Back to the Original

On the plan to write my philosophical book.

Some time ago (3 months ago), I made an announcement about the direction my philosophy book was to be taken towards. But since then, I have come to realize that it would be a disservice to myself if I did it the way I intended, that is to say, writing it purely as a fictional story.

The reason for the change was basically because I was afraid how the work was going to be taken by the average reader or the philosophy buff. But that is no longer the case. It was a certain fellow writer and an artist woman in my life, who I’ve come to respect highly, who made me realize that rules are meant to be broken.

The original plan was to write the book as I deemed it, as a non-argumentative, non-fictional, batcrap crazy compendium on the mystical. So here is the definitive plan now:

The Theme

The theme of this particular work, is going to be mysticism. To be more specific, it is about the way in which we experience ourselves and our relationship with the rest of boundless being. If I had to use a single word for the theme, it would be “identity”.

What makes this different from your usual philosophical text, is that the basic idea of it is not a system, a theory, or a concept, but an experience. This experience, has gone with by many names: cosmic consciousness, mystical experience, bodhi, satori, nirvana, moksha, or mukti. It’s a book purely on the mystical experience.

Now, this might on the offset, sound like “oh boy, it’s going to be one of those books.” Be that as it may, I am first of all, starting out the book with describing the main point from the perspective of systems theory, rather than pure mysticism.

The reason being, that it enables me to express it all the way from the micro up to the macro scale of reality. And also because some years ago, I asked the following question: what would be the minimal conditions that a fully dynamic system requires?

And so this led me to develop some of my own ideas and concepts such as eventuation, antisystems, and many others, which I will present in this book.

The next part describes consciousness and feedback in general, and covers such topics as the limits of communication, psychological principles, technology and the concept of “envisioning”, which is a term I’ve devised for a certain neurological phenomenon.

The fourth part, (I excluded the first part which lays down the principles and processes which the later parts rest on), will deal with the metaphysics of the core idea, which is called The Zero-axiom. It gives a description of the four historical models of the cosmos, and then proceeds to present “my own”, along with the cosmological network, until arriving at Zero itself.

The fifth part focuses on society and its myriads of aspects, such as social structures, humour, art, and virtue. It then tries to give an outline on how to view society so as to not to get bamboozled by the plethora of tools we use on a daily basis.

And finally, the sixth and seventh part describe the experience and mysticism directly, going over such far-reaching topics as psychedelics, the game-view of the universe, Maya of Hinduism, death, and many others.

The Slant

Now, it is my fundamental attitude to writing these things, that I don’t take any of it seriously, that is to say, in dead earnest. Sure, I take many topics with some gravity because they are close to heart, but that is what I would rather label as sincerety than being serious.

Because as I make remark in the introduction of this work, I believe that one should, above all else, have a sense of humour about their approach, even towards their assumptions and beliefs. Failure to do so will result in eruptive emotions towards others who don’t share those points of view.

However, I distinguish sincerity from seriousness. You can be as sincere in expression as you can without taking any of it in dead earnest. And this is one of the most important things to be mindful of if one is deep in material such as this.

So, people who I would call as being rigid, or have fixed notions about what the mystical experience entails, should probably not read it. This book isn’t for them. It’s for those who are open-minded enough to entertain various points of view, without necessarily taking them to the letter.

So also, this is not philosophy in the traditional sense. In that, I’m trying to prove something and showing through logic how the premise is true. I’m presenting this work as a possibility of life to play with and think about, nothing more. It’s purely for purposes of entertainment, that I hold this view in circles that consider it less than sound.

I’ve also tried to avoid explaining things from a scientific standpoint wherever I can, so as to not step on the fact that the mystical by definition is subjective, therefore will not be verifiable through scientific methods. Although what the future experimentations of science will hold is up for grabs. But the mystical does accommodate the scientific, because it is all-encompassing.

And this is something that might be taken rather reluctantly because again, there are hard-headed individuals who think that science will never admit that something as wishy-washy as this is even worth looking into.

But I believe that the spiritual and scientific can be ultimately synthesized, even though our current attitudes make them almost mutually exclusive for all matters of practicality. They seem to exist as two alien domains of life to one another. And this is especially true for the explanation or cosmogony of the universe.

