The Art of Transcending

Semi-compatibilistic scale determinism. That would probably be the best way to describe my branch of determinism, one that I am proud to say I have arrived at on my own. I was a determinist even before I knew what determinism was, as my initial posts on this blog demonstrate. I base this belief solely on my own experiences after 29.5 years on the Earth, yet as I described earlier I’ve thankfully found that others have reached similar conclusions and that I am not a beautiful or unique snowflake. 

Rather I am a member of an exclusive breed/tribe of thinkers, who by their own means, driven by an ever-awake natural curiosity have all individually managed - sometimes by building on the works of their predecessors but I like to think mostly through pure observation in their own personal world - to rise above and go beyond the normal limits of all their respective paradigms, restrictive traditions and narrow mindedness to reach a new level of clarity where the mechanics of existence suddenly seem abundantly clearer and the patterns of the universal clockwork become visible. Obviously their individual paradigms and period in history restricted the knowledge available to them, yet they all managed to reach beyond the confines of what was available and go above and beyond. This description corresponds almost word for word to the definition of the word transcend, which is why henceforth these people should be termed: transcenders. Although the transcender tribe count among them such distinguished individuals and super-transcenders as Aristotle, Newton, Darwin, Einstein etc. does not mean that you have to alter the fate of the human race to be included in its ranks. I consider myself a member, just as I have met several others during my travels and while we have not (yet) altered the course of our race that does not make our journey any less significant. The next step is to try and guide others in the same direction, and give them the gentle push that might send them down their own path to transcendence. Because common to this tribe is the fact that transcenders look at the world from a different vantage point than most others. They have made it clear of the congestion and traffic jams, found their own route on the infinite freeway because they managed to switch off the radio, cell phones, GPS and other distractions inside their car, and are instead listening to their intuition, the gentle ticking of the universal clockwork and its patterns of recognition. Their curiosity makes them question everything, yet they are modest enough to also keep an open mind.

From this elevated position above the noise and smoke of the traffic jams, dealing with whatever life throws at you suddenly seems infinitely simpler because you have a heightened sense of context and scale, how everything fits. This gives transcenders a distinct advantage as they are not mired down by petty constrictions dictating how they have to think, act and live. Free your mind! Where you then go from there is where things start to get really interesting. Knowledge is power and with great power comes great responsibilities. I think that’s where my need to jot all this down comes from, I feel responsibility to make these thoughts available and thus maybe stimulate mental growth in others, transcenders or not. This recently (and often before) happened to me when a friend transcender gave me a link to another transcender blogger. This dude had so many similar conclusions to my own that the determinism irony was almost too much to bear. (It often is!) Not only did I read the entry in question the exact same day I wrote the infinite freeway entry to this blog, but he ended the entry by encouraging everyone reading it to arrive at their own conclusions and share them with the world, which was exactly what I had been doing that day. (I know, right?) Determinism, ladies and gentleman. If that’s not a sign, then I don’t know what is. (Actually, I might do but that’s a topic for a later entry!)

Similar to me, the transcender blogger also stresses that to fully become a transcender you have to base your findings on your own experiences, this is not something that can be taught, at least not if you truthfully want to believe it. His route to transcendence is signified by a step ladder covering the current level of our evolution. The bottom steps are shrouded in a thick fog, similar to a traffic jam on the infinite freeway and what I will also in a later post refer to as the dancefloor of existence, because it is a place that dulls the senses with darkness, strobe lights, smoke and of course loud thumping music that drowns out all other sounds, preventing people from experiencing clearly the mechanics of the clockwork. Through experiencing so called “whoa” moments, transcendence moments in my wording (will be addressed in the next post), one can reach and remain on step 3 where scale plays an important part to fully realize our individual and collective place and thus general insignificance in the universe. Beyond that are the levels of Einstein, Darwin, Newton etc., what I call super-transcenders, where their progressed thinking actually helps carry our species higher up the evolutionary scale. 

