The King of Bullshit

 

"The King of Bullshit"
by The Monkey Buddha

With President Donald Trump pushing the boundaries of his megalomania ever & ever farther, his social media accounts recently exclaimed "Long Live the King!" as he injects himself into New York's controversial 'congestion pricing' system.

I already generated the graphic above a couple weeks ago, but now it's even more appropriate in light of this recent news. The image was created from two renders by Stable Diffusion AI. I composited & retouched the resulting picture in Photoshop. The prompt was: trump sitting on a toilet throne with a poop emoji crown, surrounded by piles of gold and skulls

Trump truly is "The King of Bullshit"... and not just for the stream of unrepentant lies and utter toxicity that flows from his speech. He repulses me to my core, but I'm actually going to use this post to (sort-of) praise him for also exposing how much of our Reality™ is bullshit. 

Trump is truly a phenomenon, and without a doubt, the dominant global public figure of the beginning of the early 21st century. As I put it in my previous post: "He has become basically a God-tier malignant narcissist, demanding the attention of every human consciousness on the planet.".

The most significant thing that he has done, as The King of Bullshit, is to show that all of our public institutions and socio-political systems are ultimately bullshit. 

Our entire civilization is built on the most fragile foundation of gentleman's agreements & honor systems. What Trump has shown, is that unscrupulous people with no personal honor nor respect for these institutions can just tear everything apart. They can quickly dissolve these transient, imaginary creations that we call "society" & "government". As part of a relatively stable political framework for the last couple centuries, Americans have come to take our relatively well-functioning social order for granted. Trump has ripped open the curtain, and there's nothing behind our established institutions. It's all sunyata, emptiness...

Government is bullshit. It's made up of millions of actual civil servants, politicians, & military personnel, but it is really an abstract entity perpetuated by the systems & layers of bureaucracy that have been built up over decades. No matter how well things are run, it is all impermanent, & subject to being destroyed at any time. When you have a tyrannically-minded asshole like Trump & his fanatical sycophants ready to raze the established order, it has now been shown that the only thing holding everything together was the flimsy thread of "respect" that people continually hold for the government & it's principles. The checks & balances that the country's founders implemented simply do not exist if the parties do not exercise them. The Republican-majority Congress and the conservative Supreme Court have not asserted their authority in the governmental triad, and instead have let King Trump and his administration steamroll the entire system.

"The Law" & Its Enforcement are bullshit. Trump has proved this truth, time & time again. Law is another one of those things, hand-in-hand with government, that depends on people to respect & uphold it. If this is not enforced, then the whole thing is shown to be just a farce, a collective illusion that we agree to. The fact that Donald Trump escaped prosecution for the Jan 6th attempt to block the election certification, as well as his various fraudulent activities, AND became the fucking President of the United States shows that law is definitely not equally applied & can be completely subverted. He's shown that the courts are also bullshit, & they can either be politicized, corrupted, or stalled. As the Trump Administration churns out executive directives, organizations & states have begun to sue. People are looking to the courts to save us from the Trump/DOGE wrecking ball, but litigating against this administration's actions is like putting bandages on a decapitated head, the critical damage is done or unstoppable, & the country is fucked in the short term, for sure.

The Media is bullshit. Trump, being the King of Bullshit & master media manipulator, has shown how dishonest & sensationalized the news media has become. "Sane-washing" became a term during the 2024 election campaign to describe how the media & journalists simply don't call out Trump on his insane bullshit. It's agonizing to watch talking heads try to come terms with or spin the constant flood of belligerent stupidity & craziness. There are still fact-checkers in the news (much to the dismay of the MAGA faithful), but more people should just point out that Trump is a total ignoramus & often has no clue what the hell he's talking about. "The Weave", yeah sure,... it's called BULLSHIT.

Consensus Reality is bullshit. That's right- there is no such thing as an agreed reality, especially in the realm of politics. Political divisions have always been a major force in any society throughout history. However, the influence of social media and digital information have drastically affected perceptions of reality through misinformation, propaganda, and fictions. The devastating effectiveness lies with their distribution to the individual & collective consciousness, via the algorithms determining the content viewed based on an individual's psychological profile. We still have verifiable physical facts, but people may still not accept your measuring system or your descriptions even if they are supposed to be rooted in so-called objective reality. As Robert Anton Wilson described, we are living in our own "reality tunnels," and although there are certainly shared experiences among us, everyone is literally in their own world. When I go into the comments on Fox News articles, it is often like entering Bizarro World. The more MAGA the news source, the more disconnected from reality it seems to be. Trump himself, channeling 1984's Big Brother, has demanded that "what you're seeing... is not what's happening".

So here were are, Donald Trump, The King of Bullshit, is enshittifying the country, the world, & everything he touches, like the reverse King Midas. He is an narcissistic old fool sitting on an imagined throne, just as temporary as all the established institutions that he's exposing as a giant pile of bullshit.

