The Path to Spiritual Enlightenment

Dr. GURU speaks,

This question leads merely to a 'cul-de-sac' of theological avenues...

If there is re-birth of the Soul in different physical form, then for what purpose? If you seek Heaven, Nirvana, or eternal bliss...does your attainment make any lasting effect on the world? With the exception of land-mark figures in history, the influences we make would soon be drowned in the journals of Time.

So is re-incarnation purely for ‘self’-enlightenment? Gods’ intention for the path of each Soul? Where, at “Judgement Day”, God would sentence “community service” until you lived a life so Holy that it begged to qualify?

If the Soul stays uniform from one re-incarnation to another, then what of the Souls that contribute towards surplus-population? What is their role in the re-birth cycle? Is there an infinite number of people that can reach ‘Heaven’ or ‘Nirvana’? If so, then your personal attainment of Nirvana, to sit by God’s side, makes little difference to the ‘Infinity’...apart from to yourself and your God. This leads us back to where we are in life...you can spend all your life as a winner or a loser, or you can make a change. Your concept of re-incarnation should make little influence on your need to make positive changes to your life today.

The idea of “re-incarnation” to me has no purpose, no drive, and acts only as a mis-guided method of self-conditioning which raises more questions than it answers.

And for those who may believe in each Soul eventually conglomerating to give re-birth to God again, or any other climatic purpose...each story must have a beginning, middle and an end. What will you write in these pages?...as some pages are kept, so are others discarded.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

Such questions leave poisonous residues in the minds of those who are weak enough to speak them...

Though I cannot explain why one person seems to have more good-fortune than another, nor can I explain why one person may roll a dice and hit a ‘6’, whilst the next person only a ‘1’. All sides seem much the same to me; it is only the value we place upon them that gives them their importance. Indeed, they have real-life impact and consequences to deal with. The person who only rolls a ‘1’ may be considered unfortunate, but if he had been trying his luck for a-time, many may have little sympathy for him.

You are what link the bad things that happen in your life. There are often few, if any, other common factors. And so, the poison is laid...

Though I may not be able to explain to the ‘truly’ unfortunate, who have had no part to play in their misfortune, why they find themselves in their situation, nor would I ally misfortune with misery, as they make for troublesome foes. Individually they can be overcome...but in unity, their forces are multiplied. Such wars are difficult to win when battles are given up too easily...the poison spreads.

You must strengthen your reserve, throw away your sense of misery and get back to dealing with the consequences, as wallowing in the trenches leaves only the poison to consume.

The GURU must now sleep.

[The Determinist]
“Our sense of ‘free-will’ is an illusion. Everything that happens is pre-destined. Ordained if you will.”

Dr. GURU speaks...

[The GURU]
“If my actions are only a part of an infinite cascade of dominos, then what if I commit hara-kiri and severe that link?”

[The Determinist]
“If it was meant to be, so will we see. Your actions would not interfere with the cascade.”

[The GURU]
“Then my friend, I see you have the fighter attitude. Let me tell you of a fighter who, on being brought up the ranks by his manager, became one of the most feared warriors of his time. But when things got bad, and he begun to lose fights, he discovered that the most trusted to him, the one that had been with him all his life, his manager...had wagered his demise from the very start. If he succeeded, his manager would get half of all he had...if he failed, his manager would bask in a win-fall. His fight now is meaningless...and save a miraculous intervention, he will die bitter and down-trodden. Now, if the fighter had been spared from his managers’ ‘spreading-the-bets’ attitude, he might live a more developed life, and die a more peaceful death.

You may think that your death is pre-determined, but are the thoughts that will rush through your mind at that time be already written?...Already felt?...Peaceful or turmoiled? I find this all very troubling.

You may fight me admirably on the field of Determinism, but is your goal to conquer, recruit, or dialogue? If you are to conquer, I can only respond by defiance. If you are to recruit, I can only respond by acceptance. But if you are to dialogue, then I must have the advantage since I hold no script.”

