Before the beginning, there was nothing. And nothing begat thought. And thought was good.
And it was that thought begat sentience. And with sentience came loneliness. Through thought, Nothing created infinite voids of existence. Then, Nothing had a linear thought, and it perceived a beginning and an end. With linear thought, Nothing created the Heaven and the Earth.
And it was that Nothing put itself into the Earth and became many. The newly found concept of time had little meaning to Nothing, so Nothing was patient. With random precision, the many combined into compounds of sulfur and carbon. Later, nucleotides arose and self-replicated. Some of the many failed and returned to nothingness, but others thrived. And Nothing said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.”
And it was so, but Nothing was still lonely. So it was that Nothing created mankind, which allowed Nothing to experience both multiplicity and individualism.
Now, in the hearts of men, Nothing accepted the grand illusion and forgot that it was nothing. And Nothing would not be lonely until the end of time, when Nothing would be nothing once more.
Preamble to the Novel "Nonsistance" by Michael Armocida
What is Reality?
The concept expressed in the poem shown above is nothing new. At the heart of Buddhism is the belief that the individual self is false and that we are all one. Even science believes that everything in the Universe, every galaxy, every star, every planet, and the stuff that makes up every person, existed together as a singularity (a single entity outside of time and space).
At the heart of this philosophy is the idea that consciousness is God, and, as God, everything we experience is a result of our imagination. In other words, the Universe does not exist - you are simply imagining it. The planet Earth does not exist - you are simply imagining it. Time does not exist - you are simply imagining it. You do not exist - except in the imagination of your 'cosmic self'. Once again, we can turn to science. It is now believed that space-time, the very fabric of the Universe, is woven of quantum foam - the smallest of quantum particles. These little particles are observed to peek in and out of existence, like bubbles. Hence the term foam. In other words, in one plank-length (the smallest measurement of time) a particle of quantum foam exists, and in the next plank-length, it ceases to exist. Then, it exists again.
If you think that everything around you is too real, and it cannot simply be your cosmic imagination, then consider this. Back in the 1980s, when video games first became popular, they were cartoonish, and it was easy to distinguish them from reality. Now, in 2021, video games are so real that they rival reality. The other day, I walked into the home of a friend who was playing Madden 21, and I thought he was watching an actual football game on television. According to Moore's law, computer technology doubles every two years. In twenty years, it may well be impossible to tell virtual reality from that of the natural world. If humankind, with all its physical limits, can create a reality nearly as complex as the one in which we live, then the imagination of your 'cosmic self,' which is unlimited, can easily create the illusion of your existence and more.
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one
- Albert Einstein
Now, you may be thinking: Hey, if I am imagining this world, then I should be able to shape reality in any way that I please. Please do not misconstrue what I am saying. If you jump off that cliff, then you will not fly. You will fall and die. Why? Because your 'cosmic self' is creating this illusion for a reason. It wants you to live in its imagination and believe it is real. Therefore, your 'cosmic self,' who has infinite imagination, has built this reality with rules and limits. In the movie the Matrix agent Smith tells Neo that the first matrix was designed to be a perfect world with no negative emotions or suffering. He goes on to explain that it was a disaster. The world of the first matrix was so perfect that people did not accept it as reality. Your 'cosmic self' is doing the same thing. It is creating a world where you cannot control everything for the sole purpose of having you believe that it is real. After all, if everything were perfect, then you would be perfect, and the perfect you is the one imagining all this in the first place. Therefore, you cannot break the rules - but you can bend them.
Creating Your Own Reality?
If your reality is being imagined by your 'cosmic self,' then there is nothing outside of you that is limiting you. In essence, you are imposing every limit encountered in life upon yourself. That being said, we cannot break the rules of the physical limits imposed on us no more than our avatars can break the limits of a video game.
As previously stated, you cannot break the physical limits set by your 'cosmic imagination,' but you can manipulate the mental limits that you set upon yourself. If all action stems from thought, and if the actions that take place in our reality stem from 'cosmic thought,' then our thoughts may have some control to manipulate reality. You cannot pick up that knife and do harm to another unless you have the thought to do it first. If we take this to the cosmic level, then all actions stem from thought as well. If everything is interconnected in the imagination of a single infinite being, then our thoughts should be able to manipulate the physical world to some extent.
