In my last post, I formed a connection between spirituality and objectivism linked together by morality that’s natural to humans. I want to focus this post on the aspect of reality that influences my writing.
“Reality exists as an objective absolute. That man’s mind reason is his means of perceiving it. And that man needs a rational morality.” Ayn Rand
This is where I splinter off with Rand. I hold a view similar to Robert Anton Wilson:
“Humans live through their myths and only endure their realities.”
I resonated with Robert Anton Wilson’s writing, but I was still tethered to my self-perceived reality…although I’d been aware of it at the time. After I’d detached from the collectively agreed upon notion of reality, I resonated to the truth behind his words. I don’t view reality as an absolute. I see it as highly subjective. What we all see and experience collectively is the reality we’ve all agreed upon. That doesn’t necessarily make it true. Therefore, I don’t view perceived reality as absolute, and I cannot make absolute judgements based on that which isn’t absolute.
“We did not fall because of a moral error; we fell because of an intellectual error: that of taking the phenomenal world as real.” Phillip K. Dick
All my stories are written from a non-absolutist stance. I’m about as non-absolutist as they come! While plots resolve, I find there’s always an unidentifiable beyond. I suppose I’m fascinated with storytelling because I see so many potentials, and writing fiction is my way of discovering them one possibility at a time. Life has certainly become more interesting…and weird, after I’d detached from ideology!
Mix Ayn Rand with Socrates and what do you get?
Ayn rand stated that the base of knowledge stems from three axioms:
1. We exist
2. We are conscious
3. Identity
I veer off at number three, which isn’t surprising as Ayn Rand was an atheist, and I’m not. Atheism is as absolute a term to me as believers of any religion.
“There is no complete theory of anything.” Robert Anton Wilson
Total knowledge is impossible. Socrates realized the only advantage he had over most people was that he was aware of his own ignorance. That awareness hit me after the following message had come to me while meditating:
“It’s not about being right or wrong. It’s all about the experience.”
I’d previously mentioned the above message in posts. However, this one simple phrase is what had detached from all forms of ideology. What I view as existence is going through life experiencing it through the senses. Labels and identities can limit our experiences when we attach to what the identity represents. This was demonstrated by Ayn Rand who became a victim of her own philosophy, after she’d become a cult-like figure. That was bound to happen because of her attachment to her own identity. Still, her philosophy is conducive to a free society where people are free to express themselves as individuals.
“Groups are grammatical fictions; only individuals exist, and each individual is different.” Robert Anton Wilson
Objectivism stands the test of time and should be taught in school, but society today shuns individualism in favor of the collective. We’re turning into the Borg, and I don’t say that to be funny. In order to grow, we must be able to think for ourselves and not be dictated to by bureaucracies and despots.
There is no absolute knowing in an observable reality. I can only go by experiences as they occur. And since experiences aren’t static, it doesn’t make sense to me to attach to an ideology. Circumstances change, events happen, and opinions shift, especially when our knowledge increases. This is all very positive to me as I’ve been more creative since detaching from all forms of ideology. There’s no belief system within me that I must defend or argue over, so I find I’m more open to differing opinions that I would have either tuned out or refused to hear. I could’ve never written Unison with any residual dogma, as I held nothing sacred while writing it. I see the Spheral Series as my personal evolution. My protagonists tend to evolve to a higher level than my own current level of evolution. I suppose that’s how I challenge myself to keep growing.
Tune in next week for my next installment on a subject that’s taking on a life of its own.
Love and light,
Eleni
