What if everything was the same?

What if everything was the same?

You know like everything! What if every snow flake was identical to every other snow flake? What if each moment was the same as the last? Could that be possible? What would our world look and feel like if each moment was identical to the last and every future moment?

Is it possible that each snow flake is made of the exact same thing? Could each drop of water in the universe be made of the exact same stuff? No matter where or when we are in the universe, water would be made of the exact same stuff. Here is another one, what if every cell in our body was identical. There would only be one type of cell. So, the cells in our eyes are the same as the cells in our blood. Yikes how could that be?

Each cell would have to contain the exact same information as every other cell. Perhaps this could be true. But that would mean that any particular cell could be anything and for some reason that cell took on a specific responsibility in our body.

Ok, let's look at water again. What about water?  Well, is every drop of water really made of the same stuff everywhere and every time? Then the stuff that water is made of has to be the same thing as well!

So we could think of every drop of water in the universe being made of the same type of atoms. Then that would mean that each atom of water is made of the same stuff. I guess this line of thought could just keep going on and on.

I guess when the great thinkers and scientist say – “Everything is made of the same thing!” They really meant everything!  Then why do things look so different?

Why should I meditate?

Why Should I Meditate?

The art of meditation may seem like a mystery.   If you have never tried to meditate or have not researched it, you may have some vague impressions about the art.  There are many different descriptions about meditation and lots of mis-information about this age old art.   Some people view meditation as a religion while others view it as a science.  There are numerous schools, churches, healing centres  and institutes dedicated to the art of meditation.    

Hey, most if not all of the major world contributors practiced the art of meditation.   Great people like Mahatma Gandhi, The Beatles, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King and the list could go on and on..

Perhaps one good question maybe “What did these great men and women of the world gain from meditation?”.  So, what is the big deal?  Perhaps these great people were born with special “gifts”.  Maybe these great people of the world were lucky and were given special powers and wisdom.  It could be argued that some people have great understanding and wisdom and others just do not.  Some just have “it”. 

Is it really true that some have “it” and others do not?  And what heck is this “it”?  And what does the art of meditation have to do with anything?  Let us just call this “it” ones  Personal Power.  With that, let’s take a deeper look at meditation.

Well, I can see three major types of meditation;  guided, focused and empty.  The guided meditation cover styles like group prayer and meditation for a specific goal or outcome.  Focused meditations styles include chanting, mantras or watching one’s breath.  Finally, the empty meditation is when we detach and specifically avoid “thinking”.

OK, so what does all that mean?  It means that  we can train our mind.  We can enhance the way we think.   From the time we are conceived, we begin to develop our ability to think.  At some point, we become an adult with some level of mental ability.   We end up with our unique level of understanding and ability to comprehend the world.  

Brain research has proven that our ability to learn is vast.  We have the ability to grow new neural pathways all of our lives.  So what is the connection between neural pathways, meditation and personal power? 

The neural pathways in our brains is our programming.   This programming determines everything in our lives.  Perhaps our neural pathways  might have something to do with one's level of personal power?  Here is a basic definition of meditation: “An exercise to enhance on mind.”

And most important, with the practice of meditation, we can continue to change and grow more neural pathways for the rest of our lives, thus continuing to enhance our Personal Power.

What do you think?

Steve Oliver
May 2010