Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Real Reality - An Introduction to Robert Anton Wilson

Robert Anton Wilson (RAW), modern day philosopher, and author of over 35 books, and over 1,500 published articles. A man who speaks with such clarity, and directness, yet with such compassion and humour that to listen to his portrayals and descriptions of reality are enough to bring tears to your eyes.

When you think of the simplicity of which his eloquent words bring forth the solutions for our modern day dilemmas, there is a sobering awe that overtakes you. He has often said that "The wise become Confucian in good times, Buddhist in bad times and Daoist in old age." His understanding of the applications of these religions, and their importance in modern times is profound, and his ability to tie these back to Quantum mechanics, and his concept of individuated Reality Tunnels essentially form the components for our worldly understanding.

He recommends that we never fully accept another person's belief system (abbreviated as B.S.)... never fully buy into another person's B.S., and further more never fully believe your own B.S. because too much bullshit is bad for you. He remains an eternal optimist, and strives for open mindedness in all aspects of life.

"Everybody abstracts a different reality" and we "Pick up and abstract only that which interests you." When you enter a room, you're prepared to abstract only that which have previously constructed as apart of your "Reality Tunnel." We only pick out the signals in reality that fit our established belief system, and those which don't fit our belief system get ignored. This forces you to realize reality is a matter of what you Tune-In and don't Tune-In. This doesn't mean that these things which you have ignored or not Tuned-Into don't exist, they're just not tuned in.

This has tremendous implications on your experience in the world... to realize that we are simply units of "interacting processing" amongst a reality of stimulus that is Tuned-In or not Tuned-In by our interacting processing units. We process information, and interact with reality in such a way that we assimilate that which is already established within our reality tunnel or construct. To expand your reality tunnel is the real work of your life - otherwise what else is there?

This is the work of expanding your awareness, because otherwise even if new signals are apprehended by your interacting processing, you will not adopt this new reality unless values are understood and adopted. It will never seep into your reality tunnel, and thus you will ignore further signals beyond that point in time. Being open minded doesn't just mean listening to new content, it means being able to discern and realize this new content in everyday life - then the work of modifying your reality tunnel has begun.

With this understanding in mind... our perception itself is a gamble.


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