I recently re-read an amazing book called Prometheus Rising, which is, among other things, about the limits of scientific knowledge. The book, which is about consciousness and how we create reality with our beliefs, includes some exercises which are relevant to this convo:
Sad as it is to say, you never understand anything by merely reading a book about it. That's why every science course includes laboratory experiments, and why every consciousness liberation movement demands practice of yogas, meditations, confrontation techniques, etc. in which the ideas are tested in the laboratory of your own nervous system.
The reader will absolutely not understand this book unless he or she does the exercises given at the end of each chapter .
To explore the Thinker and the Prover, try the following:
1. Visualize a quarter vividly, and imagine vividly that you are going to find the quarter on the street. Then, look for the quarter every time you take a walk, meanwhile continuing to visualize it.
See how long it takes you to find the quarter.
2. Explain the above experiment by the hypothesis of "selective attention"—that is, believe there are lots of lost quarters everywhere and you were bound to find one by continually looking.
Go looking for a second quarter.
3. Explain the experiment by the alternative "mystical" hypothesis that "mind controls everything." Believe that you made the quarter manifest in this universe. Go looking for a second quarter.
If the reader is a scientist, be not alarmed. This refers not to you but only to those benighted fools in the opposite camp who refuse to recognize that your theory is the only reasonable one. Of course.
4. Compare the time it takes to find the second quarter using the first hypothesis (attention) with the time it takes using the second hypothesis (mind-over-matter).
5. With your own ingenuity, invent similar experiments and each time compare the two theories—"selective attention" (coincidence) vs. "mind controls everything" (psychokinesis).
6. Avoid coming to any strong conclusions prematurely. At the end of a month, re-read this chapter, think it over again, and still postpone coming to any dogmatic conclusion. Believe it possible that you do not know everything yet, and that you might have something still to learn.
7. Convince yourself1 (if you are not already convinced) that you are ugly, unattractive and dull. Go to a party in that frame of mind. Observe how people treat you.
8. Convince yourself (if you are not already convinced) that you are handsome, irresistible and witty. Go to a party in that frame of mind. Observe how people treat you.
9. This is the hardest of all exercises and comes in two parts.
First, observe closely and dispassionately two dear friends and two relative strangers. Try to figure out what their Thinkers think, and how their Provers methodically set about proving it.
Second, apply the same exercise to yourself.
If you think you have learned the lessons of these exercises in less than six months, you haven't really been working at them.
With real work, in six months you should be just beginning to realize how little you know about everything.
10. Believe it possible that you can float off the ground and fly by merely willing it. See what happens.
If this exercise proves as disappointing to you as it has to me, try number 11 below, which is never disappointing.
11. Believe that you can exceed all your previous ambitions and hopes in all areas of your life.
"Believe" or "convince yourself mean to do what an actor does: pretend until the pretense begins to feel real. Or, as Jazz musicians say: "Fake it until you make it."
“Oh look! A four-leaf clover!” and knelt down to pluck it. I was amazed. How had she done that? And she wasn’t even looking for it.
I was just going to say. I found the "four leaf clover" of my life 19 years ago, and I wasn't even looking for her. I had been single for six months at that time. A year later I found one more in the form of a sail boat I still have. The year after that I found another in the form of my dream job.
As for the latter I had to fake it for a long time until I finally did make it. At the age of 49 I started working as an ETO (electro technical officer) on a ship. My education was outdated, but I convinced myself that I had the abilities needed. Fifteen months ago I retired as an ass-kicking ETO that could solve any problem that came along.
Nice! Did you do anything to "program your mind to expect success" or anything like that?
I'm a big believer in the power of suggestion and used to make good use of affirmations... maybe I should start training my mind to expect that Nevermore will start bringing in some money at some point because I'm running low on funds...
Congratulations on finding your "four leaf clover"... In my experience, you only find what you're looking for romantically when you're not looking, or at least when you're not looking too hard...
I have had to think about this a little. The way I see it the ability to find four leaf clovers definitely has something to do with your mindset. Like seeing a glass of water as half full as opposed to half empty.
Also, if you have found one of them, and have the ability to really appreciate that, you will find more because of the satisfaction it gives you. You want to have that feeling again and again.
That said, the fact that you and I are the only ones who have left comments below this post speaks volumes of people's ability to find four leaf clovers. I am sure many of your subscriberss have found some. Maybe they do not recognize them as such(?) Just a thought.
Then again, maybe it's a sign of the chaotic times we are living in.
Oh, of course I have to mention three more four leaf clovers I found. The first in 2019: My final employer. The best shipping company on the Norwegian continental shelf. They are well known for treating their employees like family.
....., and the second in 2022: After having been sent to five different ships in six months (very stressful and excruciating as far as wear and tear) they send me to thee most expensive vessel of its kind.
Finally, I found the third one in February of last year: I found out I could afford to retire. Immediately! I wrote my resignation, went to work for a final four weeks and went ashore for good on 9 March of last year.
You can invite me to write jokes for your publication. jim@eldarcapital.com
Okay! You're invited!
I recently re-read an amazing book called Prometheus Rising, which is, among other things, about the limits of scientific knowledge. The book, which is about consciousness and how we create reality with our beliefs, includes some exercises which are relevant to this convo:
Sad as it is to say, you never understand anything by merely reading a book about it. That's why every science course includes laboratory experiments, and why every consciousness liberation movement demands practice of yogas, meditations, confrontation techniques, etc. in which the ideas are tested in the laboratory of your own nervous system.
