THE SPACE OUTSIDE Orientation - #4 in the series

The Universe of Thought 

The dictionary definition that I am using for the word universe is: a world or sphere in which something exists or prevails.  Although this definition may not be the most accurate it’s at least, for our purposes, workable. And, it allows for the existence of many universes and types of universes.  For example, you have your own universe and in your universe you rule. In other words, in your universe you can be, do or have anything that you can imagine – you can mock-up or un-mock anything you want.  As a little demonstration – think back to your basketball mock-up and how you could make it do anything you decided. Likewise, I have my own universe and in my universe I rule.  Then we, along with everyone else, share in the creation of a third universe.  We know this common universe as the physical universe.  And the physical universe is composed of matter, energy, space and time.  But what about the universe of thought, what is that about? 

There is such a thing as thought matter (ideas), thought energy, thought space and thought time and these are not the same as physical universe matter, energy, space and time.  These are creations from the universe of thought.  But before we look at the universe of thought we have something else to address first.

I have to show you something. 

What makes showing you this particularly difficult is that we need to go someplace where we cannot go. I realize that this is going to sound very strange, but the fact is that we cannot go there because we are already there.  However, we are, at this time, prevented from knowing exactly where we are or being able to perceive where we are because we have restricted ourselves in seemingly infinite layers and levels of reality.  In other words, over time we have gradually and steadily agreed ourselves into a state of blindness or condition of unknowing regarding where, what and who we really are.

In that we cannot perceive where we are we can only get an idea of where we are by building, at best, a wobbly road constructed out of metaphors, similes, analogies and mock-ups that will take us the long road around to where we’re going.  And I mean, long road around.  We are going to be bouncing around and back and forth, seemingly at random (but not), between many relay points in order to safely get to where we’re going. 

There are no words in existence to describe where we are about to go, therefore, each word that I use is in essence a lie but it is at least a lie that you should be familiar with.
 
Do not let your anticipation build up too much thinking that I am going to reveal to you something that you do not already know because I am not about to give you any new information.  The truth is, you know as much about all of this as I do.  It’s just that you might not yet know what you know.  All I am doing is hopefully helping to remind you of what you already know by assisting you in slipping through a series of highly occluded and guarded back doors.  These doorways allow us access through the multiple layers of confining reality so that we can gain a perspective from the outside. In this text we will be referring to these very secret back doors as being “the looking glasses” and “rabbit holes” that are necessary to get to the space outside.  In fact, the instant that you perceived this material you passed through your first looking glass on this rather strange journey that you, for whatever reason, have created for yourself. It is no accident that you are reading this.

I want to warn you that what we are about to do could instigate major shifts in your own universe.  That could be a good thing and that could be a not good thing. As well, you might also experience various and sometimes uncomfortable physiological manifestations and unexpected and inappropriate emotional responses. Then there are the dreams.  What is coming as we travel down this path could definitely stir up some new dream material for you.  Or you might just find yourself going unconscious to some degree for short periods of time. On the other hand, this could all seem so outrageously unreal to you that you completely side step experiencing anything at all.

You see the only way we can even attempt to make this journey is through thought.  And this particular realm of thought has been heavily booby-trapped.  The way we are approaching this, though, should keep us well away from these incredibly destructive traps. However, I am not prepared to make that an iron clad guarantee.  As we make this journey just don’t go wondering off on your own quite yet.  Let’s get the “lay of the universe first.”  And, just to let you know, it’s been a very, very long time since I’ve worn the hat of guide.  Presently, I am quite rusty at this but various techniques of the hat do seem to be coming back to me here and there.  Let’s hope, though, that I do rapidly regain my competence at this guide business.  Oh yeah, just as another little side note prediction, before we get to the end of this you are probably going to be wishing that your guide were more of a poet and less of a carpenter. Yeah, among other things, I am a carpenter too.

I do realize, that in a way, I’ve already mentioned this but I do want to emphasis this point once more and that is; that in engaging in what we are about to engage in, there is the potential that what we will be mocking-up could be extremely abrasive to your reality.  You will fare much the better in this journey if you can, in some way, bring yourself into an attitude of being completely open and willing to experience anything. There is a little rule in our shared physical universe that roughly states, if one is truly willing to experience anything one will not have to experience anything.  On the other hand, whatever one is unwilling to experience one will certainly manifest some degree of that experience within their own reality.
 
