Memeverse

A few hours ago I watched a movie called “What the bleep do we know” and then went on to hunt for some reviews and critiques of it. The best I’ve read comes from an excellent skeptical blog and I have to say I agree with that the attempt to make the theories presented as scientific were largely a fraud. The truth, from what I gathered, seems to be that there really are no definite answers when it comes to the mysteries of quantum physics and that it is therefore premature to come up with any sort of an explanation and call it real.

So I have to count the bleep squarely in the same category as “The Secret”, which actually came later on and probably made an even bigger splash. It’s taking some truths and mixing them with half truths and unsupported claims (”lies” wouldn’t be too far off) and presents it through nice animations, effects, inspirational talk etc. to appeal to the gullible.

What bothers me most about these kinds of movies and resulting “philosophies” is that they seem to taint the real thing. The reason I was attracted to watching these kinds of movies in the first place is reading “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, which made so much sense to me and felt so positively empowering that I found myself easily believing it. And I still do think that “Think and Grow Rich” is the real deal that can really and actually help people achieve what they desire to achieve.

However, movies like “The Secret” took the ideas from people like Napoleon Hill, using even their own words in rather subtle ways and then in the process of marketing it to the masses dumbed it down and bastardized it to a point at which it becomes hard to discern where the real original philosophy ends and their fantasy conjectures begin.

For instance, Napoleon Hill never mentions “Law of Attraction”, nor does he say that the ideas he is presenting are a great secret that has been suppressed through centuries. Mr. Hill does mention the secret though, but it is something entirely else. It is a label he briefly puts on Andrew Carnegie’s strategy of success and a sort of a “plot device” of his book that encourages the reader to try and be perceptive as (s)he reads the book. He deliberately does not just “spell out” this secret, but instead wants the reader to recognize it himself as (s)he is reading, because it is evident from each chapter.

Brian Kim, in his “Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich”, spells it out and using “Think and Grow Rich” as a base, also spells out a very practical strategy of success which is so down to earth that it presents a tremendous contrast to the hot air of “The Secret” movie, as well as “What the bleep do we know”.

Napoleon Hill also talks a bit about something he terms as “infinite intelligence” and the reasoning behind this is simple and does not even begin to involve quantum mechanics, something that authors of both the bleep movie and The Secret have readily abused. He simply concedes that all universe is made up of matter, time and energy and that, being a part of it, our thoughts are actually energy too. It isn’t too surprising that he’d conclude that on some level this energy of our thoughts and the rest of the energy in the universe is connected and that this then means that all thought energy of the universe is connected into “infinite intelligence”.

Now, sure, that sounds quite close to the New Age stuff propagated through bleep and The Secret, but when you compare the level at which these modern movies rely on this theory with the content of Mr. Hills book the contrast is again quite stark. In “Think and Grow Rich” the idea of “infinite intelligence” merely seems like a sidebar, not the thing on which the whole premise of the book hinges on. Whether you choose to believe in “infinite intelligence” or not the book remains incredibly useful by the merit of the practical advice it gives alone.

And what better proof is there than the number of people who read the book and in their reviews repeatedly claim that it helped them successfully achieve such things as start their own businesses, beat an addiction problem etc. Just do a search for “think and grow rich review”. It’s very easy to find them. I tried looking for negative reviews as well and it isn’t as easy to find, and that’s after 70 years of the book being available.

That said, I did say earlier that even if I don’t believe it as a fact, I do think that the theory of “infinite intelligence” is fairly plausible. But I have to emphasize that this mere belief in possibility does not constitute a claim. I am by far NOT siding with the New Agers and the like who claim that we are all a part of god or gods ourselves etc. And even if I did start believing in one version of that, I seriously don’t want to be associated with them, at least those who so readily deceive people by offering them dumbed down versions of the truth which in the process of being dumbed down actually ends up being a half-truth or a lie.

