How to become Master of the Universe

Ramblings on growing wiser

I have a deep conviction that all of the solutions to our curiosities and problems can be found by subtle observation of our internal and external lives. We know the screen on which you're reading this, and your eyes taking in the light reflected are composed of the same things, atoms. We say history repeats itself, and if we analyze the past we can see into the future. There are patterns that play out in similarly different ways throughout the universe. The person which you feel you hate is just a mirror revealing your internal struggles (your shadow). So, in this way, we would be wise to observe with a careful eye and an open heart all the unfoldings in our lives. 

We hold the key to our own prisons’ but often we don't recognize this fact. It seems that as we educate ourselves in an interdisciplinary fashion we weave a web of understanding, each string connecting a new concept to an old reference point, until after a while the strings begin to overlap, crisscrossing and connecting in all sorts of novel ways. Each time a string crosses over and back again we are anchoring known concepts with new ones. In this very way, we construct the web of the reality in our lives. As we grow older it seems the world gets smaller but truly our known universe expands and we learn in an exponential fashion rather than stepwise fashion - due to the tendency for nature to resemble itself in all forms. That is to say that we can begin to recognize patterns that play out across populations and groupings of things. We can soon begin to synthesize lots of data and compress it into our worldview, our toolkit.

For many young people, the formative years are confusing and scary, we lack the reference points to make sense of the universe and it seems daunting. However, with persistence, we reach a critical mass of brain development in our mid to late twenties. Where this web of knowledge can start to reinforce itself by taking notice of the common patterns, we can begin to feel comfortable that with what we know we can solve a greater set of problems. And simultaneously relax into the greater unknowns which persist, making distinctions between the actionable and unactionable unknowns. This is a great lesson, knowing the difference between those things that we may know with enough effort and how to learn them, and those things that may never be understood and how to accept this. This idea is well summarized by the serenity prayer, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” The key is acquiring wisdom, which can be gained only through a willingness to be in the mix and try new things with a careful eye for observation of the causes and effects of the myriad things. We will never grow wise through reading books or learning from others. Wisdom is tied to emotions, emotions that arise from making decisions with real consequences. This can be achieved only by taking on responsibilities. A boy becomes a man by accepting and seeking out responsibilities and then being accountable when some of his decisions inevitably turn sour, the remedy of which provides us with wisdom. 

So, a clear-minded full-hearted acceptance of responsibility brings us wisdom, and wisdom and responsibility give us meaning in life. This meaning is a small spark, which needs to be tended to similar to an attempt at starting a campfire. The initial spark has to be applied to a proper medium in order to grow into a bright flame. This medium is your community, your network. The true amplifier of personal satisfaction (meaning) in life is applying your efforts to your family, your friends, and your community personal and professional in a way that helps others to build and nurture their fires as well. When you begin you won't be able to contribute much, but that's okay. The way to contribute is to focus on building your own fire, treating your body and your mind with diligence and care. Only then can you become powerful enough to share your fire with others. In other words, a persistent focus on improving yourself spiritually, physically, intellectually, etc. is the greatest thing a young person can do in life. We all too often hyperfocus on situations that we cannot control, ultimately and unintentionally damaging ourselves and the people we care for. Yes, I'm saying if you struggle with purpose in your life - go to the gym. Furthermore, clarity can only be achieved by subtracting things from our life. We are frenzied by the information flows which excite our primal brains. The only way to work yourself out of the frenzied state of anxious attaining is by doing nothing. That's right, sitting down on the floor by yourself and staring blankly into space. You are a perturbed silty glass of water that's why you can't focus. Only with patience, stability, and time will the silt floating in the water settle to show crystal clear water once again. Meditate like the fate of the universe depends on it.