[The Determinist]
“Your script has already been drafted, and the author is already deep into the next plot.”

[The GURU]
“I think I’ve read this novel...the ending was predictable”...

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

We separate ourselves from the animals most distinctly by our need to find and create meaning, myth and morality for the phenomena around us and our own situations.

We, as an evolving intelligent species, need to find ‘meaning’ and reason in all things, in all parts of life, and in death. From this need to explain all that we see, feel, and experience, we found science, mathematics, philosophy, religion, and mythology. The meanings which come to us lie between truth and myth. Our deep study of the physical and metaphysical is unique in the history of our planet.

A ‘myth’ can be defined as a false idea sincerely and widely held in a given culture but denounced, replaced by an alternative idea which is held to be true, but usually insincerely or superficially. The word “Myth” originated around 400AD, with the rise of Christianity and the concomitant decline of the religion of the time...Mithraism (MYTHraism), symbolised by the bull; from which the term bull (-shit) arises. Prior to this it is doubtful that there was even a word for the existence of an idea which is held to be true but is false. This seems to suggest that there was once a time when there was a greater respect for differing ideas, differing cultural beliefs. I very much doubt this though. Many non-violent individuals were executed for their beliefs before this time. Socrates was sentenced to death by poisoning (Hemlock) in 399BCE for ‘corrupting the youth and interfering with the religion of the city’. Jesus was crucified for claiming to be the son of God (or for polygamy, as the Mormons believe).

Mithraism originated in Persia. It derived from Zoroastrianism (1300BC-651AD), the largest world religion during the Persian empires. In 60BC Roman soldiers returning from Persia and influenced by the teachings of Mithraism brought it to the Roman masses, where it rapidly spread throughout the Empire, except Greece, Africa or Spain. Initially it was the religion of the lower classes, but in the second century AD it became the official favoured religion of Rome, through to 304AD where the Persian God Mithra became the protector of Rome.

Mithraism believed in Baptism, Confirmation and the resurrection of the dead. It celebrated the Eucharist of bread and wine in commemoration of their Mediator’s last meal. It believed in Heaven, Hell, the immortality of the Soul (only attained through asceticism and self-control) and the Last Judgement. Unlike most religions of the time, the central figure was a God, not a Goddess, and its hierophants were priests, not priestesses, and the head priest acted as a mediator between Man and God – a new notion (except for perhaps the Egyptians).

Mithraism was very similar to Christianity in many respects, but where Christianity is a religion of submission and aggression is turned inwards (masochism), Mithraism was a religion of conquest and aggression is turned outwards (sadism). Mithraism was therefore popular with soldiers, administrators and extraverts, but had no place for women.

I believe that myths are necessary in any ‘intelligent’ society. Perhaps all myth is a psychological crutch of one sort or another, regardless of its veracity. Nonetheless, we feel the need to try and understand things which we cannot (? yet) know. Myth provides us with the dialectic principle against which newly created theories of the existential are tested and evaluated. Sufficient knowledge about how the physical world operates has been accumulated that might permit the eradication of myth. However, one could only operate in this hypothetical world as hermitages - tiny nuclear collectives. A large society would not be able to operate coherently, and myths would arise as a natural consequence of individuality and rebellion. This is not to say that all individuals need mythology. Moreover, a society does not need all of its individuals. The needs of the society do not necessarily reflect the needs of the individual. Man (-kind) cannot live on truth alone; our hearts yearn for the unknown. Why is this so? Joseph Campbell [1904-1987], an American writer on mythology and comparative religion, peered deeper than most into this truth when he said:

“Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human manifestation”.

