One of my meditation teachers taught that you can "blow the picture," sometimes, you come across some info, or have an experience, or hear a story, read a poem, hear a song, or flash on an insight that just totally alters you. Opens your head, your eyes, you feel it in your cells. What you thought you knew, the way you saw things, what you see in the world, the picture in your head, is altered, exploded, falls away to reveal something new. It can be a major thing, or, a minor thing. Might lead to a new philosphy for life, or can just bring you a big belly laugh.
Stephen Hawking's idea of the Universe as the Ultimate Free Lunch (see previous post), is that kind of thing. I had one of those fabulous, little epiphanies yesterday. I mean, I am not saying I totally understand Hawking, mathematics is not my thing, scientific egg-heads are usually talking over my head, but in my own way, I can misunderstand with the best of them. Give me a little bit of information that ignites my imagination and I can run for miles and miles.
So yes, the Universe, Something, for Nothing. What does that do to your head?
The Universe is a Gift with No Giver. A lark, a jaunt, a kick, a goof, a giggle, a laugh, a shout, a vacation, a bonus, free money, a treasure.
It's not a job, a task, a test, a punishment or reward.
We are here. Somehow, someway. We are free. To do what we want, for the reasons we make up on our own. There is no Daddy looking down judging. It's all up to us.
And there's Postive and Negative. Space & No Space. Light & Shadow. Bright Beauty, Dark Ugliness. Life (which we don't understand) and Death (which we don't understand). Ultimately everything is matched with it's opposite. It all zeroes out. Zero isn't good or bad, it is the mystery. Space vs. Negative Space. It's a big, Universal Dance. We are here. And then we are not. Or we are here and there, and not here and not there. Or something nonsensical like that. Our deepest understanding, our most fundamental knowledge is a bit nonsensical. Beyond Human.
And since we are Human, we struggle to understand, we do our best to see. That is probably what we are here for, to observe, to wonder, to try to skull it out. To marvel at the beauty. To try to stretch our minds, our understanding, to follow the mathematics. But it's a big complicated place, the Universe, bigger than our heads, bigger than our understanding. We are left to lean to the light, and try to cultivate intelligence and a sense of wonder!
The Cosmic Giggle!