In 1903, James Allen published the book As a Man Thinketh (available for free on this website). In his book, Allen postulates that everything we do is born of thought, and everything we experience is a result of our thoughts. Therefore, since we control our own thoughts, we can control the reality of our lives. In other words, our thoughts are the cause of every action we take. Hence, controlling cause also controls effect.
Act is the blossom of thought and joy and suffering are its fruits
- James Allen -
In 1910, having been inspired by Allen, Wallace D. Wattles published the books The Science of Getting Rich and The Science of Being Well (both books are available free to members of this website). Wattles theorized that the state of your mind has the influence to steer your reality. Hence, thinking the right way will influence one's lot in life with regard to both health and wealth. Later, in 2006, Rhonda Byrne published the book The Secret; which, in my opinion, is simply a rehash of the work from Allen and Wattles with a lot of new-age nonsense mixed into it.
Time is Imaginary
If reality is a product of our imagination, then it follows that we imagine time as well. Technically, time is our way of measuring entropy (the movement in one direction) of the Universe. Some time ago, I read a book by a physicist, who put forth the radical idea that our existence is that of a singularity. In other words, there is no time. Instead, our past, the past history of the Universe, our futures, and the future history of the Universe are all in the same place at the same time (for lack of a better word). What we call time is simply our way of perceiving the singularity in which we exist. This ties in well with the concept that reality is the imagination of your 'cosmic self.' It stands to reason that your 'cosmic self' exists in a void that is infinite. If everything around you is infinite, then you can move in any direction and always be in the same place. Hence, the cosmic 'you' exists in a singularity. Since your cosmic imagination is also infinite, it has no beginning or end. Therefore, the cosmic 'you' imagines everything at once and imagines time as a way of experiencing our imaginary world. True reality, therefore, is an infinite conscious singularity. Here lies the dichotomy of existence. If the cosmic 'you' exists in a singular infinite void where everything is nothing, then does the cosmic you exist in the first place? Can this be why quantum foam peeks in and out of existence? In other words, everything always existed, and everything never existed. While hard to wrap our heads around, logic would dictate that both existence and nonexistence are simply opposite sides in the fabric of true reality.
Think of it this way. In a singular infinite void, moving in any direction is the same as not moving at all. In a singular infinite void, everywhere is nowhere. Why should it not then stand to reason that in a singular infinite void existence is nonexistence.
Many people struggle to find the meaning of life. This is especially true as we get older. When my father was dying, he asked me, "Michael. Why are we born, work, have children, and then die? What is it all for?" My father was on the brink of death and wanted answers. Sadly, I had no answer to give him. I am convinced that he got his answer shortly after he passed. But, what about the rest of us? If we exist only in the imagination of our 'cosmic self,' which exists in a singularity, then there truly is no past and no future, there is only the present. The present is the singularity of reality. So, stop lamenting on the past, and stop waiting for things to happen in the future. The meaning of life is to take advantage of the only thing that exists, which is the present. If you are not taking advantage of the present, then shame on you because you are missing the one true reality in our world of illusion. The here and now is all that matters, so seize the day!
Cogito, Ergo Sum
In 1640, the French mathematician, Descartes, questioned reality. If reality were somehow an illusion, he thought, then all knowledge built on reality would be false.
So serious are the doubts into which I have been thrown as a result of yesterday's meditations that I can neither put them out of my mind nor see any way of resolving them. It feels as if I have fallen unexpectedly into a deep whirlpool which tumbles me around so that I can neither stand on the bottom nor swim up to the top
Descartes concluded that, "I think, therefore I am." In other words, it is impossible to doubt our existence, because the act of doubting is thinking, and someone must exist to think a thought in the first place.
I feel that Descartes did not get it quite right. We know that infinity lies beyond our physical Universe. Therefore, infinity is the true nature of reality. It then stands to reason that things that are finite are not real. Hundreds of billions of years from now, when the Universe evaporates into nothingness, there will be no evidence that we were ever here. This begs the question, were we ever here in the first place?
Look at it this way: When you die, everything you lived for, everything you created, and everything you ever were, will evaporate into nothing. As far as the 'dead you' is concerned, you never existed in the first place. Therefore, anything that is finite cannot be real. Hence, my reply to Descartes is, "I die. Therefore, I am not."
Ego mori. Ideo, non sum
Notwithstanding, Descartes was not too far off the mark. So far, science has found that the fabric of the Universe, which is also the fabric that makes up each and every one of us, peeks in and out of existence. Furthermore, if the natural world is infinite, a finite world cannot exist. Therefore, being finite, our entire existence is in the imagination of something that exists in the truly natural world (a singular infinite void). Hence, the thought for Descartes existence was simply the thought of his 'cosmic self.'
