The Fly Metaphor
As a kid, I loved to watch a show called “Ripley’s Believe it or Not.” They would highlight all kinds of wild and crazy phenomena across the globe. Whether it was a man with 16 fingers, a gorilla that nursed warthogs, or a woman who could breathe underwater, they always ended each segment with the phrase “Believe it...or not.”
This show seemed to imply that there are always only 2 distinct options for any new information that enters your reality. Either you believe that it is real, or you believe it is false / made-up / not real. But, what about the realm of MAYBE?
In 2010, during my countless college nights watching YouTube documentaries instead of doing homework, I discovered a cool philosopher named Robert Anton Wilson. There is a great film on YouTube about him called “Maybe Logic.” The Logic of Maybe was at the core of many of his writings / speeches.
He said that most people’s Belief System is like an On/Off lightswitch. They either fully believe something, or fully disbelieve it. Wilson advocates to turn your Belief System into a Dimmer Light switch (aka a Truth-ometer), where you give new information a rating on a scale of 0 to 10. Zero meaning you don’t believe it at all, and ten meaning you wholeheartedly believe in it.
He warned never to believe anything with 100% certainty, because after all, you might just be a caterpillar in Japan dreaming that you are human. He also warned not to fully disbelieve anything, because, again - you might actually be a caterpillar in Japan dreaming all of this! The goal was to keep your Belief System flexible, and open to many possibilities. Depending on the situation, you can use your Internal Compass to discern what feels most true in that moment (giving it an 8 or 9 on the Truth-ometer).
I resonate with this perspective a lot, and have essentially adopted it, since I learned of it back in 2010. I made a video about it back then during my cross-country bike trip. If you want to check it out, search “Reality Tunnels and Belief Systems” on YouTube.
In relation to the Dimmer-switch / Truth-o-meter Belief System, I sometimes like to imagine that I am a fly. Flies seem to have 100 eyes (though technically they have 5). They can view reality through a wide variety of lenses. This gives one a very flexible view of reality. Thus, by utilizing the FLY METAPHOR, you can view life through many unique perspectives.
Back to Robert Anton Wilson, he was one of the first people to guide me into questioning the actual nature of reality. Most of us are brought up to think of it as “one solid thing” like a concrete building that everyone is viewing from their own angle. We are conditioned to see it objectively - meaning it exists on its own, separate from whoever is observing it.
During my explorations, I’ve come to see reality as much more complex and flexible than “one solid thing.” It seems to me that there are many realities, and they are arranged in various layers and dimensions. Depending on one’s LENS / state of consciousness, they can tune into a different type of reality.
What do you think life is like for a fish in the ocean? Are they aware of the water around them? Or are they so used to it, they don’t really notice it... in the same way that animals on land move through air?
Well, you’ll have to go ask a fish, haha :) What I want to explore is the possibility that we ALSO live in a FLUID REALITY. It looks like a bunch of distinct, solid objects, yet from a new perspective, it is more like a collection of malleable, porous objects which are are all interconnected in an ocean-like field of energy :)
Many scientific studies in Quantum Physics support this perspective. They explain that the Quantum Field not only UNDERLIES all of physical reality, but GIVES RISE to physical reality. Woah.
Quantum Physics shows us how everything is comprised of energy, which vibrates at different frequencies. Depending on the speed and unique energetic signature, it will take on a specific form in the physical world. A simple example of this is H-2-0. At a slow vibration, it is more solid as ICE. As its vibration speeds up, it liquefies into WATER. Heat / Speed it up to the next level and it transforms into STEAM.
So what does this all mean for us and our day to day life? Well, it means that to affect the world, you don’t necessarily have to exert as much force on physical reality as you may think. With this new lens, you can see that the vibration of your Mind-Body-Spirit is sending ripples into the watery reality we are swimming / moving through every moment. By focusing your intention, and attuning to your overall vibration, you can make a distinct impact on reality as a whole.
So to sum it all up, the key here is to view reality like fly, and be flexible with both your Lens and Belief System. Also, I encourage you to remember that reality is probably far more complex than we can fathom, yet we can indeed influence it with our thoughts, actions, and intentions. Yay :)
—— LEAVING THE SHORE OF “EITHER-OR” ——
We can now apply the concept of a “flexible reality / belief system” further to several other areas of life… The example of Ripley’s Believe It Or Not implies that you have to choose one or two options.This is the classical “Either-Or” situation, which many people get stuck in.
As we shift into the New-N-Ancient story, we are “Leaving the shore of Either-Or” and entering the “Land of Both-And.” This is a much more broad, flexible, multidimensional perspective. Rather than a “True or False” / “Yes or No” format, we are shifting into a “Multiple Answer” / “All of the Above” format.
We can apply the “Either-Or” / “All of the Above” perspective to many areas, such as Gender Identity, Cooking, Career, and even everyday Decision Making. Whereas in the past, we may have felt limited, and as though we always had to choose one or the other, now we can enter the LAND OF BOTH-AND! Hahah.
For example, rather than always conforming to a binary system of Gender Norms, you can feel more liberated to pick and choose as you feel inspired. You can be male-bodied, but dress in a more feminine expression. You can be female bodied, and identify as pansexual, and dress differently depending on your mood, because guess what? In the New-N-Ancient Earth, you are free to be yourself, however that may be :)
When it comes to cooking, you may have felt restricted to a recipe you found in a book or online. Rather than sticking to the script and either cooking a curry dish or a big avocado salad, why not make BOTH?! I know it may seem simple, but it is truly a revolutionary switch to apply in various areas of life. And for that matter, why not make the salad, and see how it tastes to put some curried cauliflower on top. Yum.
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