Interpretation of the Philosophical Wisdom of Wise Men
by Nicole Terry
On The Control of Elaborate Lies
“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed–if all records told the same tale–then the lie passed into history and became truth. ‘Who controls the past’ ran the Party slogan, ‘controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.’” (From the book 1984 written by George Orwell)
The above quote sends chills down my spine each time I read the words in George Orwell’s book 1984. Every so many months, or once a year, I reread 1984, because in the interim, I have matured somehow; my consciousness has explored new territory; I have sought and found new truths and relinquished the old. So, each time I read 1984, I perceive on a more profound level some greater meaning I had not seen before. But whenever I read again the above words, the chill within me grows colder. I think those words; though, arranged into a mere two sentences, embody the anti-consciousness, anti-conscience, anti-freedom, anti-truth mentality and unawareness that exist in astounding numbers among today’s population. The quote becomes particularly disturbing when multiplied by what Beryl Bender Birch writes in her book Power Yoga; that so much of human life is spent in unawareness because the mind is usually focused in two places: past and future. The very places that, according to Orwell, can be controlled through lies because people are more than willing to accept lies, reject truth, and ridicule or punish anyone who would seek to know and understand the meaning of his awareness. Due to this want of lies, and this preoccupation with past and future, presently life and all the potential beauty it contains fades away. What is most disturbing is that those who life is spent in only two places, are unaware that their life, purpose, and meaning are slipping away, never to be repaired or returned or remedied.
On The Revelation of Illusion
“[A] person should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything, or . . . should not make more assumptions than the minimum needed.” (Occam’s Razor, so-called after William of Occam)
I think the above describes the present exactly. Occam attempts to bestow upon those who read his statement–originally written in Latin–that what is known, or what can be seen, or what can be seized by the consciousness (Occam was a famous logician), or perceived by the senses, is at most what it seems to be. Man should not attempt to color that which he sees with false or preconceived notions or bias judgments and prejudices (i.e., assumptions) for these mental constructs are beyond what is necessary. But what is necessary? I think what is necessary are the powers of faculties of the mind, such as intuition, discrimination, discernment, conscience and consciousness, awareness, curiosity, and the spirit of the soul which wills man. If one is not making “more assumptions than the minimum needed” then one is not allowing past or future events to invade and tarnish what he sees now, presently. One uses the power of the mind to explain his present state and the state of others presently in motion. He only brings with him those lessons and truths he has learned in the past (“the minimum needed”). And only by this process can he see truth, and name lie and call it by its true identity: illusion.
On The Assumption of Truth
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Holy Bible, John 8:32)
I neither affirm nor disaffirm Christianity or any other type of religion; nor can I say whether there is or is not a holy being called God who begat a son named Jesus. I know only that there exists something beyond me that I have not, yet, experienced life long enough to comprehend. But, I do know, at this moment along the journey called Life, that the above quote captivates my mind.
The original definition of the word truth was “way” and, more specifically, the word truth in the above quote when translated back into the original Greek and Hebrew languages, means “faith.” I think the truth can only be seen when one joins the mind with the present and returns to that place once called Innocence and Purity; that boundless space called Infinity. I think it is truth that leads us there. I think the purpose of the mind is to all ways seek truth that it may evolve and ripen into what harmony awaits (the concept “Superconsciousness”). Truth awakens the mind, and incorporates the logical and emotional portions of the brain. In truth, the mind becomes free from the chains of stagnation and illusion, and from the stupor of lies and unnecessary assumptions caused by the enclosure of past and future. The mind is open, attuned to the artful nature that forever surrounds us, which continuously moves so silently we cannot notice. But if the mind is open to truth, it knows and feels that free motion, so becomes One.
© Copyright 2008 Nicole Terry ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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