As much as I like his analogy I prefer to use metaphors in a more general manner to convey ideas and notions, not to mathematically slice existence into neat pieces. The blogger does however describe his staircase as a fluid environment where the fog can always creep back at any time. I partially agree with this. Vis-à-vis Flowers for Algernon, I do not believe you can fully regress to the dancefloor and see it in a similar manner, but it is easy to get caught up in the stress of modern society and occasionally lose sight of your hard learned important universal truths. Thankfully, these relapses are usually short lived though, this is when holidays become helpful to re-quiet the mind. But in fact, to be able to function optimally in modern life, being able to live and navigate the dancefloor that most other people inhabit, without becoming enveloped in it once more, is an absolute necessity. And most of the time this also applies in connection with having social interactions which leads me into an discussion in a later post about human relationships and their importance, or lack thereof.

Discovering like-minded people from across cultures that have arrived at the exact same conclusions as you individually is always refreshing. When they also use the same type of metaphors to describe these conclusions it is even more gratifying and deterministic, confirming that there are a lot of transcenders out there who think like you do and thus support your conclusions as well. This happened to me a couple of times recently. Firstly, reading the aforementioned fellow blogger’s post on the evolutionary step-ladder. Secondly, when a fellow transcender on a starlit beer fuelled night on a beach shooting astrolapses, starting comparing me and him to lone wolves (concept to be elaborated) and finally, even across time and history when I discovered this quote by the honorable super-transcender; Sir Isaac Newton.

“The universe is like a gigantic clock, wound up by God at the beginning of time, and ticking ever since according to His laws.”

Disregarding the obvious religious origin of the clockwork as a result of Newton’s paradigm of the time, this could be a very apt description of my universal clockwork. To find out that one of your idol super-transcenders not only arrived at a similar conclusion but also used a similar metaphor is not only a massive booster to keep writing these thoughts down, but somehow feels like a ghostly pad on the shoulder from a long dead yet somehow familiar mentor assuring me that I am not alone. Cheers, Sir Isaac! 

Applying the Patterns of Recognition and Trusting in the Universe

Trying to understand the infinite freeway is where the patterns of recognition become handy. They help to make sense of the randomness giving at least an illusion of pre-determinism. Because people are the same, then their actions on a large enough scale will also have similarities. This works on every scale level. Planets with conditions similar to those of Earth will likely develop similar looking organisms given that the laws of evolution work on a universal scale. The laws of physics apply everywhere. So even though the chemical composition of the atmosphere is different, their sun might be at a different stage in its lifespan, tidal forces caused by several moons could be monstrous, presence close to a black hole might bend time along with position next to the sun, regardless of these factors, this “alternate universe” will still be guided by the same clockwork that guides us. So although you might not be able to predict the future completely, looking at past events can give you an idea as to which direction events might flow as the rules have not really changed since then, just the players. 

But these patterns that govern us still do not rob individuals of daily micro choices. We can still choose our direction while driving on the freeway so we do have a choice yet only to a certain degree. Semi-compatibilistic. We cannot choose to go backwards, stop or get out of the car. Nor can we switch to a helicopter to get a better view of where we need to go. In that sense, free will in its core definition never exists. On an individual level it does work though, but only within the boundaries of the universal clockwork. Having an understanding of this scale difference is an integral part of finding your destination quickly and effectively and this understanding is one of the things that differentiates free thinkers from the road raged, stressed out commuters. By tuning out the noise from the radio, GPS and cellphones, i.e. the dictating powers that love to tell you where to go and what to do and to compromise your inner desires; culture, religion, society, tradition, etc., and rather having just a tiny understanding of the patterns caused by the universal clockwork, one can much more comfortably find and eventually reach the “right” destination. This is essentially following your dreams, fulfilling your destiny, pursuing happiness, however you want to label it. 

