In the East, everything other than “Self” - seen from personal perspective as unexplainable - is called “That” although it still remains difficult to define the boundaries of individuality any more specifically than as a fragment of “That” moving through time/space until awareness ceases. Anything inferred beyond this is either imagination, speculation or belief, though there does appear  to be some kind of hierarchical order at work that pervades everything.

Sentience, construed as a state of subjectivity, emerges from oblivion. If there is a continuity beyond consciousness or unconsciousness, perhaps it’s just another tier of that same awareness, only partially revealed, making it difficult to articulate anything that remains unseen using language. Here is where Art and Myth in all its forms reflect its creators’ vision of the relationship between “Self” and “That”, illuminating philosophy.

Consciousness, can also be analogized to a super saturated solution created by dissolving large amounts of a substance such as sugar into water as it is heated in a test tube over a Bunsen burner. Add a substrate and at a calculable moment it will suddenly crystallize into a solid, a symbol of elevated state realized in an instantaneous moment when surrounded by chaos.

The significance of any experience, as with a chemical solution, depends on what is remembered from the unconscious as it awakens, revealing congregations of circumstances interacting with individual lives, each representing alternate realities of each other - a notion usually relegated to  literature and science fiction that portrays one step beyond the real yet close enough to it to perceive imaginative variations of what is separated by a translucent barrier.

The controversy over sentience is not about its existence, but to what degree it is containable by other organisms, given a series of conditions, proposing that if any manifested form can evolve some kind of awareness, then it should be treated as if it has the potential to be self-aware, given time and experience.

The Chupacabra (Spanish for goat sucker) is an animal indigenous to Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Latin American communities that speak Spanish in the United States. The name comes from the animal’s reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of goats. Physical descriptions of the creature vary. Eyewitness sightings have been claimed for centuries near Ponce, Puerto Rico and have since been reported as far north as Maine and as far south as Chile. It is supposedly a heavy creature, the size of a small bear, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base of the tail.

The first photographs were taken in March 1995 in Puerto Rico by Madelyne Diaz don Diego who lost all of her 150 goats in an attack. Each animal she claimed had similar characteristic puncture wounds in the chest area and completely drained of blood.

In Coleman, Texas, a farmer named Reggie Lagow caught what he claimed was the Chupacabra in a trap he set up after the deaths of a number of his goats. The animal was described as resembling a mix of hairless dog, rat, and kangaroo. Lagow claims he delivered the animal to Texas Parks and Wildlife officials for identification, but reported in a September 17, 2006 phone interview with John Adolfi, founder of the Lost World Museum, that “the critter was caught on a Tuesday and accidentally thrown out in Thursday’s trash.”

A multi-verse could be either a hypothetical set of multiple potential universes - including our own - that together comprise all of reality, or a many versed poem such as Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

As a literary work published in 1847, it chronicles the life of an Acadian girl named Evangeline Bellefontaine and her search for her lost love, Gabriel Lajeunesse, set against the sweeping landscape of North America during the time of “Le Grand Derangement“, an unpleasant period in Canadian history, when the inhabitants of the maritime provinces including Prince Edward Island and parts of Maine were relocated by the British. Many migrated to Quebec while others went to Louisiana and became Cajuns whose descendants still speak French, even today.

One of Longfellow’s most enduring works, it was written in dactylic hexameter - also the technique used in the Greek and Latin classics, a poem with a rhythmic scheme that goes on and on verse after verse, hence the term multi-verse. Perhaps it would have been more interesting to read had it been penned in prose or taught in History class instead of Poetry 101. Longfellow was obviously influenced by his close friendship with Nathanial Hawthorne who had an ever so slight lean towards the puritanical and who etched such memorable works as The Scarlet Letter.

From a scientific point of view, a multi-verse is an unproven theory of theoretical physics. The different universes within the multi-verse are sometimes called parallel universes, often interchangeable with the term alternate realities. However anyone versed in geometry knows that since parallel lines never meet, it is not possible to travel from one parallel universe to the next leaving us with a summation of alternate realities as the only credible explanation for the theoretical basis for reality, although to quote the eminent Dr. McCoy, “Good God Spock, I’m a doctor, not a physicist.”