Science backs this up as well. The Copenhagen Interpretation of the double-slit experiment implies that our world consists entirely of probabilistic energy waves that do not take form until they are observed by a conscious being. Hence, what we call reality does not exist until human consciousness interfaces with the quantum level of our existence. If our consciousness is simply an extension our 'cosmic self,' because we are all one, then our 'cosmic self' uses us as a proxy to create this world. It also stands to reason that our 'cosmic self' imagines the waves of probability for us to create. This speaks to the concept of free will, but it also bolsters the idea that, through conscious thought, we have a level of control over the world in which we live.
Who Are We?
The concept of reality stemming from the imagination of our 'cosmic self' creates some interesting possibilities.
The person my 'cosmic self' imagines me to be is the only conscious being in this reality. Everyone reading this is simply a construct created by me. If that is the case, then you are not reading this at all, I am simply imagining that you are. Furthermore, if I am the only consciousness of this reality, then there was no history, there were no past generations, there will be no future generations; and I was never born.
This possibility births a crisis of morality. If I am the only being in existence, then why should I care about everyone else? If this world was constructed solely for my entertainment by my 'cosmic imagination,' and every other creature does not really exists or feel pain, then why should I not enrich myself at the expense of others?
2. A more likely scenario is that we are all one, and our 'cosmic self' imagines every one of us for the sake of having different experiences. This implies that we are meant to experience whatever happens in our lives - both the good and the bad.
With this possibility comes varying levels of consciousness and various levels of reality. If every creature is a part of our 'cosmic self,' then every creature has a different level of consciousness with all of us reaching full enlightened consciousness at the time of death. I see these levels as shown below.
As there are varying levels of consciousness, there too are varying levels of reality. There are schools of thought that believe that what we experience as reality is the least real of all realities. In this model, the true reality is our 'Comic Self,' with dreams falling in line as a close second, and everyday life being last. Many believe that dreams tap into our true cosmic reality and they feed our waking reality as food feeds our physical bodies.
Recently, scientists discovered that even flies dream. My opinion is that every living thing dreams in one form or another. If we take this a step further, even inanimate objects, which are also part of our 'cosmic self,' are conscious at some level. Could it be that quantum foam peeking in and out of existence is a way for the inanimate parts of our Universe to dream by tapping into the well of cosmic reality?
Here too, we face a crisis of morality. If every creature was meant to experience different things, then the people I hurt were meant to be hurt. Could it be that this is the great secret of the politicians and elite who treat humanity as cattle without giving it a second thought?
There will be more on morality later.
Heresy
If you feel that this blog contradicts your religious beliefs, then I must disagree. The concepts of which I speak align almost perfectly with the popular religions of the world. In the film The Matrix, the Architect tells Neo that, like those before him, he must return to the source. The illusion of our world is not very different. At the end of our lives, we wake from this illusion and return to the source - our 'cosmic self.' Then we are perfect. Then we understand that there is no such thing as time, or a finite Universe. Then we understand that existence is a singular infinite void, and we are all one. This is not too different from Heaven as described in Judaism and Christianity. Or perhaps we reimagine ourselves back into this world or in many of the other imaginary realms in which we may dabble. If that were the case, then what we discuss is like the Hindu and Buddhist vision of reincarnation.
When we return to the source. Are we still us?
As one with our 'cosmic self,' we will be perfect, while retaining much of who we became during the illusion of our lives. For instance, you are completely different today than you were as a child. Nonetheless, you are still the same person. Returning to the source is simply another stage of growing up, but this time we grow to be perfect.
What of Hell?