The reader will absolutely not understand this book unless he or she does the exercises given at the end of each chapter .
To explore the Thinker and the Prover, try the following:
1. Visualize a quarter vividly, and imagine vividly that you are going to find the quarter on the street. Then, look for the quarter every time you take a walk, meanwhile continuing to visualize it.
See how long it takes you to find the quarter.
2. Explain the above experiment by the hypothesis of "selective attention"—that is, believe there are lots of lost quarters everywhere and you were bound to find one by continually looking.
Go looking for a second quarter.
3. Explain the experiment by the alternative "mystical" hypothesis that "mind controls everything." Believe that you made the quarter manifest in this universe. Go looking for a second quarter.
If the reader is a scientist, be not alarmed. This refers not to you but only to those benighted fools in the opposite camp who refuse to recognize that your theory is the only reasonable one. Of course.
4. Compare the time it takes to find the second quarter using the first hypothesis (attention) with the time it takes using the second hypothesis (mind-over-matter).
5. With your own ingenuity, invent similar experiments and each time compare the two theories—"selective attention" (coincidence) vs. "mind controls everything" (psychokinesis).
6. Avoid coming to any strong conclusions prematurely. At the end of a month, re-read this chapter, think it over again, and still postpone coming to any dogmatic conclusion. Believe it possible that you do not know everything yet, and that you might have something still to learn.
7. Convince yourself1 (if you are not already convinced) that you are ugly, unattractive and dull. Go to a party in that frame of mind. Observe how people treat you.
8. Convince yourself (if you are not already convinced) that you are handsome, irresistible and witty. Go to a party in that frame of mind. Observe how people treat you.
9. This is the hardest of all exercises and comes in two parts.
First, observe closely and dispassionately two dear friends and two relative strangers. Try to figure out what their Thinkers think, and how their Provers methodically set about proving it.
Second, apply the same exercise to yourself.
If you think you have learned the lessons of these exercises in less than six months, you haven't really been working at them.
With real work, in six months you should be just beginning to realize how little you know about everything.
10. Believe it possible that you can float off the ground and fly by merely willing it. See what happens.
If this exercise proves as disappointing to you as it has to me, try number 11 below, which is never disappointing.
11. Believe that you can exceed all your previous ambitions and hopes in all areas of your life.
"Believe" or "convince yourself mean to do what an actor does: pretend until the pretense begins to feel real. Or, as Jazz musicians say: "Fake it until you make it."
“Oh look! A four-leaf clover!” and knelt down to pluck it. I was amazed. How had she done that? And she wasn’t even looking for it.
I was just going to say. I found the "four leaf clover" of my life 19 years ago, and I wasn't even looking for her. I had been single for six months at that time. A year later I found one more in the form of a sail boat I still have. The year after that I found another in the form of my dream job.
As for the latter I had to fake it for a long time until I finally did make it. At the age of 49 I started working as an ETO (electro technical officer) on a ship. My education was outdated, but I convinced myself that I had the abilities needed. Fifteen months ago I retired as an ass-kicking ETO that could solve any problem that came along.
Needless to say, I'm head strong.
Nice! Did you do anything to "program your mind to expect success" or anything like that?
I'm a big believer in the power of suggestion and used to make good use of affirmations... maybe I should start training my mind to expect that Nevermore will start bringing in some money at some point because I'm running low on funds...
Congratulations on finding your "four leaf clover"... In my experience, you only find what you're looking for romantically when you're not looking, or at least when you're not looking too hard...
I have had to think about this a little. The way I see it the ability to find four leaf clovers definitely has something to do with your mindset. Like seeing a glass of water as half full as opposed to half empty.
Also, if you have found one of them, and have the ability to really appreciate that, you will find more because of the satisfaction it gives you. You want to have that feeling again and again.
That said, the fact that you and I are the only ones who have left comments below this post speaks volumes of people's ability to find four leaf clovers. I am sure many of your subscriberss have found some. Maybe they do not recognize them as such(?) Just a thought.
Then again, maybe it's a sign of the chaotic times we are living in.
Are you a fan of Robert Anton Wilson by any chance? Do you know what the 23 enigma is? Maybe the four-leaf clover enigma works in a similar way...
Never heard of him or 23 enigma, but I went and found out just now.
Yeah, that could be. LBJ's first day in office was on 23 November.
Numbers are interesting, and the people who are preoccupied with them are even more interesting.
Take 911 for example: https://greaterisrahell.substack.com/p/nine-one-one-whats-your-emergency
I kept telling myself and the engineer or the one who needed the whatever repaired that an electrical circuit is not smarter than I am. :-)
Refusing to give up is one of my best properties.
Oh, of course I have to mention three more four leaf clovers I found. The first in 2019: My final employer. The best shipping company on the Norwegian continental shelf. They are well known for treating their employees like family.
....., and the second in 2022: After having been sent to five different ships in six months (very stressful and excruciating as far as wear and tear) they send me to thee most expensive vessel of its kind.
Finally, I found the third one in February of last year: I found out I could afford to retire. Immediately! I wrote my resignation, went to work for a final four weeks and went ashore for good on 9 March of last year.