Monday, September 13, 2010

Explosions

SO, my mind has been quite dead of late, hence the lack of anything even remotely entertaining or interesting. I am thinking of writing something meaningful, yet nothing comes to mind. Then it hits me. Nothing. The void. Oblivion. A black hole. The space between my ears. I realise my sense of time and space has been very warped of late. The onset of drug induced psychosis no doubt. One whole week feels like a lifetime. I cannot remember what happened last Tuesday. It seems as though it never happened. Not even so much as a fuzzy remembrance, just....nothing.

After reading my previous post, I realise that experimentation can lead to more. not dependence, but overuse. Things have been great, don't get me wrong, it's just that, I'm not so sure I want to sacrifice short term memory for cheap emotion. What it has allowed me is a "bird's eye view" of my thought processes. I realise that my own mind does not stop working. I used to think it was normal, until the Tranquility kicked in. Once gone, when my natural state was restored, I realised how very fucked up it was. I was so drawn in, captivated by my own mind, I was unaware of my own cage.

A cage which was built by yours truly. Yet, somehow, I have been taught to build and maintain this cage by someone, something. An entity unto itself. Society, and prominent members of society, that is, family, friends, teachers and doctors alike, have knowingly or unknowingly aided in my own self-imprisonment. How do I feel about this? I have no idea.

However, what I do know is that, to be free of ones cage, (if that is indeed the objective) one must become aware of said cage, i.e. self-awareness. One must be aware of the cage, before one can be free from it.
But how can this freedom be achieved? Is it a state of mind?  A physical place? For what seems like hours, days, weeks, I have pondered such things. The furthest I have gotten is to be enlightened to the fact that Enlightenment is the key.

I have realised that to achieve Enlightenment, one must meditate on the subject. Many people I have approached with this view simply dismiss it as "psycho-hippie bullshit', or 'fuck off man, go take drugs somewhere else'. I have come to realise that many people are so entrenched and content in their own cage, that they not only fail to see it, but straight up refuse to even try.

So why then? Is it that they are afraid of the unknown? I do not know the answer to these questions, and I suspect only each individual is capable of answering his or her own question. What I do know is how they keep themselves captured, without freedom, in their "safe" little world.

Just as a bear can be placated in a real cage, so too can a human, within their own metaphysical cage. A bear is fed meat to keep it content, water, so that it may drink, and its cage is cleaned, so that it does not live in filth. Some bears are brought up, raised in cages, so that they know no better, thus they do not yearn to be outside the cage. It becomes their home. A place of security, of safety. The human is kept content in their cage by being fed the fancy car, the new house, perhaps even that new flat-screen TV. The human is somewhat tricked into thinking that the cage is a wonderful place to be. What more could you want from life?

Material possessions only go so far, however. Next comes society, a whole mass of humans, each to their own cage, yet the illusion of living together exists. Each person, believing that the cage is their everything, creates rules and regulations with which to live by, thus laws are created. However, these laws do not extend further than the confines of each individual's cage. This only aids each individual's sense of security and contentment.

But what happens when this society breaks down? When the 'laws' (created within each cage) are broken? Religion and government. So called "higher powers" are created. All seeing, all knowing, people see these as saviors, bearers of hardship, helpers to all. Newer, tougher, stronger laws are created: thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, etc.  Yet these are different. Somehow insidious, for while it seems as though they are beyond the cages, in reality, they only exist in the cages, and do not even begin to extend past the bars. These "higher powers" only serve to cement the cage in place, to make it smaller, cozier.

To begin true Enlightenment, one must accept that such material possessions are just that. Meaningless trinkets in a vast and endless universe. Next, one must not follow religion, as it only serves to restrict and govern one's own thinking. Religion is not conducive to self-awareness. Finally, to become truly self-aware, one must see all this as it is, and accept that it may indeed be true. Acceptance of the unknown conquers fear of the unknown, as it ceases to be 'unknown', in a sense. One must also accept that, while one may feel as though the previous laws do not apply, others may see otherwise, thus, one must not break these laws. Now I know that this seems contradictory to all that I have previously stated, but breaking the laws will not remove them. One must see them as they are, and accept that other individuals may enforce them, hence remaining within the law shall be conducive of self-awareness.

To clarify: self-awareness is not just to be aware of the cage, but all that it contains (the material possessions, the laws, religions, governments) as well as the way they are arranged, i.e. the construct of society. Once this state is achieved, one can then begin to escape the cage, and find true freedom.

My next post will begin to explain the methods an individual may use in reaching a state of self-awareness.

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