There is no Hell. Hell never existed, except in Greek and Norse mythologies. Both of these mythologies believed in an underworld of suffering and torment. However, the Jewish Tora and the Christian Bible have absolutely no mention of Hell. The modern vision of Hell was created by the medieval Catholic Church to keep parishioners in line. This punishment was likened to the Greek underworld of Hades, which is something to which pagans could relate. Later, in the 14th Century, Dante Alighieri wrote his epic poem The Devine Comedy, in which the first section (Inferno) described the Hell that we know today. Dante's vision of hell was multilevel realm where each torment became more brutal as you approached the center. There, Dante has a three headed Satan chained down. So, Satan too is a prisoner of Hell. In the mouth of each head, Satan eternally chews on what Dante considered the most egregious of sinners: Judas Iscariot, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Gaius Cassius Longinus (the latter two having been the assassins of Julius Caesar). Fire was thrown into the lore of Hell via three biblical versus:
Matthew 13:50 - So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Revelation 20:10 - And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:08 - But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Crime and Punishment
The versus shown above are quite disturbing, but they do not describe Hell as we know it. Christ describes the severing from God as a furnace of fire, and John describes it as a lake of fire. The operative word here is 'severing' and not fire. Back in the time of Christ, fire was considered purifying. This analogy likely stemmed from the purification of gold, the ore of which was plunged into a furnace to separate out the impurities.
The punishment comes not from the fire, but from having been separated from the whole. In essence, what we call Hell is simply being unable to return to the source. This comes back to our crisis of morality. Perhaps, in the same way that we put bad thoughts out of our head, our 'cosmic self' separates itself from thoughts that are irredeemable. You can liken this to severing a gangrenous finger. You are still you, but you took away a part of you that is harmful. Let us face it, even with only nine fingers, the body is where the action is at. Nobody, wants to be a severed finger : (
Play the Game. Do Not Let the Game Play You
You may ask that if we are the imagination of our 'cosmic self,' then why not just imagine a perfect world where everyone is rich and comfortable? Think of it this way, when you watch a movie, which is a world created by someone's imagination, do you want the story to be of a perfect world where everyone is comfortable? Or, do you want action, twists, turns, and tragedies? The simple fact of the matter is that with no challenge comes no satisfaction. Without challenge, what we call life is little more than a pointless exercise. Besides, our 'cosmic self' is already perfect, so there is no need to imagine it.
In 1953, James Olds and Peter Milner, of McGill University observed that it is the anticipation of the payoff that drives us to pursue a goal rather than the payoff itself. If we had everything we wanted, then the challenge would be gone, and we would be miserable. This speaks to the phenomenon of hedonic adaptation, whereby levels of happiness fall when the newness of a stimulation begins to fade. Happiness, therefore, is ignited only by the spark of a new challenge.
If you want proof, then you need look no further than Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, and the droves of the rich and famous who commit suicided each year. According to statistics published by the Federal Reserve, people who live with higher average incomes are 4.5% more likely to commit suicide that those living in lower income areas. So, start being thankful for the challenges in your life, because they are what make this illusion so interesting.
A Happy Life
I have pondered the thought that life is an illusion for many years. However, the act of writing this blog had me sort my thoughts into a path of logic. In so doing, it opened my eyes to enlightenment. I now find myself far happier than I was before putting fingers to keyboard.
Why I am Happier
I worry less
I worry less because, as an illusion, I no longer take life so seriously. After I die, I will never have existed in the first place. So, when I worry, I am literally worrying about nothing.
I no longer blame the world or others for my problems
When something goes wrong, I now know it is just me messing with myself to keep life interesting. For instance, when I lost the first half of this blog due to a faulty Internet connection, the less enlightened me would have been frustrated. However, the more enlightened me found it amusing. I actually laughed. I loved it! Believe it or not, I actually enjoyed two hours of New York City traffic last week. It was like playing a video game. I could not wait to see what my 'cosmic self' had in store for me next.
I have infinite love for everything
I now see the world as my playground. As an illusion, everything was put here for my benefit. I find myself both amazed and proud of what my 'comic self' has thought up. This is not just true for me; it is true for everyone. The next time you are feeling alone in a crowded room, remember that everyone was put there for you, and they were put there by you. They were put there for your entertainment, to challenge you, and to make life interesting.
Of course, I love the people who are important to me, but I now find myself loving the people who hurt me. I love the guy who cut me off in rush hour traffic last week, and I love the other guy who would not let me merge into his lane. I love them because my 'cosmic self' put them there for a reason. I even find myself loving the microbes that would make me sick because everything in life, good or bad, is here for me. How could I not love them when they are a creation of my 'cosmic self,' and they are my creation by proxy?
For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so
- Shakespeare
Best of all, I need only to adhere to the basic conventions of morality, and I get to be perfect when this illusion is over.