 

The Informational Universe

 This PBS article asks the question about the nature of reality:

Is Information Fundamental?

It might seem like a weird question. Our perceptions experience the world as made of matter & energy. However, we now know that there are much more exotic properties to reality at the most basic quantum levels.

How does existence organize itself out of the seeming chaos of the quantum field? How is information preserved throughout all levels, to give rise to atomic order, physical form, forces, and all the other systems that keep the Universe running as it does?

These are deep questions that compel us to dive head-first into infinity, to try and comprehend the unimaginable complexity that we are immersed in.

If the Universe is really made of information, then how much can be stored in a given space? According to the article, the maximum limit is 10^69 bits per square meter, and if you tried to pack information more densely than that, it would collapse into a black hole.

This idea of the world as information has been discussed by the late Terence McKenna, who said

“The syntactical nature of reality, the real secret of magic, is that the world is made of words. And if you know the words that the world is made of, you can make of it whatever you wish.” 

By "words", he was referring to information- the idea is that by understanding the way in which the Universe processes information, we can use that knowledge to affect it according to our intentions.

McKenna also was interested in "novelty" or new phenomena, which the article also discusses as an aspect of information theory. Basically the Universe favors surprises & additive or cumulative information.

Nassim Haramein has also been exploring the possibility of unifying our view of physics through the organizational patterns of sacred geometry, and he has proposed the theory that ALL information in the Universe is stored at EVERY point in the field. It is a fractal, holographic storage system built into the fabric of reality itself.

 Resonance Science Foundation:

Spacetime as Information – 

An Ordering Principle for Living Systems?

 Planck-Scale Information Network of Spacetime

Ultimately, these are all just labels and primitive attempts at our monkey mind to grasp the infinite expanse & depth of our world. However, by thinking about these things and better understanding this miraculous existence we inhabit, we actually fulfill our purpose. We ARE the Universe itself, learning & cycling back information into a feedback loop that informs every aspect of reality. We are at the same time a tiny piece, yet an integral part of the whole.

Studying "The Way"

 

The Monkey Buddha Bazaar:

Circle Reflecting Pool

Discovering the Zen mode of thought when I was a college student had a great impact on my personal understanding of the world. This approach to understanding reality felt immediately familiar to me, since I've always had an introspective, but iconoclastic, personality.

Zen Philosophy

Essentially, Zen is a mindset in which names, preconceptions, and even the appearance of physical reality are all recognized as constructions of the lightshow within the mind. It doesn't mean that there's no "reality", but that reality as we experience it is extremely limited and even further filtered through our senses & perceptions. One benefit of looking deeply into one's own existence is to be "comfortable in your own skin" and understand our part in the universe.

I have Daily Zen as my homepage to randomly generate quotes from masters & practitioners.




This particular quote sums up the philosophy & practice very well:

"To study the Way
whether moving or still,
is nothing more or less
than becoming quite intimate
with our own nature,
resting quite easy in our natural state."

Movie Review: Matrix Resurrections

The Matrix is one of my favorite movie series, a mind-bending story fusing philosophy, technology, and exploration of the human condition. My wife & I recently asked my parents to babysit so we could take a rare trip to the movies while Matrix Resurrections was still playing. 

We had watched the original trilogy fairly recently, so the story was fresh in our minds. Nothing compares to the original Matrix, but we both really enjoyed this movie and thought it was a solid continuation of the story of Neo and Trinity. The trailer got me super-hyped to see it, and thankfully it lived up to my hype. It had a lot of cool, thought-provoking takes on the Matrix story, and didn't seem like a cheap cash grab.

 There are probably going to be spoilers below, but I'll try not to give too much away...

The story starts out with Neo once again living within the Matrix as Thomas Anderson, now a successful game designer. He created a game, The Matrix (a game within the movie - referencing the movie itself! Woooah..), but is haunted by the feeling that his memories and subconscious connections to the game have some deeper reality... or is he just mentally ill? He is seeing a therapist who is prescribing him blue pills (of course) to help with his seemingly delusional breaks from his current reality.

The fact that there is even a movie with Thomas/Neo after he clearly died in Matrix Revolutions is a mystery. Is this really Neo? Did he survive somehow? This is explained later on as the rabbit hole opens up once again, and we dive deep down into it.

One thing this movie does brilliantly is hold a mirror up to the absurdity and craziness of our "normal" world - the dependence on manufactured pharmaceuticals, ubiquitous technology, inauthentic social relationships, corporate fealty, and our own behaviors based on our limited grasp of reality.

There is also a lot of "meta" self-parody in this movie, exposing the bullshit aspects entertainment & mass media. This is mostly done through humorous situations & conversations involving Mr. Anderson's game company. There is a discussion how Warner Bros. is demanding a new Matrix game, even though Thomas doesn't want to make one. The production company & the money are in control, not the creator.