As we proceed in our journey you may be tempted to hesitate and go into an analytical mode of analyzing or doing a figure-figure-figure… about on some of the things that we will be looking at along the way. But with that in mind, here is a caveat for you; don’t let yourself engage in this mental tinkering.  Now by not engaging I do not mean that you should begin resisting this temptation for if you set up a resistance it’s a guarantee that you will very soon have that which you are resisting.  Instead, just stay in the moment and observe what’s presenting itself in the moment. Getting into analyzing or doing a figure-figure-figure about is the equivalent to strapping lead weights around your ankles just before you attempt to leap over a pool of quicksand.  It’s just not a good idea.

Before reading on any further, please pause now and consider your next step carefully.  Decide either a firm yes or a firm no regarding proceeding in this material from here and then take the appropriate action.  If your answer is yes then intend to make the most of whatever comes your way and commit to see the entire journey through to the end.  Your intention is your protection.  Take a moment, though, to carefully inspect your intention to ensure that it is free of any embedded and/or camouflaged maybes.  “Maybes” are points of indecision and void of intention.  They are as sticky as tar pits and much harder to get out of. A condition of “maybe” is, more often than not, fertile ground in which aberrant behavior easily germinates and flourishes.  Remember this; any “maybe” has the potential to be your Achilles heel.
 
If you decide not to read further then don’t linger.  Just click yourself out of here.

Now, for you who are brave enough, curious enough or just plain foolish enough to stay around, let’s begin this next stage of our journey.

Pause . . .

I don’t know if you noticed or not but less than a second ago we slipped through another looking glass.  No more had we gotten all the way through when Bob’s story appeared. And it appeared because this is the point where Bob’s story needs to be told.  In other words, the guide (me) has just received a download that contains an enormous amount of material (in conceptual form) for me to somehow pass on to you. And the idea is that I am supposed to begin doing this right now. Furthermore, what I have just been handed is one hell of a rabbit hole that we’re about to enter!

The Basketball Drill - #3 in the series

We are now going to do an exercise. This is to help prepare you for our journey to the space outside. We are going to take something that you do all of the time but most probably have it set on automatic. The drill is to help you back away from the automaticity and look at the mechanics of the process. In other words, by having you observe the mechanics of the process the idea is to have you disable the auto-pilot and take over the controls for yourself.

First thing you need to do is look around in your immediate surroundings and locate a reasonably flat surface that is at least somewhat elevated from the floor e.g., table top, desk top, etc. 
 
Okay.  Assuming you have done that, I now want you to imagine a basketball of, what you consider to be a regulation size and color, resting on this flat surface you have located.

Have you put it there?  Do you see it?

Note: If you have trouble in doing any part of this exercise don’t get concerned.  It’s okay.  Just do what you can comfortably do. When you finish the steps you might try returning to see if you can now do the step(s) that you couldn’t earlier. If you still cannot do the step(s) I would suggest that you go back to the beginning a come forward. Note: if there are steps that you continue to have trouble with that’s okay. This will not prevent you from being able to make the journey.
 
          Your basketball that you have imagined as sitting on the flat surface and are now looking at is what is called a mock-up.  I know that the term, mock-up, usually is in reference to a model built to scale for study, testing or display, but this basketball you’re looking at right now is obviously not any such thing.  Instead, what you are looking at is an object of your creation and it too is referred to as a mock-up (mental mock-up) and you are the one that mocked it up.  It is a mental image picture that you have created and notice that this mock-up is not inside your head.
 
          All right.  I am now going to list out several more directives for what I would like for you to do to your mocked-up basketball.  As you complete one step just move down the list to the next..  If you are not able to do what is called for on a particular step then move on to another.
 