Our awareness of our own mortality is the greatest myth creator of all. From grand cultural myths to individualized personal myths – “reasons for living” – it drives the need to create, maintain, and alter myths lest we go insane with the thought that our lives are utterly meaningless and that we are nothing more than DNA delivery systems and an abundant source of fertilizer. This is what Carl Jung [1875-1961] might describe as an ‘archetype’ of our ‘collective unconscious’; a manifestation of man-kind’s innate fears, reactions, behaviours and perceptions. Myths will always play an essential role in our cultural development. They set norms, create expectations and establish community. The history of the human race is largely reflected in its mythologies; understand our mythologies and you understand us.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

Most religions stray away from dealing with the topic of evil directly. It is often seen as something that should be pushed away, resisted, or denied. All this teaching gives us the notion of separateness between good and evil; but this is a false dichotomy.

I see good and bad as siblings. What bore one, bore both. It would be impossible for any physical Universe to have one and not the other. They are defined and embodied by each other. It is only in the words we use to describe them that suggest their detachment. This has led many to view in their minds a clear line which demarcates good from bad. A war-line, where the two battle each-other for supremacy. This highlights another issue of contention; I do not believe good and bad are in conflict. These are rudimentary philosophical and Ethereal concepts which we have only started to understand…

Imagine a Universe where no one physical being was able to comprehend the concepts of good and evil. The concept eludes them and so has no existence in their life. The actions that they take are therefore neither good nor bad; they are merely actions. Good and bad do not exist in this Universe... they have not yet been born here in the minds of any sentient being. The events on this Universe, which we may regard as being good or bad, are simply the pit-a-pat of life. There is no good or bad in this Universe; just the life and death of different species in a process of constant renewal.

In our Universe the concepts of ethics, fundamental principles, freedom and justice have taken root in our psyche and we have nourished them by grasping on to ideas of “good” and “bad”. A newborn infant has not yet any concept of right and wrong, and so is without sin. As we climb our spiritual ladder of understanding in this Universe we open the floodgates for evil to enter our lives. This must be done in order to test our understanding at each rung. It is only in our physical lives that we can be tested to strengthen our character. This is why bad things need to happen to us. It is part of our development.

“Good” is the drive up the spiritual ladder towards better ethical practice, a deeper understanding of Universal Principles, freedom (which is relative), and justice. “Bad” are the tears, blood and sweat that is involved in climbing up that ladder.

Bad is not necessarily evil, and evil is not necessarily bad...

When the tsunami hit the south coast of the Asian continent at the end of 2004 we all felt the deep loss of so many victims, many of whom were only children. We would say this was a horrendous catastrophe on man-kind, a bad thing, but we could not say that it was “evil”. Nature cannot be “evil” in its motions, it simply “is”.

Men unite and fight over what we think is “good”; but what is good for one man may not be good for the other. This is when battle-lines are drawn between men. But with this tsunami event, the ideas of unity-of-the-masses to lift one-another up is shared by all, to a greater of lesser degree. There are no war-lines between men, and so we unite; helping each other, and showing compassion.
A bad thing is not necessarily “evil”.

Evil between men shows us the depths of our souls. It shows it all...good and bad. Only when we have fully understood ourselves, our potentials, will our eyes truly be open. This is when the reason for “evil” reveals itself to us...understand man-kind’s depth of depravity, as the balancing force of our spiritual divinity lies just on the other side.

There is a need for evil to be in our lives as we learn from it. These “necessary evils” interweave themselves throughout our lives. For some, they act as rungs to pull themselves up the spiritual ladder. For others they act as a noose into which they place their own necks.

There are two main types of evil which people exhibit:

[i] Evil from bodily (physical) disorder.
Brain disorders where...

- blood-flow to a particular area is tardy, absent, or blocked;
- blood flow is increased in a particular area;
- neural networks are irregular in density fragmentation; and
- neural networks are poorly conducting…

...can lead to mental derangement. Such a mind may not be capable of understanding good and bad. We as a species are defined in this Universe by our mental and spiritual achievements. If the mental derangement is such that the person does not understand the difference between good and bad, then the physical disorder would have caused a person to lose “evil” in their lives, along with all traces of “good”. If the ideas are absent in their mind, then they are absent in their lives. They are like the animals. Evil from such persons will still be called such…but should always be mitigated by the fact that they are not the same as us. They only link themselves by form. Their minds are not that of a normal mans. This is why we have mental institutions dedicated to the care of the “criminally insane”.

