On Belief

Good evening everyone. This post has been prompted by the recent addition of the constellation Ophiuchus to the zodiac.

Let me start by referencing my previous post. In it, I posit that the universe is constantly creating and storing data in the streams of energy that make it up. One type of data is what we refer to as belief. Belief is anything that one accepts as fact, regardless of any other evidence, and can be a very strong type of data. With it, there can be a kind of feedback into the our mental world - our minds are very plastic, and so when presented with energy with enough belief printed into it - whether someone explaining their beliefs or just the latent energies shifting around in the cosmos - it can actually affect how we think and how we act. This, I believe, is how religion and belief systems work.

Which brings me to the matter of the zodiac. Until recently, zodiac signs have been figured out based on divisions of 30 degrees surrounding the earth, implying only 12 zodiac signs, which most of us are familiar with. As astrology and the effects of stars on circumstances here on earth have been studied and believed in for millenia, this implies that quite a bit of belief is built into the belief system. It's quite possible that all this time we have invested believing in the zodiac has rooted us into the 12 sign system.

However, that is not to say that a reevaluation of  our beliefs is not in order. Why should we limit our study of the effects of the universe upon us to a handful of constellations and planets? -Everything- has some sort of energy attached to it, including Ophiuchus. Looking into the traits of the sign, it appears to resemble slightly both Sagittarius and Capricorn. What if the zodiac goes beyond just belief, and we've been limiting ourselves all this time from discovering the nuances of the effects of the stars on our selves?

My advice then, today, is to figure out what works for you. If you have invested so much time and energy in believing yourself to be a Leo, then be a Leo. If you like the sound of your new sign, be that. You -can- choose what you want to be, no matter what your sign, because all that it really comes down to is what you believe yourself to be.

Peace be with you.

In the Beginning...

Hello again everyone. As this blog is meant to help people achieve peace with there exist, I’ll start my instruction with the beginning of existence. This, I think, I can summarize in one line. You may have heard something similar.

In the beginning, there was the Logos.

As you may or may not know, the translation of the Greek word Logos is commonly “Word.” I believe this is most often used in the context of God, i.e. God’s Word brought the universe into existence.  Unfortunately, I don’t recall who first used the phrase but I do know that the original line was written in Greek, and in theological discourse the word is generally left untranslated. However, Logos can also mean “logic” and “reason”, among other things. The word I’m going to use is Thought. And, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to avoid the word God and instead refer to any potential entity as Logos. 

Now, to fully explain myself, I’m going to have to explain how I perceive thought in humans. As far as we can tell, thought occurs when electrical pulses charge specific areas of the brain. These pulses travel through brain cells, across synapses, and, I propose, produce thought. Somehow, these electrical pulses  translate into the images and sounds that we form within our skulls. Now, it is possible that the physical matter of the brain somehow produces thought, but I do not believe so. Rather, it’s a property of electricity to transmit data, i.e. thoughts and information. 

However, I don’t believe that electricity alone has this power. I believe it’s one of the quickest ways to do so, as electricity is able to travel at the speed of light, the universal speed limit, and that’s why it’s our preferred method of transferring information, both biologically and technologically. I propose, however, that this is not a property of electricity itself, but of energy in general. Energy is able to carry data in itself, whether that energy be traveling at light-speed or more slowly, even to the point where energy becomes matter. Allow me to cite Einstein’s famous theory of relativity. For those who aren’t aware, it’s E = M * C ², which translates to Energy equals Mass times the Constant speed of light in a vacuum squared.  In other words, mass is just extremely slowed down energy. Amazingly, life has evolved to reverse this process, causing mass to become energy again. Without this back and forth, this duality, nothing could exist. To complete the previous thought, data is able to be held by both energy and mass, which is really just two different sides of the same coin.

Now, back to the Logos. My theory for the structure of the universe rests on this key point: the universe started as a mass of energy, capable of containing an infinite amount of data within itself and yet with no data. A blank slate, if you will. Somehow, this mass of energy evolved…it created within itself matter, the first instance of transition from energy to mass, a very necessary step for life as we know it to come into being. Jumping what I can only assume to be a few billion years, the first matter compacted itself together to form countless stars, which then began a ballet in the vast space that they had open to them, each drawn to the others by another property of energy: the urge to be together.  We’ve decided to name this urge “gravity” with the subject of mass, and as far as energy itself goes…it’s constantly flowing in and out of its two forms in an attempt to consolidate. Now, I could go into more detail over the next few billion years, but for the sake of your collective sanity I’ll skip to the formation of life. 

As we can all generally assume if we don’t know for certain, all this time matter forming various elements  and compounds, complicating itself further and further until it reached a point where it could afford to create life. This life started out as single celled organisms, growing more complex until multicellular beings came into existence. These multicellular beings kept growing and growing over millenia, evolving instruments to interpret data such as eyes and nervous systems until we have fish, and these fish ate each other to receive energy and mass, growing bigger and evolving the ability to escape the life sustaining water and venture onto dry land. The cycle of eating, growing, and evolving continued, all the while imprinting data onto the energy passing through life and matter. Somewhere down the line, humans evolved, utilizing a large, complex brain system and five very different yet interrelated sense organs to collect and interpret data. Thus far, we have proven quite adept at the task, going so far as to make our own creations which can collect and interpret data, all of which uses the energy constantly flowing around us. 

That, my friends, is my theory to the cause and purpose of the universe and existence. We were created by the Logos, which seeks information to be imprinted within it, and to both create and facilitate the gathering of information the universe unfolded as it did. Which brings me to my advice today:

Learn what you can, when you can.

Peace be with you.

Introduction

Hello world. I'd like to try a little experiment, and I need your help.

The world, as anyone who's had any sort of human contact can attest to, can be a cruel place. People can be selfish, stepping on others' heads at just the slightest hint it would benefit them. As they say, it's a dog eat dog world out there. I, however, am inclined to disagree.

I believe that the world is how we make it. In a natural state, yes, the world is a dangerous place. The law of the land is that those most fit to survive and reproduce will pass on desirable traits to their offspring, and so it is natural for every being in existence to fight for its right to reproduce. Humanity, however, has overcome this law. We have reached a point in time where it is possible to live without constant threat of being eaten or killed. Even so, we have not yet stopped betraying each other to secure ourselves even more comfort and assets. I am interested in stopping this destructive behavior and seeing what humanity can truly accomplish.

However, I cannot do it without the help of you, my fellow human beings. I realize, of course, that you have little reason to help me as of yet. My idea is fanciful, but can one truly survive if one is as selfless as possible, leaving one's preservation in the hands of one's peers?

I have created this blog to start what I hope will be a long chain of experiments that, ideally, would have a great impact on our future. My proposition is this: I have quite a bit of time on my hands, which I like to use thinking through scenarios and solving problems. If anyone who is reading this is inclined to help with this experiment, then send an email to laucianhelpfuladvice@gmail.com describing any sort of situation that you could use a second opinion on. I will think on the matter and respond as best as I can, which will likely entail asking about the circumstances of the situation and thinking up several potential solutions. What I ask in return is whatever you feel like giving. Any advice you receive shall be given totally free, everything shall be as confidential as I can guarantee, and I only hope that if you find it helpful you would donate a small amount of money, or even just pass on a link to this blog to anyone who might be able to benefit from it. Anything received shall be invested into future experiments in helpfulness.

This blog shall consist of anything that I think might be conducive to a happy, harmonious lifestyle. If this interests you, then please pass it onto your friends and stay tuned.

Be at peace.