I thought it was interesting how the advances in real-world technology since the flip phones of the original movie were addressed. One scene I especially liked, that's shown in the trailer, is where he is in an elevator & looks up into the mirrored ceiling to see everyone staring into their mobile devices. We are becoming more "jacked-in" to our Matrix, the Internet, all the time. People's brains are addicted to this connection to virtual space in a way that is making it inseparable from our natural conscious experience.

Inevitably, Thomas Anderson finds out there is more to his reality, as he has suspected all along. After assimilating & neutralizing the threat of Agent Smith in Revolutions, it turns out the machines have kept him and Trinity alive. The machines have kept them in special pods, close to one another for decades after reviving and rebuilding their biological bodies. As the Anomaly, their presence and proximity to one another somehow stabilizes the Matrix for all other humans.

One thing I thought was a great continuation of the story was that after Revolutions and the peace Neo's actions ushered in, the machines began to integrate into human society. Zion was destroyed by continued warfare, but the machines were able to join & help humans in the new city of Io to greatly improve their quality of life. The original Matrix movies had a very "us vs. them" approach to the human relationship to machines, until Neo realized the only way to end the conflict was to merge into a more symbiotic existence.

Although the real Morpheus apparently died after leading the High Council of Zion, a "virtual Morpheus" was created by Neo. Although he was a program that appeared like Morpheus within the Matrix itself, thanks to nanobot-like tech he was also able to manifest in the physical world. Again, it was an interesting concept using advances in technology to come up with fresh approaches to the storytelling.

Eventually, Neo reconnects with Trinity, who is living a fake virtual life with a bot husband, (maybe unironically) named "Chad" & their bot children. The great human mysteries of "Love" & "Choice" once again play the ultimate role in the fate of the two protagonists... and the rest of humanity, as a result.

The ending of this movie is a callback to the end of the first Matrix, but this time Trinity saves the day, and makes me think there may be more to the Matrix story to come.

Although I really like the movie, there were some things that kind of bothered me. The relationship between man & machine was kind of confusing, because there was apparently a peace brokered but people are still in pods and there are still hostile machines and programs. 

 I was really thrown off by how easily both Neo and Trinity eventually got out of their V.I.P. pods in the middle of the machine city. Wouldn't the machines have robots monitoring & guarding these pods with an immense level of scrutiny? Yet, there were no machines to be seen as they were being extracted. The whole "rescue" attempt was probably the part of the movie that bothered me the most. 

I also didn't understand how Smith would still be able to exist, even if his form was altered... and if he was still around, wouldn't he still be able to cross over into the real world?

Anyway, these complaints didn't get in the way of my enjoyment of this visually and conceptually impressive movie. With so many reboots & expansions of fictional properties proving to be shallow or rushed, I was extremely happy to experience such an awesome return to one of the most intriguing fictional worlds in modern media.

I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who was inspired by the original Matrix and the other movies & offshoots, such as the Animatrix. It was a deep, innovative journey into the mind and the real & virtual worlds it can inhabit. 

 

 

Oculus Rift & Virtual Space

I've been closely following the development of the Oculus Rift, the virtual reality hardware at the forefront of popular VR technology.

Oculus Rift

I'm looking forward to experiencing the Oculus one day, but it should be clear to anyone that the possibilities of immersive VR are limitless.

Far from being a useless or escapist distraction from the "real" world, virtual reality is simply a new way to receive novel information & sensory input. It's no different than a movie, TV, a book, fine art, or any other human creation that can stimulate our minds.

Video games are a primitive form of virtual reality, in which you are able to explore situations & worlds that exist only in the human imagination, both individual & collective. Although I like to exist in the physical world, I've always enjoyed video games. They are almost an 'alternate consciousness' consisting of explorations into engaging scenarios & mental states.

By synergizing our brains with electronic media (or other future tech that we can't imagine), perhaps we will eventually create parallel streams of experience. We might also be able to fractalize our minds, creating numerous embedded levels of simultaneous thought.

Below are a few Oculus Rift applications that I think are especially cool-looking. Some of them deal with one of my favorite topics, and the source of humanity's future in the Universe, ...Outer Space.

Being a huge Star Wars fan, the idea of using lightsabers in virtual reality is immediately appealing. This demo looks pretty awesome:

STEM System: Lightsaber Demo

The movie "Interstellar" is using a virtual trip into space as part of their marketing efforts:

Space.com:

'Interstellar' Launches Immersive Space Trip

Here's a look at some of the latest Oculus Rift software, which shows the vast possibilities inherent in this medium:

15 x Oculus Rift Games 

I think it's interesting how there are video games in some of these virtual worlds... games within games, realities within realities. Its similar to the idea of fractally embedded consciousness I mentioned before.

Finally, here's a very funny video, showing the reaction of a Ugandan security guard who loses himself within the Oculus VR:

Exploring the Quantum-Mind-Universe

After yesterdays post about fractal art, the recursive nature of reality must have been on my mind.

