Everything, All Of The Time

The History Of The Universe; The Meaning Of Life; The Future Of The Human Race; And All The Stuff In-Between

INTRODUCTION

If I had to compress my beliefs into a word, that word would be: agnosticism. But I feel there are some misinterpretations about that title, or at very least, how I use it to describe myself. I don’t feel, as an agnostic, I can get away with simply throwing my hands into the air and announcing “I don’t know” whilst continuing along with my day in any satisfactory manner. Life is far too complex and intriguing for that type of apathy, which is why I like to tell people that while I don’t feel anyone could be 100% certain about anything, I still have theories which I subscribe to and am happy to consider these my “beliefs”.

But let it be known, this is just that, a “theory”, for how could we have anything else? I may have a very solid opinion on the inner workings of everything and what it all means, but I still reserve the right to change my mind at any point and am always open to be proven wrong. If I die tomorrow and end up at some pearly gates in the clouds, I would be surprised, but would not feel there had been some mistake. And if there is a God (and that will be a subject I'll touch on many many times throughout this piece), then I think he would understand. For in my opinion, the ultimate blasphemy is not to doubt the existence of heaven or even reject the concept of a Higher Being. The ultimate blasphemy would be the suppression of thoughts and ideas, refusing to utilise this amazing mind-tool we have been blessed with by sticking to conclusions of which we have no actual concrete evidence of.

With that into consideration, I have spent much of my life contemplating about how this and that has come about as well as what it all means, and have reached my own loose conclusions. But please keep in mind, that while many of these theories were influenced by outside opinions and philosophies, I prohibited any further research for this article, except maybe to clarify a few official terms or polish up existing thoughts. Perhaps it may contain an odd fact or statement which could prove an easy target to argue against, but I refused to allow myself to base any of this piece on the theories of others, for that would ultimately result in a confusing mess of conflicting speculations, and in turn, bloat into a very difficult thing to read indeed. Instead, what we have here is something I have developed all on my own, unsure if even such a theory exists as a whole elsewhere, or if I am simply repeating a common belief without realising it. Regardless, I hope this at very least spurs on some questions for your own opinion system, and I eagerly await the inevitable backlash from pretentious atheists and religious-nuts alike.

CHAPTER 1: THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE; THE BEGINNING OF EVERYTHING; AND THE DEFINITION OF GOD v1.0

Throughout this article, I will be tackling the concept of what “God” may or may not be. To me, God is nothing more than a word, and the definition is down to the individual. That’s what I feel the atheists got wrong above all else: they are fighting a word, which they themselves are defining by a religious standard. They rightfully cannot fathom the idea of some “man in the sky”, guiding our lives and punishing those who do wrong, and as a result, reject the word without giving the whole thing much thought. To me this as tragic as those who conversely swallow the same concept as fact without allowing the arguments against it to enter their viewpoint. But each to their own.

God has three distinct definitions to me, and while it is possible that they could each be describing the exact same thing, in my understanding I see three separate “Gods”. The first definition (and central character of this chapter) is the most impersonal of the lot, and the interpretation is The Creator. It is whatever made all of this: the catalyst of everything you see and everything you do not see; the complex system which was here when you were born and will (in theory) be here when you die; the Sun rising in the morning; this planet’s balance of land and water and oxygen; the other planets we know of; the other planets we do not know of; the fiery balls of gas which decorate our night skies; the natural laws; the food chain; the ecosystem... everything, all of the time, where it all started.

It is (at this stage of human development) general belief that everything was a result of the Big Bang, and who am I to argue with such a popular theory? Now, I’m no scientist, and a deep study of this concept has never truly interested me, but from what I have gathered is that there was a bunch of space stuffed with energy which grew extremely hot and dense and then kind of exploded, expanding all over the place, creating solid matter and hence the Universe in which we exist in and enjoy today. This is fine for me, I can digest the theory, as it is most definitely more logical than anything any religious book has put forward, to a degree (although perhaps not all that far off, in actuality).

My main issue with all of this, however, is the use of the Big Bang theory as a weapon against the existence of God, when if anything, it is proof. I will never argue that some greater being designed each and every part of this to happen as it was, or that it was even a conscious effort by whatever may or may not have been involved. Perhaps it was simply some random thing. But the point is that there was something before all of this happened, and something did have to happen at some moment for the Big Bang to occur. It was Created, by The Creator, and whether this Creator was an accident or an extremely complex premeditated action, it makes no difference to me. For God is a word, and words are only as powerful as their definition, and I do not think we should fear the concept that the word God could be applied to something which others may call Science or Nature or Chance—it is up to you. It’s just a word, relax.

But regardless of what you want to call it, the Universe had come to be and here we are, at this newly formed playground, filled with physical objects rife with opportunity and excited energy, ready and able to develop into something much much more. Which, as we know, it did.

