Friday, March 28, 2014

Sacred Geometry and Unified Fields

A single form encompasses
the multitude of dharmas,
all of which are interconnected
Within the Net of Indra.

Layer after layer, 
there is no point 
at which it all ends.
Whether in motion or still,
ALL is fully interpenetrating.

- Zhitong (d.1124) 

Even though my career is in graphic art, I have always been interested in science.

In high school & college I took physics courses because I loved the way it analytically uncovered the mysteries of our Universe. However, I also realized that scientists, like everyone else, are just making up stories.

Yes, science is more self-consistent than other intellectual endeavors. It is fairly obvious though, that scientific theories are only limited cases, that do not describe the totality of happenings within the reality we inhabit. Old theories are replaced with new ones as more information becomes available. "Laws" such as thermodynamics are applied to idealized situations. Even previously immutable physical constants are shown to be not as "constant" as we once believed.

Livescience:

Scientists can sometimes be like priests when it comes to holding onto questionable premises as dogma. The Big Bang, dark matter, and the use of various constants to make equations do what they are expected to do... these are just some examples of faulty premises that have become doctrine that cannot be questioned without fierce resistance from the scientific community.

Maybe it's because I'm also inclined to a mystical point-of-view, but I tend to look beyond the monkey grunts & crude symbols that we use to try to explain the world. Science & math may be more refined than most ways of thinking, but they are still the products of our limited monkey mind.

The Universe is Infinity. 
All we are doing (with any system of knowledge) is looking at bits & pieces of that Infinity, and trying to connect the few stray pieces we can comprehend at any given time.

All that being said, I recently watched this video by Nassim Haramein about new ways of looking at the atomic realm & how it relates to other scales of Reality. It takes alot to blow my mind these days, but this video really made me think about the world in a new way.

*Disclaimer: I am not claiming to fully believe everything he has to say, or that his theories are without flaws. However, to argue about this stuff would be missing the forest for the trees. What he brings is a new vision for understanding the Universe at different scales.

I think fractals are a key to understanding the nature of Reality.
Nassim very much incorporates a fractal view of nature, which I think is crucial to a unified view of the Universe. I don't think that a "Unified Theory of Everything" is actually possible. However, we can always find ways to integrate more & more aspects of scientific theory into more elegant and useful forms.

Scientifically-minded people may hear "sacred geometry" and be immediately repulsed by the mystical implications. However, symbols like 'The Flower of Life' are simply geometric forms studied in an attempt to find underlying patterns in natural processes. There does not need to be anything about "God" or metaphysics injected into the discussion.

I also feel that there is definitely a "zero point" energy inherent in the quantum field. One day, with sufficient understanding and technology, we will be able to extract this infinite energy source, that exists within us & around us, throughout the Universe. When our energy problems are solved, many other difficulties faced by the human race will also be overcome. We will be able to harvest unlimited energy, bend gravity, & travel to the stars, freeing us from the womb of planet Earth- so we can guarantee our survival as a species.

All revolutionary ways of thinking are at first ridiculed by those who have fooled themselves to think they know how things really are. The truth is, we know relatively nothing! However, I think Nassim's talk opens doors to new ways of approaching the way we look at the Universe.

We must keep our mind open and realize that everything, including "truth" & scientific understanding, is subject to change.


 

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Quantum Monkey

Is this chimp made of particles or waves???

Like the quantum field, & all of Reality,... it's BOTH at the same time!



Seen on LAZORZ

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Welcome Susanna!

Usually I don't post about my personal life here, but we were recently blessed with the birth of a new member of my family- my first niece, Susanna Sawyer. She was born on the vernal equinox, March 20, 2014.

Nothing makes you ponder the mysteries of Life more than a newborn child being brought into the world...

I already have 2 awesome nephews, Gregory & David. I love those kids, but being an uncle definitely helps me realize the difficulties that come with raising children!

My hope for Susanna is that she grows up happy & has a good life. She has a strong, supportive family, with plenty of older Dudes in her family who are going to be looking out for her.

Here's a pic of yours truly, Uncle Paulie, with little Susanna.



Also, here is the beautiful video my sister-in-law & her husband made of the event, using their new Ultra-HD video camera:





The Equinox & Ancient Cultures


March 20th is the Vernal Equinox, also known as the first day of Spring.

Wikipedia:

One of the earliest markers of human civilization is the ability to comprehend & track the cycles of time.

Being able to predict the passage of seasons & celestial events gave people tremendous power to live in tune with the world around them.

All of the earliest monumental structures that survive from ancient times are astronomical markers that helped the priests and leaders of these cultures organize their society.

Synchronizing our lives to the cyclical nature of the universe has been a necessary function for surviving the climatic changes, hunting, agriculture, or social purposes. Because of the importance of seasonal markers, like the equinoxes & solstices, these events were given deep spiritual significance by our ancestors.

These are a couple articles exploring our ancient connection to the occurrence of the equinox.


NASA:



An ancient solar observatory in Peru.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Aliens Among Us

People are always wondering what alien life on other planets could possible look like...

We tend to overlook the amazing variety of creatures right here on Earth. Especially in places like the deep ocean, the life is as alien and weird as we can imagine.

I saw this photo gallery on Daily Mail, featuring some of the mind-bogglingly strange ocean dwellers. The photographer is Alexander Semenov.