I saw this story on Raw Story earlier,

"Quantum Leap in Technology
to Unravel 'Cosmic Web' of Universe"

...Which reminded me of some tech news I saw on Infosthetics a few days ago:

"Brain Model Visualization"

...Both of which reminded me of comparisons I've made before about the structure of reality at different scales, from the quantum to the cosmic.

The Monkey Buddha:
Posts about "Fractal Reality"

All the scientists and data visualization experts are coming to realize that the quantum world, the mind, and the universe are all exactly the same thing. Perhaps a consequence of our perceptive realities expanding into each other will be an infinite interconnection of intelligence that surpasses any form of 'reality' that we can imagine.

What if the mind becomes fused with the light machines known as computers or even with the base energy of the universe itself & one can multi-task one's consciousness at the speed of light?
What will existence be like when you can simultaneously communicate, create, and learn in a virtual space with no limitation of linear input? Modes of thought experience will obviously be much more un-linear and vast than what the sensory-driven mind is currently capable of conjuring.

Ultraviolet Vision

This design can be found at
The Monkey Buddha Bazaar

Augmented Reality Exhibit

It may seem crazy, but think it's inevitable that humans and computers will meld together, to the point of what could be called an "augmented reality" (& beyond).

To some extent, this is already in progress- since we already constantly use electronic devices to improve the way we communicate, remember, navigate, and learn.

This continual expansion of human consciousness inspired me to project into a possible realm where symbiotic computers like an "iThink" become integral to our reality. This would be no different then how society has adapted to the universality of instantaneous communication. Having a symbiotic, consciousness-effecting networked computer implant might soon be considered no different than having a cell phone on you at all times.

One of the countless applications of such a computer directly tied into the nervous system might be the ability to virtually immerse oneself into enhanced environments. Data could be displayed and transmitted as fast as the user's thoughts.

I've always thought it would be great to visit an ancient landmark and experience virtual buildings and surroundings to overlay your immediate view.

This exhibit I saw linked on Gizmondo is like a primitive version of my dream archaeology lesson. In this present case, a moveable Apple monitor is needed to shift the view of the area. Having more advanced data overlays activated in your line of vision at will is going to prove to be much more interesting...

" Augmented reality
on hand at museum in the Netherlands,
threatens to make learning cool"

"Dreams of Dalí" Virtual Reality

I saw this awe-inspiring video on Neatorama. I've been a life-long interest in art, and Dalí is one of my favorite artists. I had the pleasure of seeing an exhibit of his work many years ago at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

This video, "Dreams of Dalí: A Virtual Reality Experience" shows the tremendous potential of virtual reality and digital art to experience new worlds & alternate modes of consciousness. It is a virtual tour 'inside' the Dalí painting "Archeological Reminiscence of Millet’s Angelus".

The fidelity of graphics and the ability to perceive in 3D are allowing for the creation of dreamlike, impossible experiences- perfect for a new way of enjoying the art of Dalí.

The Complex Reality of Climate Change

...which I will simplify.

Basically, nobody knows what the hell is going on.

All people can really do with events on a scale of a planetary or cosmic nature is to simply observe. I think the "Global Warming" movement is a little misguided, though the general intention is positive. The problem is there is the broader reality of 'climate change' which involves possibilities that are beyond the realm of human control, and therefore much more frightening.

• "Earth's Magnetic Field Reversals"

• "Cosmic Rays May be Causing Global Warming"

• "Wikipedia - Climate Cycle"

The human situation on this planet is so fragile, yet we are here against all odds. You can't help but feel a sense of awe when you consider the unimaginable scale of reality.

"Alchemy: Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul" - Titus Burckhardt

Alchemy is one of those curious topics that I heard about when I was younger, but didn't start looking into until I was an adult.

Though it has been historically misaligned as 'magic' or 'occult,' the merits of the alchemists' rigorous studies & experiments are becoming more apparent in modern times. 

Also known as "The Great Work," alchemy has been derided by science orthodoxy as a quixotic search for the Philosopher's Stone- a material that could transmute elements into gold. In fact, the alchemists conducted reproducible experiments and discovered many scientific properties that are still relevant today.

Nowadays, there is also a wider knowledge of the metaphorical 'Great Work'. This consists of the inner work of transmuting the self, or Soul, infused within the physical limits of the material Body, into a gold-like, rarefied state of awareness that is expanded into the Spirit pervading all reality.

It's only recently that I've started to grasp the deeper concepts & symbolism in this lost tradition, that can be most succinctly described as "Mystical Chemistry". It was also an attempt at symbolically 'programming' Reality, through various physical & abstract means. The alchemical minds of the ancient past would be today's geeks & experimenters: computer programmers, physical scientists, & researchers.