[ii] Evil from mental (spiritual) disorder.
If the brain functions normally then we must put ourselves as “equals”. Only our minds separate us. A mind where the concepts of good and bad have taken root can be truly held to account when evil reveals itself in them. This is true “evil”. Their minds have already congealed concepts of “good” and “bad”. No matter how ill-prioritised their thoughts may be, they have had equal chance (dependent on time) to cultivate their own minds, and choose a way of living which, at least, rises them above the animals spiritually.

When thinking about redemption, it should be remembered that Justice should be in equal measure to the crime…

Take for example the serial killer, paedophile, and rapist. Should we keep such people alive? They may be able to fit back into productive society, but they will never develop their minds enough to clean the stains of their murders and evils. They are in that rotting-state. Their lives are irreparable. Their actions have left their souls lost. By selection, we must rid ourselves of the infections we have in our society.

This is not so simple with the black-hearted dictator. Such individuals carry much weight with many people. Moreover, the “passion” shown by someone willing to die for their beliefs is very provocative; to everybody. Martyrdom carries with it its own glory. Their deaths only serve to spur others into the same action. Strong beliefs, like foul smells, linger for a long time. Dictators should be kept alive (in confinement) for all to see; as a painful display of passion turned emptiness.

As for “lesser” crimes...I leave that to the Courts. Although I would share the belief that sentences should be served in full. There can be no display of leniency when Judicial Law has been laid down. This only puts calmness into the minds of the criminally inclined.

Our lives are constantly intertwined with necessary evils...

Let’s take the following sayings:

“The want for superfluous money is evil”.
Currency is a necessity in an industrialised and networked community. As some men are more suited to the economy they live in, they may accumulate more financial wealth. This means a necessity in life carries with it the danger of turning men into hungry, shallow, possessed, and empty carcases. This evil is with us always. This evil must then be a necessity.

“Murder is evil and always wrong".
War is inescapable in an evolving civilization. There will always be a struggle between good and evil, ultimately ending in war when rising tensions are left to stifle the air until people feel the need to lash out or suffocate.
War is inescapable. When a number of strong beliefs collide, words lose their use and action becomes the need or reflex. The fight of the good must be good if the fight is all that remains. Passion, by definition, must be shown. The ultimate show of ones passion is to die for it. Murder, death and indeed evil, come hand-in-hand with The-Good-Fight.

“The feeling of Hate is evil”,
Hate is an evil feeling. His sister’s name is Love. As with Good and Bad, there cannot be one without the other. Friedrich Nietzsche described this unity better:

“Love and hatred are not blind, but are blinded by the fire they themselves carry with them.”

We must acknowledge and deal with the necessary evils in our lives, as they are too deeply twined to unravel.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

The evolution of a wild Indian or south-east Asian Red (Gallus gallus) or Grey (Gallus Sonneratii) Junglefowl to a Chicken can be traced back to a set of gene mutations which occured in the Egg of a female Junglefowl. The mutations manifest themselves to give what we would classify as a Chicken.

The Junglefowl does not turn into a Chicken half way through its life, it lays the Egg that gives birth to the Chicken.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

A 'sound' is the perception and interpretation of a sound-wave. A falling tree always produces a sound-wave through the atmosphere, but there may be no-one to hear it, and so there is NO noise unless you are there.

Recording a tree falling when you are not there only achieves in designating the necessary tasks of reception, analysis and storage of the sound-wave to the recording equipment.

The ill-fated Existentialist might apply a similar question to the sense of sight, e.g. "Does an object exist if no-one is there to see it?". The equal of sound, is sight; but not in their literary meaning. A sound-wave can exist without a sound, but the visible light-wave cannot exist without the subject that it bounces off-of.

