Filters

[henness...@hotmail.com]

Although we have established that there is only one life form in fact,
we must also deal with the fact that we are clearly very separate
entities. One is not another in every sense, we are our own people,
with our own ideas, our own beliefs, and our own unique identities. But
how could this be the case? Simply, it is a matter of filters.

The sensory arrays we use to interpret information from the world
around us only receive a fraction of the available information. This
can be seen clearly demonstrated if we turn a curious eye at nature.
Take for instance sight and sound.

Humans interpret wavelengths to form visual images and to form audio
patterns. These wavelengths constitute a very narrow part of the
spectrum, and constitute everything we can see and hear. In fact we
cannot even see all of the wavelengths that constitute light and we
cannot hear all of the wavelengths that constitute sound. We are not
alone in this.

A man may use a dog whistle to summon his animal, and dogs can clearly
respond to the high frequencies emitted by such devices. Very few
humans can hear such whistles. This is evened out by the fact that dogs
cannot see the three dimensional images created by a trick of light
inside a television set or computer monitor. Those that seem to do so
merely react to the patterns of light in a different way. In fact there
is only one animal in the world that we know can, in fact, see every
single light frequency in the spectrum, from ultraviolet right through
to infrared; the goldfish.

The Pipistrelle bat has very poor vision. They do however have a very
acute sense of hearing. They send out sound waves and interpret the
signals as they return to their ears, creating a visual image of the
world around them. This process is called sonar, and is used by many
types of animals, as well as submarine and surface vessels to create
images from sound waves. Dolphins, amongst others, also use sonar to
see. Interestingly enough, if you descend to a moderate depth of around
20 meters underwater the colour red ceases to be.

And so we can see, clearly, that what you see and hear depends entirely
on the filters placed around your senses. And this is no bad thing, for
without them we would surely go insane. Infinity is quite large enough
to utterly ravage any mind that could see it in its entirety. Our
filters, though a prison, are more a padded cell placed there for our
own protection. And so we may be aware the world around us is much,
much more than meets the eye, but we are, thankfully, still locked
within our sensory cells.

But this does not mean we cannot take a glimpse outside. Many cultures
have, in varying degrees of safety. Buddhists recommend meditation, as
does the Infinitist.

Mesoamerican tribal cultures have frequently used hallucinogens for
such purposes, for example the use of peyote to ‘journey to the sprit
world’. These tribes often spoke of ‘spirit guides’ who would
guide them through their journeys, often to return with clear minds and
focused objectives gained through their ‘vision quests’.

The Celts of Ancient Britain also practiced shamanism, through the
assistance of highly trained Druid priests and priestesses. By
ingesting the highly poisonous Fly Agaric fungus the priest would take
the illness upon himself and then his urine would be distributed
amongst his followers. They could then ingest his urine, feeling the
full effects of the indigestible hallucinogens without any of the
digestible toxins that the priest’s body had already disposed of.

For the Infinitist their intention was simply the seeking of truth. If
every possible ‘hallucination’ is in fact a glimpse of a different
reality, then by definition hallucination is not the creation of
fictional flights of fancy but simply a glimpse of the larger reality
around us.

There are many more examples of well established religious practices
relying on intoxicants to strip away or to alter an individual’s
sensory filters in search of insight. And frequently the subjects would
find the results extremely meaningful, even fateful.

There are of course grave risks associated with such practices, and in
no way does the Infinitist recommend such dangerous means. There are
many safer, simpler ways to enhance the mind than abusing drugs.

In fact Infinitism teaches us to clear our minds, and to refrain from
clouding them with chemicals. After all is said and done, you should
not pollute the mind if it is the medium through which we may commune
with God. In truth, by simply clearing the mind, and disciplining
oneself to help keep it open, one may see fateful events all around us.

A word of warning: Not everything we notice is necessarily a fateful
event, yet many things could easily be construed to be so. The trick is
to recognize that which has been placed there for you to see. After
all, what you see depends entirely on who you are. For something to
have meaning you must have experiences to base it on. A computer games
player may laugh to see the car in front has the license plate L337
HAX. And it may mean nothing at all to an investment banker.

In a similar sense we consciously block certain information. A person
may see something in front of him, in so much as light reflects from an
object onto the subject’s retina, but the person may not actually see
what is in front of them due to mental conditioning. For example a
sleight of hand artist may rely on a person’s predisposition to watch
a moving object or use simple misdirection to distract you while they,
for example, remove a wristwatch from a hand held right in front of
your face.

Physically, your eyes would receive the information that your
wristwatch was being removed from your person. But mentally, something
would prevent you from processing this information. Similarly a person
may sleep besides a blaring radio by selectively blocking the sensory
input. The task for the Infinitist is to open the mind from such
conditioning without fundamentally changing the person to which the
perception belongs. In essence, the Infinitist must strive to open
their eyes.

SteLancashire79, u150766

Games that I like to play (and have recently become obsessed with )

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<a href=http://gc.gamestotal.com/>Strategy Games</a><br><a
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