• Chapter 1: Contemplation/Introduction

    When does our consciousness begin to exist? When does it cease? When we are born is our consciousness born with us? When we die does our consciousness blink out as soon as our heart stops beating? What about those who have near death experiences? Are the truly witnessing a glimpse of the afterlife? Or is it hallucinations, or delusions induced by physical and metal trauma?
    I have an idea. Notice I said "idea." Not "theory." Not "belief." Idea. The most important thing one can do when presented with and idea is entertain it without accepting it as fact.
    If you have the ability to do this you can discover truths about anything. Even that which does not exist, nor ever could. And as you come to know more about the universe both abstract and concrete, you will come to know more about yourself.
    Of course contemplation can do more than that for you. And it can do different things for every single person. But this is in my opinion the most important thing. Comfortably with ones own identity requires an understanding of truth. Knowing yourself will bring a deep inner peace, unconflicted by bias, anger, sadness, contempt, and discontent. All these emotions will be replaced by acceptance. This acceptance will be a direct result of the realization the we cannot change the universe, only ourselves, and through that the way we percieve it.
    Which brings me back to the point of entertaining ideas without accepting them as fact. Ultimately no matter what we discern about the universe through entertaining these ideas, our perceptions are where the ideas start. Our own perceptions are totally unreliable.
    Before I express any of my ideas to you the importance of this state of mind must be impressed upon you. But more importantly you must be capable of achieving it. I cannot teach you how to do so. You must discover that for yourself, because just like contemplation, it is different for everyone. The state of mind does not have to be exactly the same. If you find a state of mind which works better for you then of course you should be in that state of mind when you contemplate your own ideas, and entertain the ones I'm going to present. There are some conditions which in my personal opinion are ideal for contemplation.
    First of all contemplation and thought are not the same thing. Contemplation can begin with thought but eventually it must evolve beyond it. Thought is rooted in perception and sensation, two things which contemplation does not require and can be hindered by.
    Logic can guide your course of contemplation. It is not absolutely neccassary in order to contemplate. In fact to contemplate efficiently you must abandon logic. When you are truly contemplating no absolutes exist. There is not always a reaction for every action. There is not always two sides to every coin.
    When one is truly contemplating one can push ones ideas into any direction without feeling the stifle of our logic telling us something is impossible.
    In true contemplation nothing is impossible.
    True contemplation is completelf free of indesicion.
    True contemplation requires no effort.
    And true contemplation never cocludes. Ever.
    Answering one question only creates an infinite number of more questions. When you are on the path of contemplation do not be distracted by every other possibilities and paths of thought untouched by the mind. Instead strive to answer the questions that are most important. It is pointless to attempt to answer every question because that is completely impossible.
    These are the questions that are most important to me.