Also, the belief in the existence of “infinite intelligence” (which again I’m not necessarily holding) is not the same as belief in thoughts shaping reality. At best it is a belief in the possibility of communicating with other minds on Earth or in the universe, intentionally or unintentionally. Thus, instead of being a tool of direct creation or “attraction”, thoughts may merely be a beginning to the kind of action which fascilitates a sort of “telepathic” communication, much in the similar way thoughts are the beginning to action done by our own hands and legs. Action then leads to reaction and this is how we see results of our efforts. But those still are real efforts, beyond mere thoughts.

And furthermore, since quantum physics, from what little I know about it, does not exactly provide definite answers yet, it doesn’t see inconceivable that it would allow for the reality based existence of “infinite intelligence” (sum of all thoughts in the universe) and such abilities as telepathy. I just don’t take those as facts yet, but wouldn’t rule out the possibility either.

Anyway, these days I am actually trying to apply the practical philosophy of success presented by Napoleon Hill and made even more practical by Brian Kim. I’ve set up a rather ambitious yet believable goal based on my desires, decided to pursue it and to consistently try to instill in myself the confidence and belief that I can achieve it. Yes, I am applying positive thinking, but NO, I am NOT applying “The Secret” as they are defining it. I am not expecting anything awesome to happen to me merely on the basis of my positive thinking.
What I expect instead is quite natural, that I will be more inclined to take action and consequently WILL take action to achieve my goals; from the first stage of collecting knowledge I need to achieve it, to organizing into primary and secondary plans to the actual execution of them that will lead me to the achievement of the goal.

And there’s nothing especially supernatural or even spiritual about that.

If finally starting DoublePlusHuman.com is going to be consistent with the achievement of this goal, something I’m still researching, then one of the things I will write about on that site is this incredibly important skill of discerning the real self-growth philosophy from those who abused it for their own fame and profit because I think the message people like Napoleon Hill have for individuals of this world is far too important for it to be destroyed in the minds of many by such scam artistry riding on the tails of wisdom and success of the original true thinkers in the field.

For a second day in a row I feel “all-powerful”. It is the effect of reading that book, “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, which I mentioned earlier, and beating on the ideas I discovered there by following through the “Hidden Secret in Think and Grow Rich” by Brian Kim. It is easy for me to just say that I feel like I can do anything or that it is possible for you to feel like you can do anything, but it is a feeling and thus escapes words.

You have to read the book and if you don’t understand, try the Hidden Secret book I mentioned as well, since it clarifies a lot of the core ideas in “Think and Grow Rich”. The book is so deep and so profound that it is hard to just classify it as a “success” book or let alone “how to get rich” book. The ideas it presents are like a recipe for succesful happy living not just in a material, but even in a spiritual sense, but WITHOUT what is commonly know as religion, yet also WITHOUT contradicting those who do believe in some religion.

It is therefore entirely universal and universally applicable. To give you just a peak into how powerful it is, I will say that the book made me actually believe in the possibility of humans having telepathic abilities, in the legitimacy of prayer that involves no gods and in the power of thought as more than mere imagination - as a creative power which can truly be transformed into real matter. I think and therefore I am. I think and therefore I create. I think and therefore I make reality around me bow to my desire, my burning desire.

I would say that the ideas presented form more than a religion, because it spans religions, being more fundamental, more open ended and more logical and scientific.

I can do anything I set my mind to. I can because now I know I can, because I know how is it that I can set my mind to something, because I know more about thinking, feeling, imagining. I can almost understand fully what is meant by this verse from the bible:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The Word. What is it but an outcome of an idea, a thought? What bible further describes is that it is with his word that god created everything. Indeed. Perhaps it may come as a surprise to some to realize, however, that you too can create with words. But it is not enough to just spell out “create me a second moon orbiting Earth”.

You first have to have a genuine burning desire for something, not just a shallow “wish”. Then you have to have absolute and utter confidence, that is faith in your ability to realize what you desire, then decide that you WILL indeed realize it just as you decide to go and get something to eat and then without thinking and doubting your ability to eat, just do it. You have to write your desire in words where you can read them in order to inject yourself with the same kind of exactness and feeling you had when you first uttered the words. You’re essentially renewing your vow with yourself and your power to do it.