Although I've read several books about the tradition & symbolism of alchemy, I recently finished the most clear & concise presentation of the topic that I've come across. I bought the book for only a few dollars from Sellers Books & Fine Art, a used bookstore in Jim Thorpe, PA. I could spend hours browsing books there on my annual visit to the Poconos.

"Alchemy: 

Science of the Cosmos, Science of the Soul" 

by Titus Burckhardt

The book cover itself is full of alchemical symbolism: 

• The androgynous twin- the male & female combined, with the sun (Sol) & moon (Luna) above their heads, and also in the background... all signifying the union of opposites.

• Polar aspects such as active & passive, the volatile & the stable, ying & yang, solar & lunar, are sublimated in the Alchemical Marriage of opposing principles, into a unified whole.

• This figure is surrounded by the alchemical symbols for the different planets, with their corresponding elements. From the left side of the picture: Venus (copper), Mars (iron), Sol (gold), Mercury (quicksilver), Luna (silver), Jupiter (tin), & Saturn (lead)

• Similar to the Freemasons, the fully-integrated androgen carries both a compass & a square, so that curves can be used with straight lines, to create any design.

• The two-headed figure is standing on top of the fire-breathing dragon- a symbol of the primeval & chaotic forces that the alchemists were trying to master.

• "REBIS," written backwards on the sign across the hermaphrodite's chest, means "double matter". This refers to the ultimate goal of The Work- to reconcile opposite polarities- like male & female, matter & spirit.

The word 'Alchemy' is thought to come from the name of Egypt in ancient times: Al-Kem or Al-Kemet. 'Kem' also means 'black'- referring to the base properties of the Prima Materia, or the coarse matter that makes up our world. Since the age of Dynastic Egypt millenia ago, the ideas that arose from investigating the nature of The Universe & The Mind have lived on, through the Hermetic Tradition. This philosophy is named after the mythical figure Hermes Trismegistus, Hermes "The Thrice Great". 

The most well-known saying from The Emerald Tablet of Hermes is "As above, so below." I see this as a precursor to knowledge such as fractal geometry, which is the study of recursion & self-similarity at various scales of reality.

From these distant beginnings, the alchemical work has since been done by people of all religions; Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc. Despite their differing theological dogmas, all these explorers were trying to discover new correlations between mind, matter, & spirit- the energetic source of all phenomena.

There are plenty of sources online to learn more about the ancient art of alchemy, but I'd highly recommend listening or reading about Terence McKenna's insights into the Hermetic Tradition. He was one of the greatest minds of the late 20th century & this was one of the many areas where he could give mind-expanding talks for hours.

I have listened to many of his lectures online, including this 4.5 hour workshop on Hermeticism & Alchemy.

Here is a shorter video with some basic info:

Reality As You Know It Does Not Exist

Holographic Reality
and the Universal Mind

I saw this mind-bending video on The Teleomorph regarding the nature of this lightshow which we call "Reality":

"Chakra Ascension" Series- 8 Prabhāsvara

In 2003, I created seven 3D images that I intended to be a series.

The images show a solitary, meditating figure in different environments. Each setting corresponds to the ancient metaphysical energy system within the body, known as "chakras".

I am not a chakra meditation practitioner, so I approached this as a metaphorical work of art. I've finally decided to post the "Chakra Ascension" series, for other people to contemplate.

This is the last image of the series, that I planned to post today on the Summer Solstice- June 21, 2014.

*Now that it's complete, here is a link to the whole series. There's also a free e-book version that can be downloaded at this link :

"Chakra Ascension Series"

by Paul Micarelli

Scroll down for the description of Prabhāsvara, "The Clear Light".

 Click for larger images

From "Chakra Ascension" Series by Paul Micarelli

From "Chakra Ascension" Series by Paul Micarelli

••••••••••••••••••••

After the ascension through all 7 chakra levels, one's consciousness transcends the illusory mental constructs that make up our individual & consensus realities. All that remains is Prabhāsvara, "The Clear Light".

This is the state of being that is beyond words & symbols, which cannot be described by conventional language. Instead of a verbal description for this final level, I used an image of "The Flower of Life". This is a sacred geometric symbol, created from a pattern of equidistant, interlocking circles. It represents the interconnected, infinitely complex nature of the field of energy underlying all aspects of reality.

"The Clear Light" is the energetic source of all manifestations that create our world.

The Observer has now completely merged with the pure, white luminosity of The Clear Light- the fundamental, infinite field of energy that underlies ALL of reality.

I personally had a near-death experience, in which my consciousness was dissolved into The Clear Light. There was no sight, sound, emotion, or conscious thought, of any kind. My mind was abiding in an all-enveloping silence... surrounded by interpenetrating, pure white luminosity.

Beyond the highest ascension of one's consciousness, there is only this infinite field of energy.

"The Clear Light" is just a name for the fundamental source from which everything arises- from quantum fluctuations to the vast structures of the cosmos.

This source can be called “The Clear Light” • “God” • “the Quantum Field” • “the Universe” • “Brahma” • “Tao” ...or any other name.