Any reasonable person would ask, what do alternate realities have to do with Canadian history? Spock would probably respond, “Obviously the history of Canada is an alternate reality of American history without the revolutionary war.” If that were true, then in another reality, Canada is the fifty-first state.

Read more about alternate realities and parallel universes at Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse_(science)

Marie Anne Adeleide Lenormand was known as the greatest of France’s Cartomancers, considered a woman of renown whose influence spanned 40 years of European history including the French revolution. Descended from Nostradamus some say she was a mystic who went on her own quest that covered a journey to the Himalayas, the hidden caves of Mongolia that house the lost texts of the Alexandrian Library, the Egyptian temples and pyramids where secret initiations were performed, tested in the great chamber of Amen-Hotep where she learned Kabala, the mystical teachings of the Hebrews.

Leaders of all fields, peasants and aristocrats alike, allegedly came for advice from this gifted prognosticator including Marat, St-just, Empress Josephine, Czar Alexander and Robespierre. Her last entry recorded in her diary was about Marie Antoinette: “I saw her, while gazing at the cards in a trance after hearing that the French Queen had an affair with a peasant French boy, Pierre-Devual,” she wrote in beautifully scripted French, “La femme qui a cause mon homme ne est ici, je touche son sang. Ou est l’homme avec les yeux bleus, cheveux blonds, peau blanche? L’homme que je ne retrouve pas a cause d’un homme stupid, ou est l’homme que j’aime avec mon coeur? Quand la mort serra mon ami? Je ne sais pas.” She adds, “The sounds of the birds silenced as my crystal ball resonated and the air became thin and wispy, causing an array of candles to blow out, leaving smoke filling the air with the incandescent aroma of pomegranate, the mythic fruit of the underworld.”

A daughter of France born in Alençon on May 27th 1772 with the gift of foresight, she frequently found herself in prison throughout her life, on the run from disgruntled clients, but not for long once her reputation for card play spread rapidly in Europe as fear gripped her prophecies, although she claimed, “It is not what I see, but the way each person interprets what I see.”

Her diary was hidden in the odds and ends section of the Vatican archives, described as “ornately bound with gold leaf written in cryptic french.” Some interpretations claim she influenced the course of history of Western Europe much as the oracle of Delphi captured the attention of the ancient world. It is widely believed one of her readings to Napoleon Bonaparte encouraged what is known as The Louisiana Purchase, “Vente de la Louisiane,” in 1803.

Marie Anne Adelaide Lenormand became so popular that a deck of cards was created and dedicated to her after her death in Paris on June 25th 1843, The Lenormand deck, still popular and widely used in Germany. Whether truth or tale about her life be told, she remains a fascinating if unfamiliar footnote in history, known only among some mystic circles.

Asking a question without expecting an answer is a difficult challenge since the initial inclination for wanting clarification is the basic reason a query is made. A response, perhaps in the form of an Epiphany, divine revelation or emerging creative impulse, is not an unreasonable expectation as long as whatever appears is recognized for what it is.

A nebulous answer is as good as no answer since it’s often so vague and formulaic with liberal doses of unanticipated ironic twists that come out of nowhere to be of any appreciable use, although they are ideal for those who love cryptic responses with symbols steeped in the mystery of occult design.

We also have myths and legends, grand tales of hero’s, instilled with moral struggles of human traits, lurking in literature, art, and philosophy, so obvious they lie invisibly surrounded by distractions. Whatever the basis of conclusions from events, preconceived notions of what is thought to exist can noticeably effect judgment and outcome. Some occurrences such as a rainbow, comet or eclipse, at a key moment, can be interpreted as a sign from some divine source woven by hope and optimism for an unknown future.