The subsequent steps will come naturally - the creation of a plan of action, of how to achieve it, the total persistence even through so called (by others) “failures” (failure doesn’t exist, it’s merely a piece of information that helps you succeed). In the end you WILL create what you desired.

So you might say this is an ardous process and how can I possibly compare that with the instantaneous creation by word of god. But bible doesn’t quite specify that he created everything instantaneously. Maybe it was indeed an ardous process, or maybe he could do all of the above in a fraction of the time we need because he was of such an advanced species. Or maybe christians are just taking the verses too literally.

Napoleon Hill talks about something he terms “Infinite Intelligence” which is essentially a common pool of all intelligence in the universe, I presume. Because right down to it thoughs are actually nothing more than streams of energy and the whole universe is consisted of nothing but space, time, matter and energy. Energy is the one which uses matter and time to create. If thoughts are energy you can see how thoughts can create. And you might also begin to see the logic behind the proposition of “infinite intelligence”. If thoughts are energy and energy is everywhere then our thoughts are essentially binded to the thoughts of all other thinking beings on this planet, but also of thoughts of all other thinking beings in the universe.

We’re just not as evolved mentally to practice the ability of receiving from this stream of thought, but such thing has and does happen. Napoleon Hill calls such things as “hunches” and flashes of incredibly brilliant creative ideas as possibly having come from this “infinite intelligence”. Incidentally, such hunches and flashes come when the mind is in a rather peculiar state (extremely active, energized by special emotional mixtures etc.) which suggests that in those states the mind actually “switches on” the receptor of information from the inifinite intelligence or “tunes in”.

Perhaps it is this “infinite intelligence” that people call “god”, but obviously being still under-evolved and therefore unable to understand it they personify it and they treat such great men, great thinkers indeed, who managed to evolve to a point of using this power (Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha etc.) as prophets and emmisaries of “god”.

Yet they may simply be humans who have come to learn how to use their minds better than anyone else, and “tune in” to the universal streams of thought. It’s a darn intriguing thought!

I wont say I fully believe all this. At this point I merely take it as a plausible theory. I know one thing however, one thing Napoleon Hill managed to convinced me pretty strongly off - thoughts are much much much more powerful than most people believe. We might just have seemingly “godly” power beneath our skulls, yet just seldom learn how to use it.

So you can imagine the thrill I feel as I am discovering all this. I feel like I’m beginning to revive this incredibly powerful tool beneath my skull, like the energy is building up, the fire is starting to burn and my personal power rises.

It feels so good that I could scream of happiness.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

–> In the beginning there is a thought, and the thought is from infinite intelligence, and the thought IS a part of infinite intelligence.

This project is amazing. They are literally trying to create a brain inside of a supercomputer which could even develop intelligence AND self awareness. And if it doesn’t, it will be just another mystery to solve. Here is an excellent story about it: Out of the Blue.

The kinds of people like Henry Markram are a real inspiration. They take on “impossible” goals and tackle them with confidence, determination and dedication, building amazing things in the process.

Some excerpts:

“Blue Brain scientists are confident that, at some point in the next few years, they will be able to start simulating an entire brain. “If we build this brain right, it will do everything,” Markram says. I ask him if that includes selfconsciousness: Is it really possible to put a ghost into a machine? “When I say everything, I mean everything,” he says, and a mischievous smile spreads across his face.”

“Niels Bohr once declared that the opposite of a profound truth is also a profound truth. This is the charmed predicament of the Blue Brain project. If the simulation is successful, if it can turn a stack of silicon microchips into a sentient being, then the epic problem of consciousness will have been solved. The soul will be stripped of its secrets; the mind will lose its mystery. However, if the project fails—if the software never generates a sense of self, or manages to solve the paradox of experience—then neuroscience may be forced to confront its stark limitations. Knowing everything about the brain will not be enough. The supercomputer will still be a mere machine. Nothing will have emerged from all of the information. We will remain what can’t be known.”