CHAPTER 2: THE EVOLUTION OF ALL THINGS; THE ETERNAL CONFLICT FOR EQUILIBRIUM; AND THE DEFINITION OF GOD v2.0

Within everything, there is an energy. On a scientific and a spiritual level, this energy is identical, connecting every single atom in the Universe with the same power, living in all of us and everything we know of. This is the second definition I apply to the word “God”, the next version of this thing there are so many conflicting opinions about. But whether you prefer the words “Soul” or “Energy” or “Life” or “Universe”, it makes no difference, they are interchangeable with the definition remaining exactly the same. Which is why I prefer to call it “God”, as it seems more fitting in the inexplicable enigma of it all, but also because it’s fun to watch people squirm when you mention the loaded title, challenging their own concrete views on the term.

But in my opinion, the true difference between which atoms are a part of this “God” connection, and which are not, is the very essence of life itself. It is the electricity being plugged into physical matter like a television or a toaster, granting it the power to function (which is an interesting analogy because most people have no idea how electricity works and yet are happy to acknowledge its existence and utilise it as a tool, and yet refuse to do the same with a God type concept, but whatever). We can determine which parts of physical matter are connected to this electricity by two factors. The first is the ability to heal. If you cut a table, it will forever remain cut. However, upon injuring a human or an animal or a plant, it blatantly has some life force within its cells which allows the regeneration and restoration of its damaged self. This is the science behind biology, but also an incredible feat of what some could consider to be a Higher Power—because us humans do not know how this works nor how the body has learned to do so, and therefore these functions work on a level higher than us.

The second of these factors, is the ability to adapt. If we look at how each generation of any species has ever so slightly developed differently from than the ones that came before, we learn the very essence of what it is to be alive, and get a hint of what the purpose of life may just be. For this is evolution. However, before we get too deep into that, we must look at what happened after the Big Bang, and how everything reached the place we are at now in order to predict where it may be going.

After the Creation of everything (however it came to be) we had a mass amount of matter, floating around in this space, bursting with an energy you may or may not call God. But whatever your name for it, I believe it was on a mission. Perhaps this mission was a conscious one, perhaps it was merely an equation which needed attention to continuously balance itself out (which I will go into with more detail soon). But regardless of why and what and how, it wanted to expand. It wanted grow and it wanted to progress. And much like the world we live in now, there is only one way to achieve this evolution, and that is via conflict.

When a species is under threat by its natural habitat, its offspring will evolve with new defence mechanisms in an attempt to keep its type alive, allowing more reproduction, and keeping the equilibrium stable whilst continuing on its breed as a contributing factor within the Universal Energy. The same is now as it was from the moment this Universe was born.

It is a minute process which is alive in the smallest of organisms, but also exists on a much grander scale too—as grand as the entire Universe itself, in fact, as it is all connected. But if I may, I will be focusing on our very own living organism with which we base our entire existence upon. For right here, our planet Earth, a rock floating in the vastness of space, was on the same mission of evolution that we are on now, much like all the rocks we know of and do not know of, and everything else, ever. It had the same desire (conscious or not) to grow, and as a result, was fortunate to be in a close enough proximity to a star, which we call the Sun. With the combined energies within itself and this burning gas, it managed to produce water, and from that, the very first “living” organisms began to develop. At first they were probably just one single-celled organisms, but they still faced the conflicts our Earth provided to birth new generations, each one continuing to advance in great detail and in different directions all around the world.

Now, I am not here to give you an evolution lesson, purely because I don’t want to trip up on facts as I refuse to do any research on the subject and open myself up to attack. But how I like to picture evolution is kind of like a behind the scenes equation (which is a hypothetical equation, you must understand, but for continuity sake, I will be referring to it as "the equation" from now on). The easiest way to imagine this equation theory, is as a computer program behind all life, which began with 1 = 1, a statement which would forever remain the same if untouched. In order to grow, it purposefully imbalanced itself by saying something like 1 = 3, and then needed to further rebalance itself by saying something like 1 + 3 = 3. It has grown now, but is still imbalanced, and so it attempts to rectify itself further by over-compensating and stating 4 = 3 + 2. Once again, it has evolved in numbers, but is still out of balance. And while this is an extremely simple way to break it down, the idea is just that: everything is running on a formula which is intentionally creating conflict in order to perpetually imbalance and then rebalance itself, growing bigger in the process. And after the estimated 13.77 billion years of the Universe's existence, it has become a rather large and complex equation indeed, as we can see all over Earth.

However (and on a side note), I don’t think such a process is exclusive to our planet either, as it is completely irrational to think that in an “infinite” Universe, we would be the only beings in existence (which I will go into great detail within the following chapters). However (and as far as our own solar system is concerned), I don’t think other life form was as far away as people seem to be thinking...