Regardless of what we call it, the fundamental "One-ness" of reality remains a self-evident truth.

To deeply realize this truth, and all the lessons of this series, YOU must become The Observer.

Look within yourself, while integrating all these ideas from the various stages. Try to maintain an open mind, deep inner vision, compassion for others, and a love of Life.

Then, you will be a master of your own Ascension into a higher consciousness.

 

"Become The Light" by Cameron Gray

I saw this awesome image by Cameron Gray that explores the idea that the fusion of cybernetics and digital technology could actually connect us more deeply to "The Light"- all the energy fields and integral patterns that make up our reality.

People tend to think that tech and the Internet disconnect us from reality, but perhaps these tools are shifting consciousness into a new mode, to perceive reality in a different way than the biological brain can do on its own.

I've always seen computers and electronic devices as augmentations of the mind, external support systems that are interconnected with the internal functioning of my own thoughts. Once these biological & digital systems become truly integrated, it's likely that the state of being that we are familiar with (as light forms trapped in these monkey bodies) will be radically transformed. It could be a vehicle for our luminous nature to reach a much more vast expression.

Merging mind and machine could also be a means for limiting and imprisoning consciousness, but I prefer to be an optimist...

"Become The Light" 

by Cameron Gray

I have posted about Cameron Gray's art before, and all his art is visionary and mind-expanding. 

Check out his art on his websites:

Parable Visions 

Art By Cameron Gray

parablev (Cameron Gray) 

 DeviantArt

Chimp Experiencing Virtual Reality

This video shows a chimpanzee popping balloons in virtual reality. It's obvious that a primate, with sensory organs and a nervous system so similar to ours, could become immersed in VR as easily as humans.

Virtual reality devices are basically just ways to trick our brain using visual & audio stimuli. As long as a living creature has similar senses, there's no reason why it wouldn't affect them, too.

Reality Carnival

One of the many websites I visit for interesting stories & information is called "Reality Carnival". Its is simply a list of thought-provoking sites by author Cliff Pickover.

I've seen alot of good stuff on there but recently a few links really caught my eye...

• 42!!!:

"In their search for patterns,
mathematicians have uncovered unlikely connections
between prime numbers and quantum physics."

• The simple suggestions in this review of the book "59 Seconds, Think A Little Change Alot" are really good:

"Ten Ways to Change Your Life
in 59 Seconds"

• I liked alot of the answers in this interview w/ philosophy professor AC Grayling:

"This Much I Know"

Besides Reality Carnival. it is worth noting that Mr. Pickover also has other cool websites like "The Galactic Question Center " & the wonderfully eclectic "The Wikipedia Knowledge Dump".

Seeing The Galactic Question Center makes me think that I should let people "Ask The Monkey Buddha" the pressing questions humanity faces.

However, that would imply that I actually know about everything.... & I know that's not true.

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:

Speed of Light May Not Be Constant, Physicists Say

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.

 

Virtual Reality Arcades

I used to go to video game arcades sometimes when I was a kid. I didn't really enjoy them that much, though. I'd much rather play on a console at home & not have to keep feeding money into the machine.

This idea of a virtual reality theme park or arcade will be a new wave of public entertainment. It basically becomes a playground of the mind, with infinite possibilities.

There is still a lot of technology to develop to make this possible, like wireless VR headgear. However, I do think that this will happen eventually.

The Void

I often struggle with the value of digital or "virtual" experiences, versus "natural" experiences.

I'm not so sure there is any difference in the source of the stimuli, whether virtual or physical. It is all just information, translated into the conscious lightshow going on inside our heads.

All that seems to matter is that the mind wants to assimilate novel experiences. Virtual reality & digital art can add to the depth and variety of new information processed by the brain.

Ultimately, the distinction between 'real' and 'artificial' experience is an illusory one.

Plato's "The Republic" Sucks

From the Tournament of Genius-
Personally, I'd go with Colbert...

Today during lunch I finally finished reading Plato's "The Republic" & it was pretty much a waste of my time. I found a copy from one of my siblings on the bookshelf at my parents' house, so I took it to read on vacation the other week. It was so disappointing that I have to comment on it.

I was already familiar with Plato's general biography & work. In high school, the great teachers I had for Intellectual Heritage exposed me to Plato's 'Allegory of the Cave', which is a small part of "The Republic". That allegory was pretty much the only enlightening aspect of the book for me.

While hiking with my brother-in-law in the mountains I was trying to describe my problems with the book & the one word I came up with was 'bullsh*t'. I'm sure this analysis wouldn't go over well w/ philosophy scholars, but oh well. Even though I'm aware it's a translation of a Classic... I personally found almost no value in reading it. These ancient Greek intellectuals seemed to have hours on end to B.S. about their opinions, and now we call it philosophy. I guess I was looking for logical discussions using factual observations of the topics presented, but all that's produced are arbitrary rules and theories based on many questionable assumptions.

