A visit to the edge of reality with René Descartes

René Descartes:"Cogito ergo sum" -   I think, therefore I am...

"The Experience"

About a year and half ago, I engaged an experiment with a mind altering substance--a very legal item used in everyday baking that can be found at any grocery store, NOTE: this item can be lethal in too high a dose and there is a very fine line  between just right for the experience and to much, so no trying this at home ;) --the effect from this item is thought to be able to hyper-stimulate the "God Center" of the Brain. This area of the brain is  thought to give people a sense of a God presence and gives the same feeling as to think you understand the nature of God and the Universe. I can tell first hand that the experience I had was _Exactly_ like that. It was like God called you over to look at the blueprint of the Universe, even more,  you have Gods level of understanding this blueprint. For an instance of time, all have you to do  is think about a question and you instantly have _the_  answer, at no point during this "cause and effect" is there ever even a flicker of doubt if this answer is indeed truth--it is an odd and peaceful experience.

The "gist" of my "experience":

"Nuances of Descartes"

Descartes' famous declaration outside of it's original form loses it subtle brilliance.
What most recall of it is: "I think, therefore I am", but originally it was: "Cogito ergo sum" a very balanced and even "cause and effect" statement, "Think - Exist". Even though there has been tremendous study of this idea, I think some of the subtly of the original idea has been lost. Not only does this statement anchor what is real and not, or that reality can be defined through the self, but the statement itself provides a loopback to ensure reality will always exist as long as thought does: think, exist. Mere knowledge of the statement and it's tenant ensures a "pulse" of reality each time the statement is considered--brilliant. This understanding flashed into my mind, as I thought about one my longest standing questions: "what is the nature of reality" a question brought on by both the aforementioned Descartes declaration and the somewhat less elegant Einstein quote:

"Reality is merely an illusion albeit a persistent one"

I also realized during my altered state that despite the subtle benevolence of Descartes' statement he had also planted the seeds of the potential destruction of reality, to "un-think" it--had this really been his intending in the first place? Why he had "bothered" to state the "obvious", in very refined cause and effect way, such though that people would study and assume a more benevolent meaning: had he given us a "reality bomb"


"Destructing reality"

To decode this "Reality Bomb" hidden in Descartes statement I would have to invert: "Cogito ergo sum"

As I attempted to invert Descartes:

•    I have no thought, therefore I am not sure if I am ( the second part of the statement requires thought, awareness throughout  and therefore reality never even blinks)

•    Think not, therefore Am Not ( "therefore" shows there is still resolve, reality Is still known to be intact)

•    Think not, be not (better but not as refined)

•    Be not... (ah this one sent chills, thinking is implied in the first part)

It was balanced, it ended in non-existence,   It was even, thus "evil"--Gods "numbers" seem to be odd: 7, trinity, etc--it was even more of a declaration, implied "you" yet could be an order to ones "self" thus letting go of assurance of "self".


"Be Not"  This is _the_ final result of the experiment/experience

Regardless if i believed this result or not, it makes for some interested thought and possibly a book/short story idea--having a character gather an unprecedented number of twitter follows--everyone in the world, would be required to work--and have them all read that reality bomb: read, thus think "be not" all at once... Just a thought ;)

Wintermute