Material things are there despite us. They were there before we were born, and they will be there long after we die. The Spiritual, on-the-other-hand, the perception and interpretation of the world around us, is the Reserve left only to us.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

What is the Self?...
Who am I?...
What is it that makes me different from another person?...

An off-the-cuff response might be that you are unique because of your individual identity…your appearance, life, memories, views and opinions set you apart from others.

As Descartes points out, our perception and understanding of the Self can only be done through intellectual reasoning, not through our senses (ophthalmic, tactile, auditory, olfactory, or gustatory). Let us then begin by cleaning away the debris of misconceptions…

If you take the example of an oak tree, from shrub to its full glory, most would say that we have the same oak from one point of time to another in its life. It would seem absurd to say it was a different oak tree through different parts of its natural life, even though its’ constituent atoms, molecules, and cells have changed.

What of a tidal wave? Or a cloud that streams off the summit of Everest? Most would say it was the same wave or cloud moving from one point to another. Through both, water particles are constantly changing with others. Their physical composition is in constant flux, and yet we still consider it to be the same entity. The problem stems from the need to give a word to the phenomena we see. But in using words they take on their own meaning and entity, often regardless of what is actually happening in the phenomenon. Some might argue that the oak tree differs from the cloud and wave in that it maintains at least most of its particulate matter, just as you and me would be the same if we were to lose a limb. Take then the ship of Theseus…

Theseus goes on a long voyage, and in the course of it bits of his ship need replacing. In fact, by the end, he has tossed overboard used sails, spars, rigging, planks, and replaced them all. Does he come back in the same ship? We would probably say so. But suppose some entrepreneur goes round behind him, picking up the discarded bits, and reassembles them. Can’t the entrepreneur claim to have the original ship?

I raise this issue because we too are in this constant particulate flux. Our bodies continually regenerate, renew, and replace our constituent cells. If this is complicated, then the Soul is bewildering.

What allows a person to keep their individuality from childhood to old-age? Most would say that it is their unique memories of their lives. However, this suggestion has the uncomfortable consequence that we cannot survive complete amnesia. Indeed, what of partial amnesia?...is such a victim a different person at these different times? Current state law would side with the affirmative, even if that ‘different person’ had acted in an uncharacteristic manner. But, are there not many moments in all people’s lives where they act uncharacteristically and have no recollection of it? Yet we do not all consider ourselves to have multiple-personality disorders. Most would sensibly say that we are the same person developing and evolving through life, not able to recall every single decision or act. This line of reasoning suggests that we are rarely aware of our own selves.

If we throw away ideas of physical mass and memory, then what we have left is the internal monologue in our heads. Who you are, and how you behave, depends on the way you talk to yourself and what you talk about. This is all that is left after everything else is stripped away. This is the soul.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

The woman’s dream is “romance”. What is romance?...to a woman. It is a strong man falling weak over a woman. It is a man that is ‘head-over-heals’ for her…that would do anything for her. He needs to chase after her. Show his need for her. He needs to spend all of his time thinking about her…and thus showing that he is constantly thinking about her. This can be done with the smallest of gestures. Spontaneous acts show that you have them on your mind. This is the vulnerability that women seek in men. In all other aspects, they must be strong, if not dominant.

This is the result of society evolved through many millennia.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

'You' are what you think of you, and what others think of you...

We live life trying to understand how to relate to eachother, so your qualification is marked by your peers and associates.

Each person has their own 'Modus-Operandi'...which glove fits you best?

The Predator –
This person uses verbal or physical threats. In paying attention to the Predator you feed them your energy.

The Inquisitor –
This person probes into another’s world with the specific purpose of finding something wrong. You become self-conscious around the Inquisitor and start paying attention to what they are doing or
thinking about, so as not to do something wrong that the Inquisitor would notice.

