Where do thoughts go?

The concept of duality within the self has been rejected by many great minds who study cognition. It is argued that since alteration of the physical structure of the brain results in alteration of the thoughts of an individual, it is impossible for thoughts to be distinct from the brain that created them.

A very compelling argument to be sure, if one does not have a brain then they cannot have thoughts... But I wonder about it...

A thought does not have a physical form, in fact we cannot isolate an area of the brain where a specific thought forms. We have found areas of increased activity associated with different actions and specific thought patterns and behaviours, but this does not effectively isolate where that thought really comes from. As such, we cannot truly know what happens to these thoughts.

As a hypothetical experiment, let us examine the possibility of dualism and presume that the material body is what gives expression to the thought. That is, our bodies exist for the sole purpose of giving life or voice or expression to our thoughts. Our thoughts and psyche represent an ephemeral existence that lies somewhere within the physical form that gives it expression. If this were to be the case, death of the brain would result in a mind that may not die with the body, but exists without a receptacle or body to give it expression.

When you think about anything, these thoughts find expression as a "voice in your head." This voice can then interact with the world through physical expression or it can remain within "your head." Either way, the fact that there is an "ear to listen" to the voice means that it is being heard, it has a physical expression... This can be likened to the philosophical dilemma made popular by Bart and Lisa Simpson, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" If a soul exists as thoughts, and no one is around to hear it, does it have physical expression? Does it exist?

The same can be said of our tree in the forest, if no one is around to hear it, perhaps the argument can be made that it does not make a sound, for the existence of sound requires a listener. However, the existence of the tree and the forest... that is more difficult to debate. If no one knows of the existence of a forest, does that negate it's existence?

Of course, this whole premise rests on several assumptions, and in science the theory that makes the fewest assumptions is presumed correct until a null hypothesis can be found to disprove the initial theory. This means that looking at it from a scientific perspective, dualism meets with a great deal of resistance. The concept requires too many assumptions for a scientific mind.

... If a theory makes many assumptions but cannot be dis-proven does that mean it is wrong?

Why Tradition?

What place do Traditions have in our world, and why do we cling to these remnants of the past? Traditions serve as a link to our past, and this does go a long way towards explaining our attachment to them. A typical human being easily gets attached to almost anything - be it a blanket, a toy, a gadget, an individual, or even a ritual. We tend to hold on tightly to things we care for and mourn their departure. This is one of the biggest reasons why many people lament when a species goes extinct. Millions of species have died out forever over the course of the existence of life on Earth, however if we see a species die out that we have become familiar with, we really feel that loss on a personal level. This same principle can apply to death. In some way, when someone we know and love dies, we mourn for ourselves, for what we have lost, for the irrevocable change in our state that results.

Traditions are rituals, actions, beliefs that have persisted, and the slow loss of these from our world is something that should be mourned. However, many times, we do not perceive that these pieces of our past are in danger of being lost...

Why should we care? Traditions give us a sense of identity... yes, but so do many other things. I can identify myself as a user of an iPhone or an Android for example... but these "identifiers" serve only to further materialistic purposes. Oftentimes in our world today identity is tied to the material, to the possessions we have (or can potentially have). I dislike this greatly. For me identity is integrally tied to Tradition. Our Traditions give spiritual insight into ourselves. They provide an esoteric window through which we can view our present world. This is the true beauty of Tradition - not the preservation of the past (although this is a great role of Tradition), I would venture that the greatest relevance of Tradition in any time or place is the balance Tradition provides between the worldly and the spiritual.

The voice of Tradition is the past in the present, guiding the future.

Restful Greetings

A common Muslim greeting is Asalaam Wa'alaikum - this means (loosely translated), May God's Peace be upon you. In this greeting we ask for peace for the person we greet. In my life, peace sometimes finds itself being synonymous with rest, because for me, being rested is being at peace (I'm very lucky in that way, because of where I live).

However, I find that relaxing sometimes is hard. Let me put that statement into context. I am finishing off the fourth and final year of Dental school. This means that my last final exam was in early April, which has resulted in me doing almost nothing for the past 2 months (at least in the evenings), so what have I done with my time??? ... nothing! I have sat around, doing very little, playing video games, watching anime, watching the occasional movie / TV show (gasp), hanging out with friends, and generally catching up on sleep and rest. So why didn't I feel rested???