Daily Mail:



Monday, March 17, 2014

Celtic Irish Flag

Today is St. Patrick's Day, so this weekend I was celebrating my Irish heritage with Guinness, whiskey & Irish food. 

I made this design using the flag of Ireland & a Celtic knot. It's available at my Cafepress store.

 "Irish Celtic Flag"

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Uncomfortable Product Design

As a professional designer, I obviously strive to make good design choices for the projects I work on.

However, I also find really bad design amusing- whether it's intentional or not.

This is a clever set of objects that the artist, Katerina Kamprani, designed to be completely non-functional. Using 3D software, she illustrated products that are funny & nonsensical.

Katerina Kamprani:



Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Robot & Skeleton

I saw this on FFFFOUND!.

Our current biological skeletal frame seems to be faced with our possible future self- where our consciousness will be housed in a cybernetic exoskeleton...


Monday, March 10, 2014

How Fox Gets Its News

In memory of one of my favorite progressive bloggers, Bartcop, who just passed away. I'm still finding myself visiting Bartcop.com out of habit, expecting new political humor...

I've reduced my intake of cable news lately, but sometimes (if I'm feeling especially masochistic) I'll watch a little bit of the Fox News opinion shows.

It's like taking a quick, relatively painless trip to a bizarro-dimension, where facts don't matter & insanity is badge of honor.

I always enjoy watching Jon Stewart dismantle the red, white, & blue facade of this corporate Republican propaganda outlet.


click to enlarge

Fox News: 
WE READ 
THE CHAIN EMAILS
YOUR GRANDMA GETS
IN HER INBOX
OUT LOUD 
LIKE THEY WERE TRUE

Saturday, March 08, 2014

RIP Bartcop

http://www.bartcop.com/


Back in the days of "The Bush Dark Ages", when ignorance & fear ruled the country, Bartcop.com was a voice of sanity for progressively-minded people like myself.

I started this blog almost 10 years ago, and Bartcop was one of my early inspirations for creating a regular outlet for my personal interests & views. Every day, the Bartcop blog always had great political cartoons from different artists, links to important stories, & of course Bart's awesome commentary.

Bartcop had an online following, with dozens of readers (...as he would say), but he always had an 'underground' quality to his iconoclastic approach to political commentary. His appeal came from his irreverence toward authority & "the establishment," regardless of whether he was railing against incompetent crooks in the government, media, or private sector.

Although he was an uncompromising liberal voice, he also wouldn't hesitate to criticize President Obama or other Democrats when they acted against the interests of the American people.  Even after Obama was elected & it seemed we might have a slightly better situation, there were still plenty of material for Bart to work with. That's one good thing about being in the parody/mockery business- there's never an end to the absurdity that Life has to offer.

I emailed Bart once in awhile, & he would always respond or post the political graphics I make from time to time. The open forum he provided for other bloggers was much appreciated, & was one of the many things that made Bartcop.com so unique. Even though the layout of his blog was fairly basic and never really changed, the original content & images he would provide every day were continually fresh, interesting, & relevant.

Bartcop.com was a daily read for me, for almost a decade, so when Bart got sick recently, I continued to check the page each day. Yesterday, however, I visited his page & saw a message that made my heart drop...

I was deeply saddened to learn that Terry Coppage, aka Bartcop, passed away.

Obituary:

Although I never met him in person, when you read someone's daily thoughts for 10 years, you can't help but feel a deep connection with that individual. I probably feel like many of his other readers, that a mind-meld I really enjoyed has been shut off...

Brad Blog:

Crooks & Liars:

Raw Story:

Although it is great that he influenced so many people, it's a damn shame that he wasn't more well-known. I see all these assholes & idiots on cable news getting a platform to spew total bullshit, while Bartcop hammered out the truth, day after day, while remaining virtually unrecognized by the "mainstream" media.

I felt that after enjoying his work for so many years, I wanted to help his memory live on, with a tribute to someone who will be sorely missed by myself & many others. Hopefully the Bartcop archives will remain in the future, so our descendants can look back & see his contribution to American political discourse in the beginning of the 21st century.

He provided a light, during times when so many people felt like the world was very dark... and for that we are grateful.

Here are some graphics I volunteered to make for Bartcop a couple years ago, when he asked for some designs for stickers:







Thursday, March 06, 2014

Dalai Lama's Opening Prayer in U.S. Senate



"With our thoughts, we make our world...
Our mind is central and precedes our deeds.
Speak or act with a pure mind, 
and happiness will follow you." 

The Dalai Lama is one of the many wisdom teachers in this world who have helped illuminate my mind. This is the 1st time he has offered an opening prayer for that un-holy legislative body... the U.S. Senate.

He admits to simply being a monk, who follows the primary practices of self-awareness & compassion for all beings. There is no special access to the divine that's only for certain 'holy' people. You or I have the exact same potential for spiritual realization that the Dalai Lama or the Pope may seem to have.

I don't necessarily have a problem w/ a prayer or blessing before government functions, as long as people of different religious backgrounds are represented. This is NOT a "Christian nation". Sorry, it's just a fact... The United States of America is a secular nation, with religious freedom for all. In this country, you can happily be a Christian of your preferred denomination, or a Buddhist, a Pastafarian, or even free from any religious ideology, if you choose. 

Tuesday, March 04, 2014