But a sufficient explanation for life, has to be one that can accommodate both the inconceivable, as well as the conceivable. If it can’t, we will always be at odds with ourselves.

The Purpose

This book has had several iterations now, or versions. I first wrote a “preview” of its concepts in the winter of 2023, and quickly realized that it lacks many, many things.

It was a 300 page laconic take on the mystical, which was insufficient in my opinion. So in contrast, let this be the “final word”, of my expression on it. Yeah, right. (It lacked entirely two parts.)

I also take no prisoners when it comes to making fun of many concepts that would be usually taken very seriously. Because I take the sense of one’s own rascality seriously, in the sense of recognizing that we are all a bunch of goofballs pretending not to be.

It also serves a sincere function, of making people relaxed about things that are usually taken in dead earnest. And the reason is, I don’t want anyone to go into it with that attitude.

But some people may get triggered by poking fun at their beliefs. And I say that you should then probably throw the book out the door right now.

This humour towards one’s own assumptions and beliefs should be mandatory especially when it comes to religion and spirituality. But very few people have historically had the guts to go about it that way and write it.

And so while understanding the risks I’m taking with it, it needs to be done, as a way of “relief” from the heavy attitude of seriousness.

Nobody really wants the ultimate reality to be serious. They think they do. But asking the simple question of why do they want it to be serious, and bereft of laughter, makes one wonder.

Nobody that I’ve met, has been able to say why the perfect state, or the cosmos itself, has to be serious in its bare essentials. As Alan Watts points out, very few people know what their basic assumptions are under which they operate.

So in light of this, I am hoping that the reader will relax and not take it so heavily. There is a principle regarding certain aspects of spirituality that can make one very frustrated when they don’t seem to make any progress on the path.

And to this in particular, I say: if the goal of spirituality was a serious prospect, why do we have a good laugh at the end of failures? For example when we fall down on the floor as kids?

Krishnamurti called it “strengthening the sensation of the Ego”, when you are operating on the path of spirituality with a method. “There is no method,” he said. All methods are in other words, tricks to irritate the sensation or illusion of yourself.

And this then, is my fundamental approach to humour. It is to “undermine” this frustration. So that we won’t feel so bad when things go awry.

Granted, this point will require more explanation in the book so that we don’t simply run away with the notion that there is absolutely no point in pursuing anything spiritual with a technique or a method. But that is not the point.

So don’t worry, there is more to this than meets the eye. The worldly traditions of ages past, left more to us than a method of “getting rid of the false sense of identity.”

They left us with an attitude and approach that looks so alien from the point of view of our ordinary consciousness, that it could be considered crazy.

Also, one more thing about my intentions. I am only expressing myself and having fun doing so. I enjoy writing about the subject matter. But that comes with the price of appearing more knowledgeable than I actually am.

An example being politics. I don’t know jack about it. I have deliberately tried avoiding it all my life for two reasons. The main reason is that it makes me anxious as hell, because it’s always about division and bad news. And the second is I don’t give a shit.

You could almost say that the only topic I’m interested in, is the mystical. And that may come off as myopic as a horse with blinders having a tunnel vision.

But it’s the only topic I can discuss to some extent. I’m so ill, that reading news about the world makes me depressed and sad and scared very quickly.

But be that as it may, I’m going to try my best in bringing every possible point of view forth in this work, even the political point. But if I am, it will not be comprehensive, you can bet on that.

I hope that the reader will withhold, temporarily, what could be called the assumptions of our “social programming”. And simply entertain the many points of view found in this work.

It isn’t trying to propose that this is the way things are or should be. But it is merely a form of seeing one’s self and things in the cosmos. If there is a lesson found at all in this experience, it is that we are not disconnected from nature. If we were, it would justify the awful things we do to the environment, but it does not.

But majority of people think and feel that the world is theirs to smash, because of its dumb nature. And this is a mere fallacy. You might say that this book is a representation of reality. And as such is not the truth any more than anyone else’s ideas of reality.