This week I was given the fantastic opportunity to sing at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto Ontario. During this week from Monday to Friday I spent roughly 6 or 7 hours a day singing and a few more hours practicing... daily. Yet, right now I feel more rested, more satisfied and fulfilled than I have felt in almost a year. Why?

A fellow chorister stated it very well during one of our discussion sessions when she said that the feeling of peace sometimes comes not from doing nothing... but from doing what you love. It's perfect, and it's true. When I write about God, I feel at peace, when I use my mind, I feel at peace, when I exercise my body and am active, I feel at peace. Peace abounds in so many things we can do, but choose not to. Why? From my personal experience at least, it's because I felt that I was due for a break, for rest. I didn't realize that the best way for me to rest, was to work harder doing things that I love. Now here comes the tricky part, I'm inherently lazy as well, this means that I have to actually push myself to do things, even things that I love. If I let my mind go on auto-pilot I'll find myself lying in bed instead of reading that novel I really want to finish or writing that blog I want to get around to. This means (for me at least) that searching for peace must be an active process. Though we all want peace, though we all want only the best for ourselves and others - it is something we must work towards. Peace cannot generate itself, because human nature (again, generalizing my own personal experience) will not automatically result in the positive result we would all like to believe it brings about.

Peace is a blessing that we all wish for, but true, inner peace can only come about through effort, love and ... well, there is an element of luck in there as well.

It is 4 am, I am extremely tired... but right now, I, Rahim Shivji, am very well rested.

Khuda Hafiz

Searching for the True Self

What are you searching for?

Everyone looks for something in their lives. Whether we go on a perpetual quest for love (the REAL kind, you know in the movies?!), for money, for spiritual satisfaction. Whether we are looking to find ourselves, a purpose, a job, a meal, a life. Everyone's always looking, searching and occasionally, if we're lucky - finding. What do we look for, and why?

A Persian Poet named Hafiz speaks of search in his poetry. Throughout his life he was searching for his beloved - God. In his poetry, Hafiz refers to the world and things in the world as reflections of God, kind of like how the moon reflects the light of the Sun. The Moon is incredibly beautiful, but the reason we see beauty in the moon is because of the Sun. In this way, things in the world are a reflection of the divine.

Looking at it from this perspective, we are searching in the material world, but we search for reflections of the spiritual. When we look at beauty in another human being, we are seeing a reflection of the beauty that is God. When we feel love for another, we are feeling a shadow of the love that is God. When we search for happiness, we often find only a reflection of true happiness. That's a bit sad to think of. The reason we will only find reflections and shadows is because our mind and sense of consciousness work together to enable us to interact with the world. This means that the mind uses consciousness as a medium with which to interact - it acts as the intermediary between the exoteric and the esoteric. So the flaw is in the medium... the mind is an esoteric entity, but the conscious mind is one that is forever trapped in the exoteric. Finding the truth is a true challenge, but hey, as I've said for many years, "How can you ever find yourself if you don't get lost?"

Best of luck in the search

Light of God

What is light?

Is it a real entity? Is it something that you can touch, feel, experience, interact with?

Why ask this question?

Well, light is seen in many contexts, in the Qu'ran, there are many references to light, whether it be referring to guidance (Imamat), or to deeper matters (Surah Nur - where it says Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth). When people die, a common saying is that you see a "bright light." Science tells us that all matter is made up of Energy, and we all know the famous equation - E = mc^2
Energy = mass times the speed of light squared

So all matter is made up of energy, and energy is light... and Allah or God is the light of the heavens and the earth... it's enough to make you really think about where one can really find God.

Many holy individuals throughout the ages have recommended meditation as the way to "find God"... What is meditation? It usually entails - sitting, eyes closed, mind focused / unfocused... so it's essentially closing off the rest of the world and taking a moment to really think about who and what you are. Each of us is a precious part of creation, everything that exists is - look inside for the light... whatever "the light" may be to you. All I can tell you is that it's worth searching for and I sincerely believe it will be worth finding.

-Rahim