To transfer from cars to boats but staying in the journey metaphor. Even if it is possible to cross back and forth and sail against the wind, it is a lot more comfortable and simple to just let the wind carry you where it wants to, sometimes the universe might just know better. Not to say that you should let completely go of the rudder and give up control completely, after all you could still crash on rocks and sink or your sail might get ripped apart. But following the natural laws that guide the rest of the universe instead of trying to work against them might be the right choice, even if this conclusion will be hard bought. In that sense determinism in my world is compatibilistic, but only within the confines of the clockwork. Listening to your intuition might just be the universe trying to help you in the right direction for you, in which sense it is controlling your path. In that scenario you just go with your gut, live in the moment and make your decisions in real-time, trusting that the wind will carry you wherever you need to go, you are just following the road taken as it is being laid out in front of you. However, if you desired you could move in any direction you wanted to according to your own perception of what is right. But would you really want to? Life is just a sketch, remember? A painting half begun but never completed because it will only start to resemble anything retrospectively. Therefore trusting a machinery that has been around forever (in the most literal sense of that word imaginable), that creates and govern everything we know and see around us, might not be a bad idea. (See, science can be very spiritual; “In the Universe we trust!”) Being able to, is another matter. The first step is getting away from congestion and traffic, to a place where you can truly listen to yourself. This is how you figure out what it is YOU want, not society or any other dictating power. Just you. Once you can hear yourself think you can start looking for others who are on a similar journey to yours and maybe you can assist each other to reach unknown heights and in time maybe assist others do the same. That is further down the road though, worry about getting to your own personal destinations first. The first step of any journey is always the hardest but once you are on the (right) road and sailing smoothly, that’s when all your trials, tribulations and sacrifices pay off and take on a new meaning. This is also the point of no return when you can no longer go back. Unfortunately, it is up to each individual to discover this on their own which is why it’s an intuitive journey since no two individuals are ever aiming for the exact same destination. Your road is your own and only you can walk it. Similarly, your choices are also your own to make, they do give you some degree of free will within the confines of the clockwork, however exercise it at your own risk.

The Infinite Freeway

These recent realizations has been a long time coming, in reality my entire life so far, yet the irreversibility of the journey, the point of no return, I only recently passed. It is a very gradual process as well, but in some weird way I have always known where I would eventually wind up. I knew the end destination, but had no clue as to the route to take. Providence? Yes and no. I think it’s more a case of listening to yourself, quietening the noise around you, getting to know your inner core. This is a very intuitive process which no one can really teach just as no one can actually think for you. Lord knows, it took me a long time to realize this but looking back, knowing what I do now, the answer was right in front of me the whole time and this is where the intuition served as a compass. But finding the route is difficult since it might take a lot of detours to get on track. “Livet må leves forlæns, men forstås baglæns”, as Soren Kierkegaard famously put it. It translates into something like: “Life is lived forward, but understood backwards” and this is something I can now honestly agree with. Life is a sketch, only hinting at what we want it to look like and just when we know enough to finish the image, time is up. This is Milan Kundera’s analogy and recently popped up in my favorite Oscar contender of 2015, Boyhood. As Ethan Hawke’s character puts it to his coincidental son, “adults are just winging it”, we don’t have a template to live by, we just have to deal with life as it happens, basing our decisions on a mix of experience and instinctive intuition. This brings me into the realm of determinism, my new omnipresent non-dictating, passive and all-encompassing religion/philosophy/paradigm/belief system and/or spiritual advisory board. Determinism takes the stress out of life. It realizes the unbearable lightness of human existence vis-à-vis Kundera; it doesn’t really matter what you do in your lifetime, the improvised choices of Boyhood; just make decisions in the here and now, and the retrospective wisdom of Kierkegaard; your journey will only make sense once you’ve reached your destinations (plural as you are always going to be travelling). It also acknowledges the universal clockwork guiding everything which is why I always hesitate in naming myself an atheist, besides the fact that it has become something of a buzzword these days. Because even though determinism requires no belief as such, and only relies on everyday observation as will become evident, it is still determined by forces beyond our personal control, forces that if you wanted to you could perceive as a form of divine force. Carl Sagan said that “science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.” So even though it is sometimes easier to label yourself as an atheist or agnostic and then leave it at that, it is sometimes not what you are actually in essence believing. (Having recently tapped into Richard Dawkins, I’ve learned that this branch of atheism is called pantheism, more on that later!)

