47 Minutes to think about

On the radio I heard a short snippet about a man in a hospital who was dead for 47 minutes before being revived. story here And wow does this bring up a lot of questions. Here are some of my thoughts on what this incident means:

1. wysiwig - What you see is what you get: We are simply biological functions, nothing more and when you are dead you are dead, your memories and essence are gone.

2. Thinking about time: There is a longer period of time before you pass into another realm of existence and it is more than 47 minutes. (This brings up the question of where you are during this time. Maybe the same place you go when you sleep?)

3. You can travel back and forth between this place and that place. We just don't know how, or we don't do it much, or when we do, or when in one place we have no recollection of the other. Did joe spend 47 minutes in an afterlife and doesn't remember?

4. Time is irrelevant: This is hard to grasp but time, being a major focus of this essay, is actually irrelevant. How long you are dead is not important because it doesn't equate in the other life. Although the concept of eternity does kink that up a bit.

5. The unknown and unthought solution: This one really ticks me off because it is probably the right one. Maybe the answer lies in something that I cannot grasp, don't even have an inkling of a shadow of a clue about.

addendum: It will be interesting to see whatever becomes of the people cryonically frozen at Alcor But then again, if any of them are brought back to "life" will it really answer any questions?

First Snow

Ever wonder why

Do you ever wonder why you do the things you do?

Where was I for the past Billion Years?

This is a question that really affects me. Where was I for the billion years of infinity before I came into what I know as my life? It's very bizarre. As far as I know, the universe existed for a very long time before I came into existence. Why is it that I don't have any recollection of anything during all that time of existence?

A big thing to consider about this is whether or not that time actually existed. I mean that time is a very peculiar thing. We all sense it -at least we think we sense it. But there is nothing but a never ending now. There is only the "now" of now.

Ok, the really big question is " When I die, will I go back to that same place I was in for the billion years that I don't remember"?

Harrowing thought.

Endless strains of meaningless crap

I have three thoughts for you today.

It is an absolutely beautiful day here in New England, even a bit blustery. The trees are giving up the last of their colored leaves and winter is being prepared for. These three thoughts came to me during my walk.

First thought: Why is it that thoughts come so easily to me when I walk? I don't think this is just peculiar to me. I think it is a human thing. We walk and think. They seem to go very well together. The simple act of walking gently invigorates the mind. And, it's funny how people don't walk like they used to walk. Everybody drives. Kind of a shame. This theme reminds me of a short essay I wrote entitled: A Walk in the Snickering rain.

Second thought: This one addressess the title of this post. We, as humans, occupy ourselves with an awful lot of stuff. I mean that there are endless strains of amusements and thoughts and other things. We seem to spend a lot of time on things that aren't really important. Seriously. Why do we waste so much of our lives on things that don't matter? You know what I am talking about. You do it too. We all do it - spend an inordinate amount of time and energy on things that matter so little - car, tv, bills, what people think, things, on and on and on and on. When it comes down to it what is really important?
Now before you say "Family". I just want to say what about the big question? What the heck is this all about? Doesn't anybody spend any time on that?
In any pursuit one of the most important things you have to ask yourself is "What is my outcome?" It is important to ask yourself this question so you can get a clear grasp of what you are doing, why you are doing it and how you should do it.
Doesn't this apply to life too? Whats your outcome?

Thought three: I am really stuck on the whole subject of Michael Crichton. I have been an admirer of his for most of my life and I can't get over his death. He was a life long learner and explorer- not just a writer. He explored life on many different levels and he laid this out in his book "Travels". In that book he talks about his travels through life both external and internal. He lays out his attempts to explain the unexplained. Well, this got me thinking that maybe there are clues in that book. I am going to have to re-read it and see what comes. Maybe he laid out a way to contact him after he passed. Interesting thought.

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An Endless loop of Gods - and why my cat sits on the radiator

I was listening to a radio program that had Erich von Daniken as the guest speaker and he said something that I thought was very profound and interesting. This is a small excerpt here:

"The Creation of the Spirit of Creation"

This statement brings up a lot of thoughts. First off it makes me wonder about the nature of creation and how it seems to almost be the all of everything. The creative force is an amazing thing and it lies at the very heart of the mystery. It is one of those things that sits in the center and knows while we dance around the circle and suppose.

But the real profundity of the statement is the implication of the creation of god. Let's assume that God created the universe. God had this desire to create and God created. But what instilled in God the desire to create? What created the spirit of creation? Was it a God that created God? Is there an endless loop of Gods? Does this circle go on forever? It's a paradox and paradoxes are something that I will be exploring in further posts.

Is what we think of as God simply "The Creative Force in the Universe?" The Force that through the Green fuse shoots the flower?

Is there a God?

Is there an endless loop of Gods?

Or is it all something we simply cannot fathom?

And that last question brings me to my cat and the radiator.

It is Autumn here in New England and the mornings are getting brisk. There is a beautiful chill in the morning air. This morning chill re-ignites a seasonal pattern in my cat. He sits on top of the radiator in the kitchen because it is nice and warm. He enjoys the warmth of it. Does he have any clue about what all had to be created and what all had to happen for that radiator to be warmed? Nope, He doesn't understand any of it and he is incapable of understanding how the Gas company pipes gas to my house and how the boiler in the basement warms up water and how the water circulates through pipes and passes through the radiator giving it a soft and comfortable warmth.

Nor does he understand that I keep all of this in motion by paying the gas bill and by adjusting the thermostat.

Nope, he doesn't understand any of that.... yet he enjoys it and, in the way of cats, he appreciates it.

And what does this all lead us to? I am not really sure because as in just about every other post on this blog I end up with more question marks than I expected. But, The sun is shining outside and it's burning away the morning briskness and I think that maybe I will just go outside for a walk and enjoy the sunshine on my face.

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Next post: I just recently returned from a trip to Greece and one of the things I visited was the Oracle at Delphi. This is the place that the Ancient Greeks considered to be the Center of the Universe. I will be posting pictures and my thoughts about the experience and the place.