The World is Yours for the Taking
Thus far, we have established that true reality is a singular infinite void, and anything that is finite cannot exist. Furthermore, our world is born from the imagination of a higher being that resides within true reality. We can, therefore, conclude that everything in our world is made of thought. As such, thought holds the potential energy of our existence. Enlightenment is our ability to see through the illusion. Hence, based on our level of enlightenment, we should be able tap into the potential energy of thought and shape our world. If we liken this to a video game, then we know we cannot break the rules, but we can manipulate the actions of our characters towards a positive outcome, and those with enough enlightenment can even hack the rules of the game to some extent.
My experience as a young salesperson is an excellent example of how I used thought to manipulate cause and change effect. My early career in sales was a disaster. I was introverted, insecure, and I just could not relay the value of what I had to offer. Put simply, I was an absolute failure. After losing yet another sales job, I decided to try something new. I walked into my next sales interview with the thought that I was an actor. The part I played was that of the world's greatest salesperson. I exuded confidence. I asked questions. I responded with stories of how I overcame obstacles. I trial closed the interviewer. I hit the ball out of the ballpark, and I got the job with much fanfare. After I got the job, I continued the act and became the role I was playing.
If you are enlightened enough, then you can do far more than simply manipulate cause and effect - you can bend the rules! What is that enlightenment? First, you must truly bring yourself to understand that we are living in an illusion. Hopefully, this blog has helped in that respect. Second, you must believe beyond any doubt that you will achieve the goal you have set. You cannot just visualize and get excited about it. You have to believe it with every part of your heart and soul.
If you doubt what I describe above, then read on:
Randonautica
Randonautica is an app that provides coordinates to users, via quantum entropy, which are aligned with what the user visualizes at the time the coordinates are generated. In essence, the thoughts of the user are said to create the scene of where the coordinates will lead.
An overwhelming number of people claim to have success with this app. As for my experience, I visualized a party with red and blue balloons. The coordinates led me to a P.J. Whelihan's, across the street from which was a reality office with a bunch of red and blue balloons in front.
The Power of Belief
In his book, The Science of Being Well, Wallace D. Wattles described a scientific consensus in the early twentieth century that humans could live no longer than ten days without food. This wide-spread belief was proven time and again among stranded travelers and shipwrecked passengers. Then, the scientific consensus changed, and it was announced that humans can live as long as seventy days without food. As a result, people stopped starving to death in ten days.
Cynthia Stafford
Cynthia Stafford claims to have willed herself to win 112 million dollars in the lottery, "I would visualize the money as my own, I'd pick whatever quick, random numbers flashed into my head," she said. "I even chose that exact number: $112 million. I decided that I would win that amount," she continued.
When I did finally win, it didn't even feel random; it felt like I had made it happen
- Cynthia Stafford
Bobbi
I made Bobbi’s acquaintance as a passenger in her Uber vehicle during a recent trip to Atlanta. During the drive, Bobbi eagerly told us about an epiphany that took place on her life. Less than a year ago, Bobbi was down on her luck. She believed that, as young black woman with no formal education, she was doomed to a life of poverty. One day, while watching television, she heard a commenter state that Donald Trump did not pay taxes. This got her thinking: How could Trump get away without paying his taxes; and if he could do it, then why can’t I? Bobbi subsequently discovered that Trump paid less in taxes because of his business write offs. “Yes. That is called a business deduction, I replied. “I didn’t know that at the time. They don’t teach that to us in school,” she said. The discovery of business write-offs sparked Bobbi to realize that she was a victim of her own doubt, and the only one holding her back was herself
During the following months, Bobbie read every book about personal success that she could get her hands on. She read, Think and Grow Rich, How to Make Friends and Influence people, The Science of Getting Rich, Rich Dad Poor Dad, and The Secret. Shortly after, Bobbi found employment as a flight attendant. While in training, she became an Uber driver to make some extra money while driving to and from the airport. In essence, she turned a liability (an expense) into an asset (an income) - see the financial section of my book Strong & Happy. Additionally, Uber provided the opportunity to use her car as a tax deduction. These days, she drives at every opportunity and brags of making $8,000 a month from her Uber gig alone. I totally see this girl making her first million before she is thirty. Best of all, Bobbi gives as much as she gets. She recently adopted an orphaned child and gave her Uber tuition credits to a fare who was struggling to pay her way through college.
Bobbi lived most of her life believing she was a victim and that her lot in life was beyond her control. Then she willed that the world was hers for the taking, turned thought into action, and she took it.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Please comment below. I would love to know your thoughts on this subject. Better yet, I would love to hear stories of your success.
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