Whatever the case, there is too little time to obsessively worry about what a void contains before it appears. There is not enough information to say anything about it except perhaps to convey an opinion regarding what its substance is, since no one who goes there and stays has ever come back to tell about it, so it seems pointless to speculate and simply avoid a void, until it finds you, as the pull of the vortex gravitates closer and closer, until the only option is to surrender.

Walking on water has long been an ability attributed to enlightened souls predicated on their ability to master thought, energy, the laws of physics and surrounding space as they become increasingly aware that pre-existing physical boundaries can be challenged.

How to get to that point of awareness, let alone achieving it, depends on many factors individually defined and externally effected, all variable based on how one interprets the signs along the path.

Levitation above water, earth, and air, are all related and can also be achieved using scientific devices such as super magnets. However, this is not the same as evolving the ability to do it as a spiritual attainment, claimed by some as a feasible accomplishment that has no general formula of discovery since it can only be approached singularly.

Every person is constrained by gravity and time, the effects of which have profound impact. We begin not knowing how to master the movement of our own body as it grows to maturity, learning coordination and cognition developing over time and experience.

Thought also has the capacity to effect physicality when used as the basis to link with the atoms, cells and organs of the body. With a tempered mind and heart, capable when focused, of curing disease by restoring balance to imbalance, this revolves to a state the body already knows how to maintain by mobilizing whatever systems it needs to return to homeostasis although sometimes it forgets and needs to be reminded.

The mind has the capacity not only to connect with this process, but also to modify and direct it. If one person is capable of doing something, than others can do it too, recognizing that what may work for one might not for somebody else. This limits what science can substantiate since reproducibility is what makes observation, fact. But an inability to quantify the extraordinary things people can accomplish doesn’t negate it but does suggests an introspective experience.

There are two simple ways to levitate. One is to change the weight of all the cells of the body to be lighter then air, and the second is to alter the polarity of each atom to be a charge that will cause gravity to repel. Each approach requires the ability to use thought to communicate with all elements that comprise the individual, perhaps even identifying aberrant cells and systems, and mobilizing and fixed on the innate instinct to restore harmony. A simple thing, like levitation, is possible to do if one is disciplined and focused enough to know how to do it.

It was my first day attending The Philosophy Of Creativity, a course at Columbia University. I was beaming, for this was after all Columbia, as I walked into the classroom of the renowned Professor Schneider, a German Philosopher and guest speaker originally from the University of Dresden. The syllabus did not indicate the subject of the days’ lecture, but he had a reputation for being a bit eccentric, a man in his early seventies with a handlebar mustache neatly waxed, wearing a rather shabby looking brown pinstriped suit, a creased Grey shirt and a Lime Green tie poorly knotted. His shoes, brown with large scuff marks, did not appear shined for some time. He wore mismatched orange socks with horizontal brown stripes.

After the students took their seats and attendance had been called, the professor announced that the day’s lesson would be about using nothing but empty space to think creatively, then he went to the cubbard and placed a large empty jar of Hellman’s Extra Light mayonnaise on the desk. The class looked on as I wondered whether it was a 32 or 64 oz jar.

The professor pulled out a bucket of golf balls, standard size, and began dropping them one by one into the empty jar of Extra Light Mayonnaise. I was quite surprised that the jar didn’t crack from the physical force of the falling balls. When no more could be passed through the aperture of the glass opening, the professor asked in a clear and resonating German accent as he moved away from the desk and pointed to the glass “Is the jar full?”

One student from Paris said “Oui” although none of the other students knew what she said, as all the English speaking students responded: “Yes”.
Then the Professor, gazing into the audience, asked:
“Are you sure?”
“Yes”, everyone said.
I, however, said “No.”
“And what is the basis for your answer,” he asked as the class silently looked at me clearing my throat.

“There is still the space between the balls that hasn’t been accounted for, a situation quite similar to finding the area under a curve, a Calculus problem, accomplished by adding an increasing number of rectangles to the axis under the curve, into infinity, but never quite filling the space completely. In this case, I am convinced that there is still space in the jar left empty between the balls that can be calculated, so it’s not full.”