1.     Make your mock-up the size of a tennis ball.
2.     Make your mock-up at least three times its original size.
3.     Make your mock-up touch all sides of the room.
4.     Make your mock-up just the right size for you.
5.     Make your mock-up turn different colors.
6.     Make your mock-up roll around on the surface.
7.     Make your mock-up float gently up to the ceiling.
8.     Keeping your mock-up on the ceiling, make it roll in a tight circle then with each new roll have its circle get larger and larger until it begins to hit the outer walls of the room.
9.     Have your mock-up (still on the ceiling) roll behind you then gently float down to rest on the floor.  Notice how you are looking at it while it is behind you.
10.    Put your mock-up back in its original position in its original size and color.
11.    Make your mock-up feel happy.
12.    Make your mock-up feel angry.
13.    Make your mock-up feel terrified.
14.    Make your mock-up feel very sad.
15.    Make your mock-up feel hopeless.
16.    Make your mock-up feel apathetic.
17.    Make your mock-up feel enthusiastic and full of energy.
18.    Make your mock-up disappear.
19.   Make your mock-up reappear somewhere else.
20.   Make your mock-up explode into tiny fragments that float around the room like confetti.
21.   Make the fragments of your mock-up reassemble in the shape of a airplane.
22.   Make the fragments of your mock-up reassemble in front of you as the basketball.
23.   Make your mock-up genuinely thank you then, not hampered by anything, whoosh off into space.
 
That’s it.  End of exercise..

Thank you.
 
          Perhaps you felt silly while doing this exercise.  Many people do at first.  But I also suspect that you are realizing that mocking-up is indeed an activity that you are constantly engaged in yet do not necessarily refer to it as mocking-up.  I’m sure that if you recall some of the books you have read you will also be able to recall many of the mock-ups that you made while reading a particular book. The author provided the words but you provided the mock-ups.   Anyway, I doubt if you need me to give you any more examples of mocking-up or common mock-ups.  I’m sure you’ve got the concept.  In any case, this exercise and variations of it, which you can make up, can in many circumstances be helpful in getting a person refamiliarized with the mechanics of creative imagination.
 
          You might wonder, if mocking-up is such an integrated function in how we operate, why a person would need to be refamiliarized with it.  Well, we have come to live in a society that is extremely visually oriented.  We have an abundance of external sources that are continually providing complete visual mock-ups for us.  All we are required to do is sit back and receive those myriad mock-ups that are coming at us 24/7 from any angle you can imagine.  Now mocking-up is an ability that we all have and like any ability it can deteriorate if not used.  With having such a supply of mock-ups provided for us from external sources a person can begin to unknowingly abstain from originating their own mock-ups more and more to a point where they depend on the environment to provide them with the mock-ups they require.  Therefore, they become increasingly unwilling to originate mock-ups of their own and their ability to do so moves into a condition of atrophy.
 
Note:  It is impossible for one to lose their ability to mock-up.  The ability is always there but it can atrophy to such an extent that it exists within the person only as a potential.  And fortunately for us, that potential can be rehabilitated.


Next…we embark for the space outside.

Introduction To The Space Outside - #2 in the series

Sometimes in order to see where we are it is necessary to assume a point of view that is outside of ourselves. This, though, is easier said than done for we have very effectively attached all manner of fasteners, blinds, decoys and shields to ourselves that do exactly what they were put there to do i.e., hold us back and keep us from seeing what is actually there! Therefore, it is a rare occasion indeed when we manage to get outside for a glimpse at the bigger picture. But when we do, by whatever means we can, our whole perspective with regards to where we are, what we are and who we really are can shift dramatically.

The Space Outside is a sneaky way to get us past our own very complex and sophisticated network of defenses and out far enough away from the inside perspective to have a new look at where, what and who we really are. In other words, it's a way to get the Genie out of the bottle. And you, my friend, are the Genie.

This material that you will be reading in The Space Outside is a blend of reality, unreality, flights of fantasy, some small bit of sci-fi and a whole lot of what you will acknowledge as being truth but is in fact lies. It is up to you, though, to decide what is what and when it is what it is. That being said, be prepared to experience frequent changes of mind regarding your conclusions. Most things are far from being what they first appear to be. And, of course, we all know that truth is often times much stranger than fiction and experiencing a slight shift in awareness can change one's perspective tremendously.

