens to me/future me??? Ha ha ha... Today, I am present... All I can hope to become tomorrow is awake.

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  6. My spirituality matches up most cleanly with the 12 steps of the various recovery programs. When my gut is peaceful I'm in the right place. When I'm not there, I tend to go to fear and restlessness. Every time, when I examine that space, I find three things: (1) I haven't been to a meeting in a while (2) I haven't been of service to anyone else (3) I haven't gotten enough exercise. When I realign myself, I feel better. I don't believe there's only one truth. I do believe my life matters, at least now, and who knows how long after?

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  7. Science meets the Tao in the Double Slit Experiment. (animation on youtube with Dr. Quantum) Each action or thought or feeling collapses the probability wave. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is simply a mathematical approach to explain what your beautiful words suggest. We can know an electron's position or its momentum but can't know both at the same time. Why? It's not a lack of technology, or skill, or clumsiness of our measuring device somehow interfering. It's because the observed is not independent of the observer (consciousness) and the electron " knows" it is being watched. It is this knowing which you so beautifully describe that underlies all of perceived reality. The same holds true for the duality of light; wave or particle (photon) is btought into being when summoned. This is not an illusion nor doubletalk. It is simply the way it is and this has been known for almost a hundred years. This consoles me as do the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, et al.

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  8. How lovely to see your introspection all laid out like that, Teresa. I am reminded of the Butterfly Effect (you know, that a butterfly's wings in one part of the world alters events everywhere). I don't know whether the soul is eternal, but I definitely want to believe it is, and that even if I don't know it, I'll live on after death. You are so cosmic today!

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  9. I love what you've said here. I think very much as you do...and take s**t for it all the time from family. But I also think that whatever is the belief someone holds close is right for them...because we might each be returning to a different parallel that requires different knowledge for wherever that place may be. I'm hoping if after a 1000 years my released energy will still have an open mind to EVERYTHING! For me there are no rights or wrongs...only possibility. I love that...live as if your soul is eternal!! Yes!

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  10. I need to become more aware of the Now...I tend to fixate on the past, and that cannot be undone, so why worry about it? I do agree that what matters is how we live when no one is looking.

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  11. I'm singing that tune, what's it all about, alfie, day to day, today, can't help but wonder about the future most days though.

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  12. Tony, If everyone were taught that they can, indeed, control their world, what a different world it would be. I like your thought about anonymous authors. :)

    Lynn, "All I can hope to become tomorrow is awake." Yes, In more than one way. :)

    Linda M. I have not practiced the 12 step program, but know others who have and I appreciate what it holds for people, and that, from what I understand, you decide what "Higher Power" means, which is important, I think. I have no doubt that your life matters, and has made a difference to many people.

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  13. In an astral world, a thousand years would be no time, but when the amnesiac block is "lit" we count our minutes like a hungry baby wolf awaiting it's mother with nourishment. You pose the question, what if it's how we live when no one is looking. To me it's not a question anymore, it's a simple statement. It's a choice that we all can make. I cover mine with humor but then I close myi private door and no one really knows.

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  14. Cletis, I watched that video recently. Reality is perception and our observation of it creates it. "The observed is not independent of the observer." Yes! "Knowing...underlies all of perceived reality." Yup. I appear to be on a similar if not the same page. I have long believed that science and spirituality are one and the same, when looked at through the eyes of quantum physics.

    I find consolation in the teachings of those prophets, as well.

    DJan, I believe our soul is eternal. Absolutely. But, I continue to look at everything that resonates and even some things that don't immediately. It's all very interesting and it makes my world go round. :)

    Karen (MG), One of the things that is apparent to me, seen even here in the comments left by others, there are as many spiritual paths as there are people on this planet, it seems, and there is no right or wrong, only where that individual is in their understanding and what works for them where they are now. It seems we do share much along these lines.

    Li, Hanging on to the past is so counterproductive to what is happening now and that's really all that matters, all that IS, Now. Self-examination can come out of understanding our perceived past and so can be a tool, but staying in the flow of life as it is requires that we let it all go. It makes my life much easier when I can do that.

    Linda S. One of my bugaboos is trying to stay out of thinking I have any idea what the future will look like. Guarding my thoughts and fears helps me steer it into a more positive outlook, but I do understand, very well, what you're saying.

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  15. Manzanita, I like your opening statement and completely agree. Time is a human construct. That's where my belief in simultaneous "time," comes in. It's all perception based on what we are taught by others who were taught by others, and on it goes. Breaking free of those constraints opens up a whole new dimension.

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  16. Then one can throw the existentialists in with the mix. Albert Camus writes, 'Men (people) must live and create. Live to the point of tears.'

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  17. Be here now, today
    Be here and only be here,
    Be here now, today.

    (hat tip to Baba Ram Dass :-)

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  18. Paul C. Thank you for the Camus quote. We certainly have a vast array of paths from which to choose.

    Paul, Thank you for the Ram Dass haiku. Be Here Now remains a good source book.

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  19. Teresa : Check out The Wisdom of Insecurity by the late Alan Watts. It cam out in 1951...

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  20. Paul, I shall. I do like Alan Watts.
    1951? Yikes!

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  21. Lately I have a sense of somewhat self-fueled discomfiture - just a general worrying with the ideas of life in general, a "what am I doing and why?" that is allayed by remembering to pay attention to the now, then swinging back to trying to wrap my mind around immensity. Goodness! So I get what you're saying here, and it's a reminder showing up in a good place at a needed time, to keep paying attention, and for the same reasons, with the same awareness you mention here.

    Awareness/denial of mortality does interesting things to us humans; ideally we make the same choices anyway whether there's an afterlife or not, reincarnation or not.

    Indeed, live a good life by being here for it...

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  22. Hi Neighbor, You've described a place and process very much like my own. I'm glad you did. It helps me summarize my own thoughts and recognize that others are working though the same.

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  23. We find security through insecurity... We find truth through getting rid of knowledge...Hat tip to Lao-tzu

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  24. Paul, Interesting.... I think this is the very thing I'm learning right now. Thank you.

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  25. Very interesting post! I believe that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction...the fault line is that one doesn't know when the opposite reaction will occur. We're conditioned to think relatively soon, but not necessarily...as with the Butterfly Effect, a deed/misdeed (and definitions of both are subjective) can be reacted to in the timeless future. I also believe in the Buddhist belief that wanting is the root of all, that the minute we stop wanting, we have.

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  26. Kittie, How nice to hear from you. I know how busy life has been for you.... thank you for sharing your thoughts. You always have interesting and insightful comments. You've made a very good point regarding "opposite reaction." I am experiencing more and more the letting go that brings all that we need. It's flawless when we get ourselves, our wanting out of the way. Thank you, Kittie.

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