As I make the distinction in one chapter, there is what’s known as subjective, and its opposite objective experiences. And the latter is more credible. But this experience resides almost entirely on the subjective side, which makes it so difficult.

But the cost of being objective is that we become distant from the subjective. And the more distant we become, ultimately from ourselves, it leads to ignorance. And ignorance leads to fear and pain. Because we’re frightened by things that we didn’t consider fully. And nothing says alienation than the surveillance-capitalist culture in which we live today.

So that the system in which we live concentrates on keeping people in perpetual chains of productivity and amassing the symbols of wealth. And so what happens is we will feel increasingly more disconnected from reality because we’re so into the details of this “machine”.

Therefore, I’m trying to point back to the world underneath our advanced society. Because it is so advanced, we start living in the abstract world of symbols, rather than as part of nature. And it is this “symbolising” that prevents us from experiencing reality more directly.

It is immensely disheartening to hear something and then to know there’s nothing you can do about it. But that is not quite the point, as we will see.

You always have the power to change your mind. Perhaps not your life itself, but how you see things. And so I try to find ways to see things from different perspectives and share those perspectives.

The Magnitude

One might think that a work such as this might be a tad too much for any one individual. And maybe that’s true. But I’m going to give it my best, and I’m well on my way into it, having written over 600 pages last year for it alone.

You could call this my life’s work, as I’ve spend the past 7 years ruminating on the various points, topics and ideas that I consider to be the culmination of my thinking. The sheer abundance of the dots I’m trying to connect, could be considered a monumental mission.

My goal is to publish this work eventually, but before that, I will share it to some 50 people who have requested it from me over the years, and I hope they will share it as wide as possible. As money is not part of that goal, but a bonus. I hope it will create a ripple effect unlike anything the Earth has ever seen. That may come off as somewhat of a delusion of grandeur, but I’m done with putting myself down. I’ve done it all my life, on a constant basis.

So let this moment be a reminder, that we’re all equally important to what I call The Cosmological Network. And I hope people will enjoy this work, as much as I have in making it.

The Public

My plan is to eventually set up a shop to this website, through which to sell my books, including this one. I’ve always been a little afraid what that will result in, as these days you never know who gets their panties in a bunch because of something that comes out of your fingertips.

The other possibility is of course that the work will remain completely free, which I’d ideally prefer actually. The problem is that I’m piss poor financially. So a little side-bread wouldn’t hurt. Well anyway. Maybe I will simply add a “buy me a coffee” button under each post and make the books on demand. Simplicity itself!

I really do hope people will enjoy this work, as I’ve put almost most of my creative energy lately to it, even though I’ve faced a writer’s block, which is slowly coming off.

I’m always in the heads of the audience, rather than my own creative activity. That’s just who I am, but I realized with my painting that the so-called perfection I’m striving for, is impossible to reach, so I gave myself some slack. But I’d still wish for more patience.

I’ll never say: “fuck the audience” completely, because in a way, I want to inspire people with my writing. But that sentiment is not really wrong per se, because an artist should always create for themself, and secondly to the audience, in that order.

But there is a way to be in the flow, or completely here and now, in your own creative activity, when it just happens and unfolds before you. And in that moment, you don’t go “oh shit, what will they think?!”

But let’s face it, when this shit leaves my fingers, it’s out of my control how people will ultimately take it. They may hate it, or even hate me, but to those people I say whatever. I am who am, always was, and always will be. And you ain’t changing that.

Afterthoughts

Whew, so that about wraps things up. This was a fun post to write, because it let me go over the entire thing quickly and remind myself of some things about it.

I wonder how many people currently are writing a similar work. I have never bumped into one as of yet. I once heard this phrase: “write the book you want the read” when studying writing. And I agree with it fully. If nobody out there is writing a gargantuan magnum opus about mysticism, then I’ll create one and read it myself!

So, this is the entire plan in a nutshell, as far as I can say something about it in a blog post. And I’ll die before I go and change it again. But making a plan and seeing it becoming a reality are two vastly different things. Fortunately it hasn’t been only talk on my part, as I’ve got the files to back it up.

Thanks for reading my little amusings. And don’t take it seriously.

L.