A Stroke Of Insight - Welcome To Lala-land

I have talked in previous posts of the fact that we are all energy, the world is energy, everything is energy. Great. Now what? Well, I've been wondering: Knowing that we’re connected to everything, is there a way we can somehow feel it, in our bodies as well as our minds? I mean, talking about it and discussing it is very intellectual and all, but it’s just that--talking. So, would there be a way for us to, say, see this connectedness? If there is, then how can we get to such a state of awareness? What do we have to do? Is this when I'm supposed to lock myself up for years to meditate? Huh. Yeah, right! Not happening, not with me. I've got too much to do, too many things to experience. But maybe it doesn’t take all that much to reach that point. Maybe, if we can understand why it is we cannot see our 'energy state', we can sort of hop on to the fast track to accessing that state. In 1996, Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist, found herself experiencing a stroke: a blood clot had ruptured in the left-hand part of her brain, causing her to forget how to “walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of [her] life.” And how exactly is this related to what we’re talking about? Well, as it turns out, because of this stroke, she only saw herself and the world as one. “[She] could no longer define the boundaries of [her] body. [She couldn’t] define where [she began] and where [she] end[ed]. Because the atoms and molecules of [her] arm blended with the atoms and molecules of the wall. And all [she] could detect was this energy.” Wow! So. . . what does that tell us exactly? That we need to get a stroke, and a particular one at that, since it can only affect the left brain? Not exactly, no. But we learn that, because of the hemorrhage, her left brain was out, leaving the right one to do all the work. And the two hemispheres are quite separate entities (except for a minor bridge at the bottom), they are two distinct individuals with different "personalities."

The left brain’s the logical one, the one that “thinks linearly and methodically, [. . .] it’s that little voice that says to me, ‘I am. I am.’” It’s because of the left hemisphere that we individualize ourselves.

Cogito ergo sum.” (René Descartes, Principles of Philosophy.). I think, therefore I am. Sounds to me like Descartes was talking about the left brain’s perception of the world, because the right brain’s totally different. It is the hemisphere that store “information in the form of energy streams.” It is the one that thinks “I am an energy being connected to the energy of all around me.” Therefore, if we want to be able to experience that feeling of one-ness with the world around us--the way it truly is as all our atoms are connected to all those around us--we have to shut off our left-hand brain.

Huh. Yeah. Don’t quite know how to do that yet, but I figure this is a pretty good start, huh? And when I do, I'll let you know :)

Alessa PS: For more information on Dr. Bolte Taylor, you can get her book My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey or check out a video of her below (it's a little over 20 minutes long).

The Power of Positive Thinking...

“Never say never!” (An American Tail: Fievel Goes West).

Taking these three words to heart, Fievel Mousekewitz overcomes adversity and finds his family again, no matter how many challenges and pains he's faced with. I think this is a brilliant example of the power of positive thinking. Of course, you might say this is preposterous. Who would ever consider what’s being said in some child’s tale as advice? (Though I believe Jean de la Fontaine would have disagreed with such an opinion--see his Selected Fables). Fine. Think about this expression then: “It never rains but it pours.” Have you ever had a bad day when it seems like all the worse things that could happen to you do happen? I’ve suffered through many versions of this scenario (with differing intensities and catastrophes involved, of course), but it’s also happened the other way around, when good things kept on happening to me, one after the other (and I'm not complaining about that). Going back to the idea that all is energy, maybe our mood, or frame of mind, or whatever energy we’re projecting, has an effect on the events that befall us (a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, just maybe not with quite that dramatic an undertone)? It would mean that our thoughts have the power to transform our environment until it matches our emotions. According to Gregg Braden in The Divine Matrix: Bridging Time, Space, Miracles, and Belief: “To some degree, we're in resonance with everything, which is why we affect other people, our surroundings, and our world simply by our presence. It should come as no surprise, then, that when something changes within us or the things around us, those changes will show up in our lives... and they do.” So think positive and never say never! Alessa

Vis Viva – Living Force

Vis Viva is the underlying (or should I say overlying?) title of my trilogy. It is Latin for Living Force and is one of the earliest formulations of the conservation of energy theory. The term, according to Wikipedia, is now applied in the context of celestial mechanics (for more information click here). Why such a title, you might ask? Well, it’s because I believe that everything is energy and that: “Energy cannot be created or destroyed; it merely changes form.” (The first law of thermodynamics is based on that concept. Once again, you can check it out on Wikipedia here). Because of this, I also believe that everything we do has consequences. And I don’t just mean actions but thoughts as well. That is why I firmly believe that you can achieve anything you wish for if you truly believe in it (I suppose another name for this is faith, in yourself at least if nothing else). It’s the whole Ask and Ye Shall Receive (Bible, Matthew 21:22) concept. Therefore, to all you boys/girls/etc. who read this, I say: "Don’t get discouraged; if you truly want something, go for it, and it will happen!" Alessa

Introduction To My Blog

One of my New Year’s resolutions is to start a blog. Never thought I’d be one of the multitude to be posting my life on the internet. The saving grace of this endeavor (at least in my mind) is that it’s not really about myself. Rather, I intend this project to be about topics that are of interest to me, that force me to think and wonder.

The reason for this is that I’ve been working on a book for the past 3.5 years which contains certain themes which I’d like to cover here. I figured it would be a fun way to introduce my friends and family (and any other interested person) to the wild ideas/theories/discoveries that have spawned my trilogy (ah, I forgot to mention that, didn’t I? Well, this book I’ve been working on is the first of a series of three). Also, I’d love to hear what people have to say about those said ideas/theories/discoveries I’ll mention.

With that, I’ll let you go and wish you a wonderful year 2009 filled with lots of fun and happiness.

Cheers,

Alessa