Sunday, 13 September 2015

The Dancefloor of Existence



By no means do I mean to incline that people who reach the same conclusions about the universe as me and in truth believe them, are more important than the people lost in the confusion and noise of the dancefloor of existence. This is not the case. Sure, there are a lot of people who are desperately yearning for guidance, for someone or something to follow. This is why religion is still such a prevailing force in contemporary society. Being a determinist I however look at religion from an outside perspective, seeing its tremendous power to enslave people under false pretenses and making them live their lives according to outdated dogmas that may have enriched society thousands of years ago but today only stand as a lone remnant of a previous time. Religion is not the only culprit in this respect. Any institution that tries to dictate how people should live their life, be it society, culture, tradition, etc., can in its worst cases imprison people’s mind to the point where they no longer think for themselves but rather just dance away to the beat of the music created by one of these institutions, blinded by strobe lights and darkness so that they cannot see the world for what it really is. This is what I call the dancefloor of existence and it is where most people spend the majority of their lives. I have certainly spent the majority of my life so far there. Thankfully, it is possible to escape the dancefloor, alone or with help from others, which is essentially what I am trying to do with this blog. This is because one of my greatest fears is that the dancers aren’t dancers by choice but rather from lack of transcendence, understanding, grasp of individual potential. As a result they latch on to other levels and simultaneously support and make up the power base of these aforementioned institutions. After all, what is a kingdom without subjects, even if it is only a kingdom of the mind. Ideas are sometimes all it takes to enslave people, and most people need some sense of purpose, to make sense of their existence. As a Lithuanian friend of mine once said; "slaves will be slaves", sharing a point with the Roman historian Sallust who said: ‘Only a few prefer liberty – the majority seek nothing more than fair masters’. 
 
Slaves might be slaves, but as another kindred spirit, a beautiful Tahitian dive instructor, once pointed out to me, even though our two tribes might be different, “we need these people”, without them our society could not function. Vice versa, without leadership the masses would be utterly lost, creating the need for different thinkers not just dancing away in the noise of the dancefloor in this nightclub of existence. In that sense, transcenders are important given that they hold the key for leading people in other directions but without people to guide, the need for these thinkers would not exist. In conclusion, everyone has a part to play and is thus equally important.

The distinction might be more apt when thinking of transcenders as people who have found their way out of the chaos of the dark, pulsating dancefloor into an area where they can choose their own music and lighting. In a sense, they have escaped the dancefloor although this shouldn’t be construed as a prison since most of the dancers wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Whether or not this is a result of institutionalization or not shouldn’t matter, as long as they are content which I truly hope they are. Like Cypher in The Matrix, I believe that ignorance is sometimes bliss. Most people are probably better off staying on the dancefloor or locked in to the Matrix. For me it is different though since I have always been looking for an alternate environment, if only on a subconscious level to start with. Essentially, it is really impossible to describe the world away from the dancefloor to anyone who hasn’t already found it by themselves (think about Plato’s cave, similar problem), which is why my journey and that of many others I imagine, began as an unconscious one, as a feeling of not belonging, a drive to pursue other horizons. It is especially hard to talk about these distinctions without coming across as a complete arrogant prick, but I am giving it a go anyway. Once you see the distinction though, you will never experience the dancefloor in a similar manner again. I experience this every time I go back home to Denmark. It is like Flowers for Algernon, this journey only goes in one direction. Although you might occasionally find yourself on the dancefloor over time, it will never feel the same again.

That this is an individual realization that everyone has to arrive at on their own makes people part of the problem. By latching on to the ideas of others, you are simultaneously hindering your own development. That is why I found that me-time is sometimes essential to reach these conclusions. This is part of a more general discussion about the necessity for many people to be around other people for most of their life to be addressed in the following post. 


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