The Free –
This person is not being ‘cautious’, but hoping you will be pulled into their drama in order to try and figure them out. When you do, the Free person remains vague, forcing you to struggle and dig and try to discern their true feelings. You give the Free person your full
attention, your energy. The longer the Free person can keep others interested and mystified, the more energy they receive. Unfortunately, such a life tends to evolve very slowly.

The Unlucky –
This person habitually tells you their woes, making you feel guilty for not doing enough for them.

You may use one or-the-other from one day-to-another, but most people move to the beat of a particular rhythm.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks,

Stephen Jay Gould [1941-2002], esteemed palaeontologist, once eloquently stated: if our planets’ beginning is the end of your nose and its present your outstretched fingertip, then a single swipe of a file on the fingers’ nail wipes out all human history. Not just the history of civilization, but the entire presence of Homo-sapiens – and indeed, the history of all our primitive hominid ancestors.

Similarly, our Planet may be totally annihilated by a giant colliding body from outer-space...

It is known that there is an asteroid, named 1950 AD, a kilometre wide and due to collide with Earth in 2880. If luck remains on our side then Earth will live a full life, another 5 billion years. Then our Sun will “toll the bell”, engulfing our planet as it expands.

Long before this happens though, our planet will be inhabitable to anything but the most robust organisms. Astronomers believe that in a billion years from now our Sun will be over 10% brighter than it is today. Global climate models indicate that the Earth will react to this increase by at first becoming a "moist greenhouse".
Looking even further ahead, the Sun will increase its luminosity by about 40% in three billion years. This will force the Earth into a "runaway greenhouse" state, such as exists currently on the planet Venus.

Having said that, once life takes a-hold it is almost inextinguishable. We have the same innate drive in us, as all living things do. We, however, have the potential to outlive our mother-planet. This sets us apart from "Gaia". We can choose to live outside of Gaia. In a sense, humans are Gaia’s true children; we can outlive her and go further, taking with us her memories and lessons. The only way for us, human beings, to live forever is through the careful use of science and technology. If not, then we may be little more than a glimmer, a memory in the cosmos, especially if we are responsible for our undoing.

However, we are ahead of ourselves here, scientifically speaking. Gaining more knowledge is an exponentially progressive process. Our achievements in the last 100 years alone are testimony to that. The development of a good and moral society however takes a great deal longer. We should first learn how to treat ourselves and others. We should be able to turn this planet into our utopia, before we look further ahead. Only a select number of us will go on this one-way journey through to our space generation; living on a home in space, looking for a home like Earth. We need to, by that point, have established a good, moral society.

The GURU must now sleep.

Dr. GURU speaks...

“Consider this…” Light spoke to Darkness,
unfurling its wings of illumination
“…consider these thoughts I reveal to you,
these shadows which are essentially your own,
essentially the unmanifest ideas you hold.
It is not clarity, but perception that is the issue,
as like shadows cast it varies with each position.”

Unsettled, Darkness shifts to find its place of rest.
“I understand only what is within me,
as do you my friend.
As you grow, so does my understanding blur
and become re-defined.”
Darkness spoke with equal wisdom, and
looking upon what he could see remarked,
“I possess no legs, so cannot walk,
no arms to grasp the fullness of objects cast.
You must move if we are to see all sides.
Only then can we come to understand all things.”

The GURU must now sleep

[The Scholar]
"Where does ‘God’ stand in the sensible reasoning of today’s World? Show me a soul, and I'll define ‘precarious’”....

Dr. GURU speaks...

[The GURU]
“Define ‘precarious’ and I'll show you a soul”...

[The Scholar]
“All things come to an end, all things will eventually want to...immortality is for the 'spiritually' hopeful, who like to make up stories to satiate their appetites of insignificance”...

[The GURU]
I take it you're more 'science-orientated'...and, if you don't mind me saying, a tad science-isolated. The soul is something which science cannot explain...so it is dismissed. Yet, our endeavours to explain the world around us in the physical, chemical and biological, has left science with an extrapolation (which in many people’s minds is unacceptable)....

