Conversations For Transformation: Essays Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

Conversations For Transformation

Essays By Laurence Platt

Inspired By The Ideas Of Werner Erhard

And More




Source

Napa City-County Library, Napa, California, USA

October 26, 2004



This essay, Source, is the companion piece to
  1. State Of Play
  2. Werner As Source
in that order.

It is also the first in an open group on Source:


The mystery of the universe is that it is mysterious.

"Mysterious" doesn't show up anywhere out there like an absolute is. Out there, there is no distinction "mysterious". "Mysterious" is a distinction wholly created by we human beings. The emperor has no clothes. We are the mystery makers. We declared the universe to be mysterious to keep the game interesting. Then, to keep the interesting game going, we had to forget that it was we who declared the universe to be mysterious to keep the game interesting. We have forgotten so well that it was we who declared the universe to be mysterious to keep the game interesting that the mystery we created now has a life of its own which is seen by us, its creators, as having nothing to do with us, as wholly separate and distinct from us, even as enigmatic.

We, source, are surrounded by our own creation. We are immersed in it. We swim in it. While we tantamount to make believe that we are in mystery about it, we can remember any time we choose to that we created it. We can remember any time we choose to that we created the mystery to keep the game interesting. We can remember any time we choose to that we had to forget it was we who declared the universe to be mysterious to keep the interesting game going. We are source in the matter of our own experience. That's Enlightenment 101. We are source in the matter of our own lives. That's a bigger piece to bite off. We are source in the matter of Life itself. That stand is not for the faint hearted.

Bird is to sky as fish is to water as human is to source. Birds' milieu is sky. Sky is so integrated into birds' lives that a bird doesn't have the distinction "sky". A bird doesn't notice sky. Fishes' milieu is water. Water is so integrated into fishes' lives that a fish doesn't have the distinction "water". A fish doesn't notice water. So it is with we humans and source. Our milieu is source. Source is so integrated into our lives that we don't have the distinction "source". We don't notice source.

Could it be that we humans not noticing source is not an accident nor a failure of intelligence but rather simply an act of intention? Could it be that every aspiration we have made significant would be rendered completely meaningless if we were to distinguish source in our lives? Could it be that we live our entire lives in vain because we live in violation of the distinction "source"? Could it be that after all our win at all costs rackets fail to produce satisfaction, after our protect ourselves no matter what the cost bigotry doesn't produce security, after all our holier than thou righteousness makes our world a more dangerous place in which to live not a safer place in which to live, could it be that the reason why the jury is still out on the experiment called "humankind" is because we live our lives backwards? Could it be that we futilely invest everything we own trying to go toward source and trying to attain source where we aren't rather than coming from source where we are?

Coming from source where we are rather than trying to go toward source and trying to attain source where we aren't is actually simple. What it requires is remembering we created the mystery to keep the game interesting. What it requires is remembering that we had to forget it was we who declared the universe to be mysterious to keep the interesting game going. And it's not that once we remember we created the mystery that the game ends. The beauty of it is yes that  game ends but then since we are source, we get to make up a new game to play ... over and over and over again ...

The tree leaves, the ocean waves, the universe peoples (as Alan Watts may have said). Source sources sources. Those are verbs, by the way.

Some say God's greatest work was creating the machine. Werner says it was disappearing into it aftwerwards.



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