Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Verse Seven

Heaven is ancient. Earth is long-lasting. Why is this so?--Because they have no claims to life. By having no claims to life they cannot be claimed by death.

- Time has little or no effect on the lifeless
- When without life, time stands still or slows down
- Time moves fast as one pursues individuality
- Time is something to possess as an individual--a desire and a cause of suffering.

Application: I have been able to transcend time a few times in life. In those instances, time has both sped up and slowed down. I cannot explain why it speeds up one time and slows down another. Ten years ago when I meditated a lot with music, I remember the speed of the songs going faster and faster. That perception freaked me and snapped me out of my meditation. I wonder what would have happened if I didn't freak out. And no, it's not because the batteries were running low. I checked that option to make sure I wasn't going crazy. It is because of personal events like these that I believe we can manipulate time, or at least our perception of time. Unfortunately, society likes us to be constantly aware of the passage of time which makes it more difficult for us to retire from or reduce our yang (individualistic) energy.

The Sage puts his own views behind so ends up ahead. He stays a witness to life so he endures. What could he grab for that he does not already have? What could he do for himself that the universe has not already done?

- Let the experience of all satisfy your own experience
- Let your fleeting desires dissovle as your perceive the possessions of all
- Everything has been done, is taking place, and will be done
- Everything is possible because it has been done
- The imagination is the window to what is not here now
- What is imagined has either been done or will be done or both

Application: The part of Verse 7 is exactly in line with my beliefs since I started philosophizing decades ago. I believe we have two views of the universe. Our waking/individual view is of the present, as a mind and body seperate from the rest of the world. Our still/unity view spans all dimensions of time, as a part of the whole. For example, when your dream, you sometimes see the world through your own eyes and sometimes you see the world through the eyes of other's or from an outside observer. We are not always perceiving the world as ourselves in dreams. Dreams do not represent the actual individual world, but I believe the do represent a reality outside our individual world. Again, language does not do justice to describe this. If you understand, then you probably have a similar philosophy as mine. If you do not understand, I either am I terrible writer or your philosophy is different. If it is different and you want to understand, I recommend meditation with metaphysical contemplation. Think about getting to the bottom of one of your deeply rooted fears or desires permanently. That's how I got to this philosophy. The more you learn about yourself, the more you learn about the universe. Science is doing the same thing in reverse.

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