The premise of the book is that Plato's mentor, Socrates, & some other Greeks of his time were discussing the nature of justice vs. injustice. Out of this search for moral clarity arose the attempt to theoretically design the ideal city. I can appreciate their effort to come up with a blueprint for a new way of governing society. Every step of the way, however, the main speaker Socrates throws out one conjecture after another & conveniently treats them as objective truths.

I know it was written over 1500 years ago, but it's hard to take any of it seriously as when these guys are talking about the value of personal freedom & individualism... while also assuming it's okay to own slaves. There were inconsistencies in all the arguments made, from what makes a man "just"- to what type of ruling class would be best for a city.

The last chapter was the most annoying to me, because Socrates tries to explain the unimportance of art such as painting, music, or theater. In the ancient Greek world, these professions were seen more as we today view as 'crafts' as opposed to 'fine art'. In the book, however, Plato (through Socrates) goes another step & claims that these skills are mere 'imitations' of reality & not reality itself. A carpenter makes a table, and is therefore of a higher ability than a painter because a picture is a mere "imitation" of the table. This coming from the same man who believed made-up numbers & abstract geomeric solids are the basis of reality.

So basically, my review summary is:
"The Republic" is undoubtedly a historic work of literature, but I still think it sucks. :P

WEIRD

 

WEIRD
by The Monkey Buddha
w/ Stable Diffusion

I made this graphic in the same spirit as Shepard Fairey's Obama "HOPE" image- but twisted and unsettling- like Donald Trump's entire persona. If you stare at it long enough, you are guaranteed to lose your sanity. I thought of it while seeing online comments on the current "WEIRD" meme about Trump & the MAGA faithful. 

The idea behind the viral nature of the label is that nobody has really called out Trump & Co.'s bizarre-ness, which has been obvious to most people all along. However, Trump & his followers have tried to gaslight everyone into believing that they are the "normal" way of being, when they are, in fact, the ones out of step with the consensus reality of the majority of people. Being "weird" is not a bad thing in itself (As an artist & designer, I've embodied weirdness a lot in my life), but when the illusion of normality is used to subjugate others, it is a negative quality. The reality is that Trump is a conman, a serial liar, an asshole abusive narcissist, and yes, ...totally fucking WEIRD. The fact that other people are still supporting him politically & defending his insanity, however, is even WEIRDER. If it weren't for his wealthy background & notoriety, people would think this guy is just a strange but idiotic, nonsense-spewing jerk. 

Joe Biden was an effective President, but like I've posted before, his debate performance & public showing was a total disaster. Now that he has done the amazingly selfless thing & removed himself from the race, Kamala Harris has bust out of the gate and come out swinging, seriously bringing the fight to Trump & his campaign/legal fund. Now that Trump is the old & weak one, the flimsy public facade of Trump's normalcy is falling away. Everyone is seeing quite clearly how weird & totally unfit Trump and his people are for positions of power. 

Just today, Trump told the audience of the National Association of Black Journalists that "I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln." & regarding Kamala Harris, "Is she Indian or black? ...but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden she made a turn, and she went -- she became a Black person." 

The fucking balls on the stupid sonuvabitch, I'll give him that... Absolute pure madness.

So, instead of trying to inspire people, this is meant to freak people out about the weirdness of Donald Trump's candidacy, & frankly his whole existence. 

______________________________

Since I made this graphic, the man who started the “MAGA is Weird” meme, Tim Walz, has been named the candidate for Vice-President. It’s an interesting phenomenon because the label frames Trump & his most faithful followers in a way that is difficult to argue against without sounding, well… weird.

Why? Because Trump & his people who have taken over the Republican party ARE totally weird. They always have been, but now the facade is falling away. The majority of Americans are seeing just how unfit such an ignorant, petty, narcissistic man is to lead really anything at all, no less the entire country, with all its complexities & nuance.

Being “weird” wouldn’t be a bad thing in itself- as an artist & designer, I've embodied weirdness a lot in my life! Trump’s brand of weirdness is dangerous, though, because he doesn’t care about anyone or anything in society, other than what directly benefits him. It takes superhuman levels of bending reality in your mind to imagine Trump & Co. as “normal” by any definition.

Any 1 or 2 of his most disturbingly weird qualities would have been enough to completely sink a candidate in the past. Donald Trump is a maelstrom of constant weird bullshit, but somehow people have bought into his twisted image & admired it. It’s all so WEIRD.

• Slathering on orange clown makeup, & styling your hair in the most ridiculous way possible - WEIRD.

• Cheating on your wife who just gave birth to your infant son, by paying a porn star for sex - WEIRD (& scummy).

• Hugging American flags & dead supporters’ work gear - WEIRD.

• Publicly expressing, on multiple occasions, your sexual interest in your own daughter - WEIRD.