As it is agreement that is the mortar and brick of reality, it is agreement alone that can transform the unbelievable fantasy or “way out” sci-fi into a common reality. Perhaps you don’t think so? You think it must be more complicated than that. Well, look around. It’s happening all the time. Agreement is the basic building block of reality. But don’t get reality confused with actuality as they most certainly are not, regardless of what the dictionaries may state, the same thing. And, by the way, actuality is something that you will not be seeing much of in this material. That doesn’t mean that it is not here it just means that you will not be able to see it.

When I first sat down a few years ago and began writing, I was writing material for a citizens activist group that I planned on forming. I had no idea that my writing would take the turn it did. And what’s more, it took the turn so subtly that it actually seemed to be a integral part of the material I was composing for the group. I had no idea that I, without knowing it, had stepped through the “looking glass” and went into the “rabbit hole.” Notice that I didn’t say down the rabbit hole. I didn’t say down because direction, as I’ve come to discover, has absolutely nothing to do with the rabbit hole. Perhaps what is even wilder than that is that I have found that there are many, many types of looking glasses and with each new looking glass there is a new rabbit hole to become acquainted with. I wonder if Alice, while she was visiting in Wonderland, ever made that same discovery?

Whether you realize it or not you are on the verge of embarking on a most fantastic journey through, around and away from the comfortable and predictable familiarities of your mind to that remarkable and mysterious space outside. After making your way through this introduction, If you continue on and begin reading The Space Outside material as I post it, you will be going straight into the first, but quite tame, rabbit hole. If the thought of moving into the confines of a rabbit hole (even a tame one) makes you uncomfortable, now is the time to press the delete tab, so to speak, and go no further. I assure you, just the reading of this material can open up doors that you had absolutely no idea were there. But the door is not the point. The point is what’s behind the door? You may think I’m kidding. I’m not. Consider your next action carefully. If you feel that you are not ready now that’s totally okay. It’s better not to take a chance if you’re unsure and hesitant. And, if you’re afraid, then it is a sure fired cinch, that you will bring into existence, for yourself, the very thing you are afraid of (it’s just one of the idiotic laws of this universe). In any event, you may be more ready to go on this journey at a later date in time. But of course, whatever you do is totally up to you.

There’s one more important thing to mention to you before I end off.

Have you ever had the experience of putting something away, perhaps into a box, a drawer, storage or some such place and then later forget that you even had it? And then one day you’re moving or rearranging things and you happen to come across this item and you say or think something to the effect, “Well whada ya know! I completely forgot I had this!” Of course, you had never lost it but you had so completely forgotten about it that it ceased to exist for you.

Well, truth be told, your mind (not your brain) is jammed packed full of such places where you have stored away memories only to later forget that you ever had them. For all practical purposes these memories of yours have become nonexistent for you. Some of these places in your mind are very small compartments containing only a few memories while other places are enormous warehouses in which you cannot even perceive boundaries. And these particular storehouses, of which are more numerous than you can fathom, are full of lifetimes and lifetimes and lifetimes of memories in immense detail.

By the way, I don't expect for one moment that you'll believe or accept any of this, but nevertheless, the reason that I am bringing this up is that if you do go on to follow this string that you have picked up, there is a slight chance that at some point or another, you just might happen across some of those long forgotten storage places of yours. I just want to prepare you for that possibility so that if or when it happens you’ll at least have an idea what’s going on. However, it most likely will not happen. It’s only a very small fraction of people that ever have that experience.

So. . . the bottom line is – that whatever you might be expecting to read – what you are about to read, will not be what you are expecting.

May your force be with you.

HELLO

Hello,

There is a better than good chance that you have made a mistake. The story that this will lead you to is most likely not something that you will be interested in. Nevertheless, you have somehow happened upon this blog and are at this moment reading. In doing so that now makes this text and what is to follow, your material. What I mean by that is simply that this composition and all that is to come in this series, now belongs to you and you can do absolutely anything that you want with it. Take it, leave it, print it, publish it, ignore it or whatever. What you do with it is totally up to you and your imagination. It is yours. You are the one that found your way here. Was that an accident?

This is one end of a string. Are you willing to follow it and see what’s on the other end?

To be continued….