Professor Schneider said nothing, exposing a large bag of sand laying behind the desk, then he poured it in a stream of thousands of grains into the spaces between the golf balls as we watched wondering what the point of all this was. He once again interrupted us and he  asked: “Now, is the jar full?”

The majority of my classmates said, “Yeah, it looks filled up.”
“And what do you think?” he asked, casting his gaze upon me.
“Nothing has changed. There is still empty space between the grains of sand, although much smaller,” I responded confidently.
“How about if I pour some extra fine ground French coffee?” said professor Schneider as he gestured towards the jar.
“Could you please make it Colombian,” I responded. “French brews have a strong scent and create a bit of a stink.”

The professor paced the floor in thought. He looked at me, then the rest of the class, then said: “What conclusions can you draw from this display?”
I took a few moments to collect my thoughts, gazing into empty space, before responding, “Well, aside from the fact that space isn’t ‘the final frontier,’ but an infinite frontier since there will always be room to stuff things into the remaining unoccupied area even if it can’t be seen. Another consideration, I suppose, is that ordering the space differently can profoundly impact the course of life. Assuming the golf balls represent important elements such as health, shelter, profession, family, children and creative skills, just to name a few. If one occupies the space with sand first, it will obscure the ability to perceive what’s really important and the old expression,  seeing the forest from the trees comes to mind.  The granules cram the space with less essentials, perhaps luxuries that misguide the focus from sensible priorities while the coffee grounds leave additional imperceptible emptiness. The remaining area can perhaps represent hope for unanticipated things that come along possibly adding texture, character and flavor to existence enough to introduce noticeable visceral change, suggesting there is always room for something new, if one has an open mind to see it.”

“And if you only use the golf balls and sand?” asked professor Schneider.

“Well, even if life seems filled to the brim, there will still be room to go to the local Starbucks and have a cup of coffee with a friend, as long as it isn’t a French blend”, I added.
Then the professor responded with a snicker, “Even those with space between their ears can find ways to use the empty gaps creatively,” as he gazed at the class, stroking his handlebar mustache.

“Doom and gloom has to be logical, carefully presented and designed to reach people who exist in a basic state of denial. It requires eloquence, a well articulated, diplomatic build up, objective assessment of the events, whether economic, cultural or personal, dispassionately without emotion or it is lost,  hence influencing judgment. Learned lessons as wisdom to an open eye…” [unidentified source]

Originally found in an old timeworn text, translated from its native French, words perhaps handed down from one generation to the next with a dubious claim that names Nostradamus as their source, while saying much in less than fifty words.

Thinking about the future distantly, so many unanticipated events have to occur for a future to evolve. Is it possible to envision all of them or even know which ones are most important to (a) specific outcome(s)?

Perhaps the place where creative ideas originate, also the source of invention tapped by some with capabilities thought impossible, becomes the “stuff” of future dreams. Trends suggested by individuals, often described in cryptic terms transformed into concepts that happen in some ironic way introducing new possibilities effecting the future and defying credible prognostication.

A reasonable conclusion to reach until one encounters “the genius” capable of composing music before anyone of comparable age can verbalize complete sentences for example. What comprises those indefinable talents, which are vague inspiration to some, while a tool for another acting as a conduit.

Doom and gloom usually draw more attention than “they lived happily ever after,” a common ending to most fairy tales, hoping that along the way something not currently known will introduce itself into the gloom that changes enough of the circumstances to create the happy ending most sought.

Some believe that the future projects itself onto the past by using signs that already exist in the present. What makes the future happen is unknown, even after it happens, a confluence of limitless possibilities that makes more sense when viewed retrospectively as taught lessons, hopefully to avoid making repetitive mistakes that are predictable.  Recognizing that any prophecy, mystically or religiously based, is made so that there is enough time to make the necessary changes to prevent it from happening.

The problem with being a dictionary worm - reading sequentially the words from the unabridged Oxford volume cover to cover - is that it misses all the words added or changed over the time it took to read it from cover to cover, leaving knowledge incomplete, perhaps the call of a perfectionist who simply missed a page somewhere.