• Hanging with Jeffery Epstein - WEIRD.

• Acting like you’re the face of “Law & Order,” when you’ve been indicted & convicted of numerous crimes WEIRD.

• Rage-posting ALL CAPS jingoistic word salads in the early hours of the morning - WEIRD.

• Shamelessly pandering to Christians, when you embody the 7 deadly sins, check all the boxes for the anti-Christ, and constantly break the 10 Commandments - WEIRD.

• Can’t laugh or relate to good-natured humor - WEIRD.

• Unable to operate outside a ‘zero-sum-game’ mentality. Everything is either “the best” or “terrible”, everyone is either “nasty” or wonderful,” depending on how they cater to your ego - WEIRD.

• Willing to tear down American democracy & institutions for your own personal benefit - WEIRD.

• Don’t give one single damn about lying continuously, even about things that can easily be fact-checked - WEIRD.


The list could go on, & on, & on…


Are Kamala Harris & Tim Walz (and really everyone) weird in their own ways? Sure, but when you don’t reek of insecurity from rampant egotism, you can have a laugh about it instead of trying to deny it. 

 Share it far & wide - spread the weirdness!!!

"iThink" Tech & The Evolution of the Mind

"I hate this place. This zoo. This prison.
This Reality- whatever you want to call it,
I can't stand it any longer.
It's the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it.
I can taste your stink and every time I do,
I fear that I've somehow been infected by it. "
-Agent Smith "The Matrix"

I have been collecting links for awhile about emerging technologies that will inevitably enhance the phenomenon that we call "human consciousness." I think that all of the advancements I'll be listing are leading to the possibility of our minds being augmented by a future technology like my conceptual "Apple iThink."

A couple things led me to finally post what I've found so far. Recently blogger Mac Tonnies passed away unexpectedly, & he was only a few years older than me at 34. His blog Posthuman Blues was a regular read of mine that I enjoyed because of the unorthodox, mind-bending content. It was a great mix of futurism, Fortean speculations, & general weirdness.

The other factor has been my current forced week-long stint at home due to illness. Nothing makes you dream of transcending the mortal confines of the flesh than being seriously sick. I started sympathizing with Agent Smith in the scene above, except he was imagining a trip in the opposite direction- from the digital realm of light into the physical world of the human body.

The mortality & existence of man has been a source of concern since the dawn of time. The Egyptians believed we were spirits of light encased in these bodies. The Gnostics imagined Reality as a type of virtual prison that confines our luminous true selves. The Taoists believe everything is just emanations of the ever-fluctuating, infinite Tao.

Of course, our experience is limited by the sensory nature of our interaction with the world. The universe of information bombarding each of us at each moment is distilled by our physical receptors & organs including the brain. What if we could transcend these limitations? Physics teaches that as a human traveling in a spaceship speeds up and approaches the speed of light, the relative experience of time slows down. However, nothing with mass can actually reach the velocity of electromagnetic energy.

I've always wondered what would happen if the functioning of the human mind were no longer constrained by the chemical & biological processes of the neural connections in the brain. If our thoughts could somehow actually travel uninhibited at the speed of light, how would it affect our perception, & would there even be any perception left as we know it? Perhaps like an inverse, large scale Bose-Einstein condensate, our mind would expand into... everything!

So with these thoughts off my mind, I'll share some fascinating discoveries that have caught my eye- myriad doors all leading to a future in which the human experience may be much different than the limited, localized reality-tunnel that each of us currently knows.

• "Mind Uploading and Mind Children"

• "MIT team develops hi-fi quantum memory"

• Artificial brain '10 years away'

• The Future of Human Enhancement

• Will We Eventually Upload Our Minds?

• Brain-to-brain communication over the Internet

• Multi-contact brain probe can be injected through a needle

• The Psychedelic Transhumanists

• Raytheon's combat simulator offers virtual action in real world

• Scientists hail a thoughtful future with ‘brain-to-brain communication’

• An Input/Output Device for the Brain - Made of Light, Algae, and Bacteria


Here's the Apple iThink concept I came up with:

Apple "iThink" - Upgraded






Apple "iThink" Technical Specifications

• Size:
1.5 x 1.5 x .5 inches

• Symbiosis™ Neural Interface:
Direct brain-computer link means your mind and computer are one!

• Intel Fusion™ Quantum Processing:
Uses the power of the atom to instantly compute at the speed of thought.

• Holographic Data Storage:
The iThink’s tiny internal holochip has a staggering individual capacity of over 666 Yottabytes (1000^8), for seemingly infinite augmented memory

• Intra-neural Communication:
Mentally allow or block any kind of signal you want to send or recieve instantly over the wireless iThink global network

• Perceptual Immersion:
Images, sound, & other data are projected virtually into your sensory fields by directly connecting into your brain’s activity

• Integrated GPS and Google Earth:
Receive directions and location information anywhere on the planet, and the ability to be located in case of an emergency