At the heart of determinism is of course the many times aforementioned road taken, your own personal legend as Coelho terms it and this essentially is the only legend you have to care about, since it is the only one that you have any degree of control over. To stress my semi-compatibilistic approach to determinism I will draw and expand on an analogy that was originally featured in Escape from the Planet of the Apes and in true determinist fashion entered my world through various random circumstances at the exact right time to make perfect sense. My version of this analogy looks as the road taken as a freeway moving from the past into the future via an infinite number of lanes. Even though this is a one-way street, the driver, i.e. you, has free choice as to when and where to change lanes, speed up or slow down, take an exit or over/underpass, i.e. life choices. It follows however that you can still only choose one route and never reverse to change your route. You can attempt at moving back towards the same area of freeway you veered away from, but always while continuously moving forward. If you take an exit though, you could potentially leave certain areas behind for good. This is the irreversibility I was referring to earlier. At the same time over/underpasses might get you places faster, but in doing so you might reach areas prematurely and lose your way, unable to navigate these strange new areas, jumping in too soon so to speak. Listening to yourself means turning down the radio of the car and not texting while driving so you can concentrate on where you need/want to go and not accidentally miss an exit by staying in the wrong lane. Needless to say, this is tricky, but isn’t that life in a nutshell. Your environment could be heavily trafficked, shielding you and cutting you off, making it harder to pick your desired lanes, these are the obstacles life throws at you from time to time. This is where you sometimes have to cut in front of people and risk upsetting them in order to reach your destination but this is sometimes a necessary evil to avoid being stuck perpetually in heavy traffic, unable to move to where you want. You might be blessed with a fast strong car, making it easier to navigate the freeway or you might be on a bicycle, severely limiting your range of motion. The starting conditions are unfortunately out of your hands, however you can work towards a better vehicle over time. Concordantly, being born into privileged vehicles could also make you lax and unfocused on navigation, potentially crashing your car early on. Sometimes too many choices complicates navigation as I see with Danish drivers all the time.

Obviously putting kids in the backseat will not ease navigation, nor will a front seat driver help. Other people in your car will always complicate navigation, as I will demonstrate in another post. But of course only up until the point where you feel comfortable enough in your navigation and driving skills that you can start picking up hitchhikers, carpool and eventually bring the family, i.e. start one. Traffic and passengers could be the factors that determine the minor adjustments in your driving as long as you don’t miss those crucial exits. This is why I think it’s better to drive fast and determined when you still have more than half a tank of gas and then slow down once you feel like you’ve made significant headway, because eventually we all run out of fuel and die. Finding where you want to go and then how to get there is the tricky part. Following traffic or a GPS might be safe but also limits power to choose your end destinations. If you succeed in tuning out the noise and avoid easy seductive shortcuts and take the challenging if slightly risky route away from congestion I think you will find that the freeway opens up and carries you steadily in the right direction without concern for missing exits as you are now constantly moving in your desired direction. You can then turn the radio back on and maybe even activate cruise control for a while. Should you play it safe however, you might find yourself in a jam stuck with other angry commuters making it exceedingly harder to go anywhere while slowly burning though your gas until you eventually run out, feeling unfulfilled and filled with regret, longing for that exit not taken.

Even so, this analogy demonstrates that you do have power to choose your route even if you consciously take a route that you know might not be right but is guaranteed safer. The risk is that it might eventually land you in a jam, so although it might seem easier from the get go, this route could be treacherous. This is where your intuition comes in. What makes my branch of determinism semi-compatibilistic is this intuitive sense of where you want to go. This intuition might seem like pure instinct, going with your guts, but more and more I think it is guided by your experiences and thought processes up until that point, after all isn’t that what guides all our decisions. Given how these ideas and notions come to us completely random, care of the universal clockwork, given that our very existence, as species and individual animals, is a result of this randomness, isn’t any decision we make just another accumulative effect to this unbreakable series of events. One thing leads to another. This is the key to determinism. But is it pre-determined or being determined in the moment it happens? Both, hence semi-compatibilistic. To be developed...