Cave of Shadows

Imagine a group of people sitting in a cave.  They are unable to turn around and can only see the blank cave wall in front of them.  Way behind them is a fire.  Life goes on between the fire and the people in the cave.  They experience that life only as shadows on the cave wall - the shadows cast by the light of the fire being obstructed by the people and objects between that fire and the cave people.

Really imagine this.  What would those cave people see?  How closely would it reflect reality?

Some of what they see could be close to mimicking reality.  Most will not.  But some will be close.  Perhaps close enough for them to work out what might happen next.  But certainly not close enough for them to be able to say they understand reality.  Of course, they will say this, as they do not realize that what they are seeing is only shadows, a very poor reflection of reality.  They will only begin to see the truth if someone releases them and turns them around so they can see what is passing between themselves and the fire rather than just the shadows of what is passing.

You may be familiar with this little story.  It is called the "Allegory of the Cave", and was written over 2,400 years ago by the Classical Greek philosopher, Plato, in his book "The Republic".  Plato believed that we are just like those prisoners in the cave.  What we see around us in "real" life is just shadows.  We never see the true forms that give rise to those shadows.

St Paul stated something very similar in his first letter to the Corinthians, no doubt recognizing that as Greeks they would be very familiar with the concept.  Paul's interpretation of Plato's story, depending on which translation you use was "For now we see as through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known."  When Paul spoke of a "glass", he was referring to a primitive mirror.  It was not possible to see anything truly in such a primitive mirror, but only to see it "darkly" or very much obscured.  His analogy was therefore very similar to Plato's story of the people in the cave who could only see shadows.

Shakespeare, too, referred obliquely to this concept when he said, in Hamlet, that "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Has anyone ever said to you "I only believe in what I can see"?  Or have you even said this yourself?  What you can see is the shadow on the blank wall of your cave.  What you can see is the dark reflection in a primitive mirror.  It is not reality at all, just a very imperfect reflection of reality.  So do not be so quick to say "I only believe in what I can see".  There is a big, unknown, but actually a very welcoming universe out there.  One which we cannot yet see.  One which wants to help us achieve great things in life if only we will allow it to do so.

I have my own thoughts about the reality out there, and where it comes from, but I don't allow my thoughts to become rigid absolutes, as I understand I can still only see shadows, only see through a glass darkly, but one day will really see the truth - which may be very different from what I had believed to be the case.  What is important is that I do know what others may view as impossible need not be impossible at all.  I know that the Universe, or God, or the inner Spirit, or whatever you want to call it or him or her wants me to live a good and happy life and to do all I can to help those around me live a good and happy life.  I will do all I can to achieve this and will always be thankful for this wonderful life I and others can live.  Will you do the same?

More Things in Heaven and Earth

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."  So said Hamlet to Horatio in Shakespeare's play.  This is so true, even today!

Many people I meet refuse to believe in anything they cannot see, hear, taste, smell or touch.  They trust their five senses but nothing else.  And they believe this is the true scientific approach.  They are completely wrong!

Maybe a century ago a scientist would have refused to believe in something he or she could not test with one of the five senses, but that is certainly not true today.

For example, I am currently studying cosmology.  I am doing this study for no other reason than I am constantly looking to improve myself, and that includes continuing education in many different fields.  Something I encourage you to do too.  When I began my study I had no idea it would impact at all on my thinking about personal development or the articles I write in this blog - but it has just done so now.

I have just learned about "Dark Matter" and "Dark Energy".  Did you know that Dark Matter and Dark Energy cannot be seen, heard, tasted, smelled, or touched?  And did you know that between them they constitute 96% of the universe?  Things that we can detect in one way or another with our senses only constitute 4% of the universe.  This is the mainstream scientific view, not a half-baked idea of a few radical dreamers.  There are some scientists who dispute the existence of Dark Matter or Dark Energy, but they are very much in the minority - and the only way they can dispute this is by arguing that the laws of physics, including particularly the law of gravity, do not apply throughout the universe.  Most scientists prefer to accept the idea of matter and energy we cannot detect with any of our "normal" senses.

For more information on Dark Matter and Dark Energy, check out this web page, which is not some "New Age" site, but a website of a highly respected international astronomy project, endorsed by scientists in the University of British Columbia, Edinburgh University, Leiden University and Oxford University:

"Dark Matter"

If you can accept that there are things out there which cannot be detected, this opens up wonderful possibilities.  Possibilities Shakespeare suggested in 1599.

Reflect on this for a moment.

Take the Law of Attraction for example.  Is there something out there ready and willing to give us what we desire?  I believe there is, and have always believed so before I heard that it is only possible to detect 4% of what is actually out there.

Take Extra Sensory Perception as another example.  If 96% of the universe is made of stuff we cannot detect with any of our five senses, then if we can detect it at all it must be with a sixth sense, or a perception that goes beyond the five senses - Extra Sensory Perception (ESP).

Take ghosts, elementals, spirits - call them what you will.  Or Astral bodies.  4% of the world we live in is composed of what we call "matter".  Although this matter is comprised mainly of nothing (the gaps between the particles in our atoms are relatively enormous), we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch this matter.  We cannot walk through walls, even though both they and we are mainly comprised of nothing but space, as the small particles that make up "matter" strongly repel each other and give us the illusion of solidity.  But that is not true of the dark side, the other 96%.  It is here, all around us, but it is invisible and flows through us as though we were a liquid or gas rather than a "solid" object.  Who is to say there are not life forms composed of Dark Matter and Dark Energy?  Who is to say we do not have a Dark Matter / Dark Energy "body" ourselves which passes through walls and doors and travels through an Astral Plane at the speed of light as we sleep?

The next time you are tempted to scorn the idea of the existence of anything incorporeal, anything mystical, anything beyond our current understanding, think again.  Remember what Shakespeare had Hamlet say and realize there is more truth in this than most of us probably ever believed.