One overlooked word was concupiscence. I first heard it when a colleague was accused by someone else for making it up, trying to imply that they were stupid for not knowing it. I was astonished that I had no clue what it meant either except that the prefix “con” means “with”.

I embarked on a search and what I discovered is a word with many more shades than revealed by the dictionary, including a theological schism profound to fundamental philosophical belief. Con*cu*pis*cence,  n.  1- sexual desire, lust. 2- ardent, usually sensuous, longing.

Christian theology defines it as the selfish human desire for an object, person or experience, and yet Catholics and Protestants have conflicting ideas.  For Catholics, in its widest sense, “concupiscence is any yearning of the soul for good; in its strict and specific sense, it means a desire of the lower appetite contrary to reason.” For Protestants, “concupiscence refers to what they understand as the orientation, inclination or innate tendency of human beings to do evil.”  The word is derived from the Latin word concupiscentia meaning “a desire for worldly things.”

A want for anything corporeal is implied as being innately selfish, according to biblical interpretation. It can also be distracting, especially with original sin and guilt floating around overhead as the search for the inner divine nature consumes philosophy and theology alike, while science aims to quantify or repudiate it all in a neat reproducible package.

On the other hand, if the difference between selfishness and selflessness is understood, earthly desires would not be the temptations they have historically been, suggesting the middle path, where good and evil balances each other is the best place to be, since the desire for good can also be selfish depending on what one considers good.

A sole carried by the body
Heart aching deep to the call
Desire that draws one closer
Into a forest of want
Playing to its hum
Is anything ever enough?
Another barrier
The immoral soul!

One way to encourage a less imperfect future is by creating it from a more perfect present, a seemingly logical task that would require taking time to consider the potential impact of choices and their trends as the effects proceed through time, prepared to re-assess the initial direction and explore more productive patterns assuming past experience allows for that insight or at the very least identify a blind spot defined  by a littered heap of mistakes.

The ability to sense the existence of a blind spot is predicated upon not knowing exactly what it contains since the contents like a black hole are  invisible, inferred  only by the flow of energy and matter surrounding it, caught by the magnetism of its vortex and the weight of its complexity. Proximity to it defines perspective, allowing partial understanding of what is not seen since the only way to observe things fully is by being everywhere simultaneously. Besides, the closer the spot becomes, the more the surrounding space obscures the landmarks that allow successful navigation. On the other hand, as distance increases it will be less likely to see anything more than “the point.”

One can define the  area not perceived in an individual or collective way, recognizing that the hope of making clearer decisions is more likely with a comprehensive assessment including things not previously known. When immersed with objectivity, the result will be satisfaction and possibly a happy moment. When the opposite results, especially if the motives are noble, then that in and of itself should allow any of the resulting pain and suffering to be nothing more than a  spoonful of medicine, while acknowledging that happiness is not a constant level. However if too many spoonfuls appear then one is forced to conclude, ” I must be doing something wrong, even if I cant see it. This is where the  invisible part of the  personality can usually be found,  effected by anger, guilt or denial.

On a societal level, imagining what direction culture might evolve is like shooting  a projectile with an unpredictable path into a dark abyss, a sequence  often moving into the unknown, perhaps capable of being plotted by an algebraic formula, but often stumbling into the realm of science fiction, most effective when advanced technologies lay at the basis for unanticipated change, refining instrumentality so revolutionary in some cases that ethical considerations have trailed consequences, creating never thought of problems.

When viewed retrospectively, public debut is helpful, but only if it explains ongoing conflict that continues to push cultural limits  by marking emerging resolutions that pierce the unknown by consecutively connecting the dots. The most effective way to galvanize public opinion is for an issue to be discussed in a way that can be understood by the greatest number of people across all educational levels, especially when presenting goals that have a clear potential to alter the nature and course of society,  although history is filled with the consequences of mistakes made based on missing collective blind spots, finally realized in a “like duh” moment.