"Our genes and our environment mould our developing brains, which in their complex and intricate neuro-chemical networking form our personality and character. "

This is a poor explanation of consciousness. Science cannot explain how we understand that we exist. Laplace, a French scientist, presented the simple question that if we knew the positions and speeds of all the particles in the Universe, then could we not calculate their behaviour at any other time, in the past or future. There is the opinion that Laplace’s scenario is undermined by the Uncertainty Principle. I do not believe this is the case. Laplace’s scenario should be looked at as hypothetical. The 'Uncertainty Principle' is based on observation; it is more practical. Even if we couldn’t know (measure) the exact positions and speeds of particles, the real question is that (hypothetically) would our known laws, including space-time warping, account for their later or earlier positions? I thought of this question in my early teenage years and reached a conclusion which I still hold today…“no”. There is the argument that “the complexity that we see around us may only seem divine because of our simplicity”. This may work with inanimate subjects, but life cannot be explained so simply. Laplace’s scenario cannot explain a localised formation trying to survive in its environment. It definitely cannot explain consciousness and the ability for something within the scenario to understand the scenario. Once we introduce life we also introduce chaos, in the sense that things can no longer become predictable. This accepts the premise that particle interaction within energy fields can account for the structure of our Universe, and not just leave us with a homogenous soup.

The Uncertainty Principle combined with Laplace’s scenario leads me towards the idea of Life as being inexplicable to science. Laplace’s scenario is valid, until we look into it. By our choosing to try and locate particles we change their speed and position. Particles moving around in a ‘dead space’ will follow Laplace’s conclusions; we would, hypothetically speaking, be able to calculate their positions in past and future. The fine movements and actions of living organisms, however, are unpredictable and will change the positions and speeds of particles around them…potentially affecting particles throughout the Universe. This is commonly known as the ‘Butterfly Effect’. Those that believe in ‘determinism’ (be it specific or general) are carried into the opinion that Laplace’s conclusions would still hold true…but with the omission of God’s influence. Those that don’t believe in determinism are carried into the conclusion that life must be inexplicable to science. Either way, science falls well short of an explanation.

Furthermore, your comment on all things wanting to come to an end seems selfish and pessimistic. An individual may not want to live forever, I sure don't, but how can you transpose that opinion on to our civilisation? Life fights for its continuation. I would hope that in many years to come we will discover that even though we are capable of doing and thinking bad onto others and to ourselves we have the ability to make this planet a worldly paradise. Then do you think all our great-great etc grandchildren will want to die without having families? The life-span of our civilisation doesn't have to be determined by the life-span of our planet; especially when commercial space travel is becoming more accessible (to the ridiculously rich)...and we only took to the skies around 100yrs ago. Moreover, even if we begin to destroy ourselves here there will be some that want to move on into space. Either way, I believe our terrestial civilisation is destined to move into a space-civilisation (looking for another home).

Finally, your comment of our being "insignificant"...we understand our own existence, we differentiate between good and bad, we strive to understand what is around us, we philosophise, we change the very canvas of the planet we live on, we purposefully move out of our own planet's atmosphere, and we try to create order in our world. This is hardly insignificant. We are step aside from nature. The Gaia theory explains nature (a super-organism) but does not explain why we are here. Indeed, we act as parasites on this planet. If we did not exist this world would flourish. This is our significance...nature has given birth to us, and our gift back must be that of an intelligent and moral society. Indeed we must out-live our 'parents'...moving on with found memories of our Earth. We our it's 'true' children. This is what makes us special. This is what make us Godly.

The Scholar has fallen asleep.

Dr. GURU speaks...

Many 'relationships' break down due to a lack of communicating eachothers standards.
The other never quite meets your expectations, and the contempt begins to build...

Finally, you cannot hold back and a massive argument insues; at the drop-of-a-hat.

You must understand eachothers sore-points, and either deal with them...or move on with your separate lives.

The Guru must now sleep.