Size Matters.

And now that I have your attention, get your mind out of the gutter! ;)

Comprehension of the size of the Universe and thus the body of the One is what I speak of here.

Saw a bit recently about a "new" piece of writing and math by Archimedes. There was some calculation he had done that the researcher said was measured by Archimedes calculating an infinite number of slices......Which is impossible.

I would have expected better of a mathematician.

Infinity, by its very definition, cannot be measured in total, as it has no end and no beginning.
How, then, is someone able to make an INFINITE number of slices in something? The illogic is astounding. Our very limitedness, our own finite existence, does not allow for such ability.
Even the use of words is limiting, implying by their usage that all things, if definable, remain also measurable. This of course, in turn, negates the very meaning of the word describing a limitless thing.

Okay, that's pretty deep. It is not, however, the basis for this entry.

Our vanity as a species, our apparent lack of humility in the face of something probably beyond our true comprehension is.

The other story that led to this was about massive attempts by NASA and the Jet Propulsion Labs to keep us from contaminating other worlds we visit. Seems some things out there in our little world have a tenacious desire to survive against all odds, and we have been sending these representatives out to planets in our own solar system and beyond. There have even been some new species of bacteria that have come into existence inside the very places trying to purge all contaminants off the equipment we are launching into space.

Fear is that we may be bringing about the greening of Mars or such by our investigation of same while things that can survive in hostile evnvironments go along for the ride. Who knows, perhaps we will find we have impregnated a new world and have to start paying some form of child support to another planet.

The stuff of science fiction at best.

We are so convinced of our own importance in the universe. Most humans cannot begin to see beyond their own front yard, be it a manicured lawn or a savannah, and see the true nature of the universe. It comes down to spirituality for me personally, but to get the average person out there thinking, I try to put it in terms they should be able to grasp. Let me tell you my story:

Imagine that your body respresents the entire universe, the unending vastness of the time-space continuum, perhaps even the very body of God. Try now to grasp this small part of yourself: there is a cell at the end of your big toe.

In that cell is a nucleus.

In that nucleus are strands of DNA.

That DNA is made up of molecules -A,T,C and G- the very building blocks of everything you are.

Each of those molecules is made up of atoms.

Each atom is made up of sub-atomic particles... quarks, antiquarks, wyrds, etc.

Our world, our solar system, dare I say even the galaxy we live on the outskirts of are smaller than a quark.

We are tinier than a subatomic particle which is part of an atom that makes up a single molecule in a strand of DNA inside the nucleus of a single cell in tip of the big toe of the One.

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Let me put this into more scientific terms for those who cannot accept the spiritual side of life.

Perspective:

An ant cannot see the whole of you. Its visual acuity is not structured for more than a small vision field. It can see the arm it is climbing over, or the toe it just got waylaid by, but it cannot see or even comprehend YOU as a whole entity.

Have you ever stood next to a redwood tree? Looking up into its limbs it is still impossible to grasp its true size. And mountains. Standing on the side of one, or at its base, far enough back to be able to see it all at once, it is not possible to tell its true size. It will always be tainted by a portion of the brain that creates delusions to keep itself sane. It does the same thing where the term "infinity" is concerned.

It is known now that from even just above our own atmosphere, only the largest of known things can be seen with the unaided eye: mountain ranges, the Great Wall of China, oceans, storms.
That ant can't see you. You cannot truly see the mountain. The mountain is barely visible from space.

Now, imagine a naval orange, sitting quietly across the street on the sidewalk. That's the sun, giver of all life to this little blue marble. And us? The earth is the period at the end of this sentence.


Our nearest stellar neighbour is five miles away, and from there, someone else might be able to discern Jupiter or Saturn, but the rest of the planets around Sol would be lost to the glare.
We are nothing but a speck of solar dust circling a much larger bit of galactic dust out in the boonies of a mediocre galaxy.

Humility is a good thing people. Remember it.

We are never too old to learn

Moments ago, I received knowledge of myself from what I thought to be an unlikely source. A friend lent me some tarot cards based on Amerindian teachings, for me to find symbolism to put on some smoking bottles I am painting. I started playing with the cards and got a serious shock. The totem animal I drew for the "within" slot in a particular lay, whale, defined so much of who I am and what it is I am here to do that it brought tears to my eyes. Every so often in this life, when the path gets difficult, or hazy, I have received reaffirmation of what I am inside.
This one was almost a yell, and at a point in this life when I have been prone toward self-pity and anxiety about my personal future. It is not about the self, but rather the Self, and the relating of one to another. All things are connected. To forget this is to risk losing one's self. To remember is to be at peace again.

The sign posts in life are everywhere. One has merely to pay closer attention, so they don't slip past.