It has been proven that the Sun is forever expanding, and as a result, getting closer and closer to each and every one of the planets in our solar system. With this rationale, is it too far off to theorise that the reason life has not been found on Venus (at 108,200,000 km from the Sun, and an average of 460 degrees Celsius) or Mars (at 227,900,000 km from the Sun, and an average of minus 60 degrees Celsius) in comparison to Earth (at 149,600,000 km from the Sun, and an average of 15 degrees Celsius), could be entirely related to their distances from this star? Perhaps Venus has already gone through everything we have, only to be burnt out by the heat; whilst Mars’ time is still coming? Of course, this is all in theory, and I’m sure some smarty-pants will think of a hole in my thoughts. But worth a mention all the same.

None of this detracts from the main point: here on Earth, amazing life was springing up in all areas and directions, learning to live on land, forming unique species, experiencing different weather conditions and growing stronger and more complicated as a result. But why? What is the purpose of this nonsense? What does it all mean? Well, once again, I feel the answer can be found in this definition of God; God v2.0. And while God v1.0 and v2.0 could be argued (and have been argued) to be the exact same “God”, there are key distinguishing details which separate them enough to write this chapter.

There is this thing people like to call the “Universal Mind/Consciousness”, an omnipresent collection of all thoughts and educations, grouping together as one single connected universal element. And that, my friends, is step one to understanding the “meaning” of life, at very least on an impersonal universal scale. It is that every single piece of life has the purpose to learn or provide other lives with such learnings. From the molecules in plants to the energy of more intelligent lifeforms’ thoughts, we are here to contribute to the ever expanding knowledge of the entire Universe. All of it, without fail. Some call this “nature”, but I am reluctant to use that word so freely as it indicates some things exist which are “unnatural”, whereas this is impossible. Everything that has ever existed was a completely natural step in the Universe’s evolution, born out of necessary conflict, and serving its own part (great or small) in response to the equation which must always find balance and continue to grow. For the Universe is learning through everything, and everything’s purpose is to provide it with these new teachings, all of which touches the furthermost corners of the Universal Energy and benefits all life, as it will provide more intentional conflict to ensure we evolve even further.

This works on a scientific level, but also works on a spiritual level when we place the God label onto it. However, for me more than anything it works to demystify God rather than empower him, instead empowering us as lifeforms above all else. It does not make sense to believe in this cruel God who knows exactly what will happen next and yet punishes those who did not follow some predetermined set of rules. Rather, he is the collective smarts, including each thought you have, which may or may not be completely original thoughts, but will at very least be pre-existing thoughts which will benefit from the unique flavour only your mind could provide. Which is to theorise that every thought you ever have will reach "God" or the Universal Knowledge, and it will be hearing your version of it for the very first time. Mash this up with every thought and every learning from every cell on Earth or anywhere else, and understand that we are all contributing to the construction of the equation by helping it balance itself out whilst providing new situations or conflicts in order to teach it even further. This is not some dude who has all the right answers, but rather a conscious/unconscious power which has all the right questions, and will force these questions onto Life in order to breed further progression and, in turn, learn even better questions to ask in the future.

Why do you think dinosaurs are extinct? It is as simple as what I’ve already described: they evolved to a point where they no longer learned anything. As powerful as they may seem to us, their existence was no longer justified. They were not progressing or learning, and as a result, no longer created conflict nor contributed to the Universal Mind. There was an imbalance in the equation, and in order to reach equilibrium once more, they had to be eradicated to make space for new beings to breed and grow, and therefore benefit the Universe as a whole once again. Natural selection, yo. Entire planets have more than likely met the same fate. Hell, perhaps even entire galaxies, I’m sure of it.

In summary, the purpose of all life is to learn. And the key to staying alive (on a universal level, but even on a more individual level) is to not bore "God". Keep him entertained and keep him learning, and our purpose is fulfilled, doing our part (however small) to aid the growth of the equation and evolution. Luckily, I think it is fair to say that as the human race, it will be a long time before we hit any point of stagnancy or mediocrity, and should be safe for quite a while.

CHAPTER 3: THE FORMATION OF MANKIND; THE MISSING LINK; AND WHY HUMAN BEINGS ARE MARVELOUS

Before I begin this chapter, I would like to step back and remind you of the introduction. For there are a lot of people who will disregard this part of my theory as far too “out there” and extraordinary, which is why I must emphasis it is just that: a theory. I do not necessarily believe nor disbelieve in what I am about to tell you, but as far as any theory I’ve heard on the subject goes, it does make the most sense to me.

At this point, it is generally accepted that human beings evolved from monkeys, as the similarities are uncanny and with everything else I’ve said, it makes sense that such a thing would occur: conflict upon conflict presented itself throughout history, and new generation after new generation was born with better equipment to deal with these conflicts. At some point a specific species of monkey evolved in a different direction and hence man was created. But in this brings a problem: the ever elusive missing link. We can date the evolution of man quite far back to a primitive state, and we can predict the evolution of an ape towards our eventual form, but there is a pesky gap in the middle which still to this day we have been unable to explain. But, agree or disagree, this would explain it.

Aliens.

Stop! Do not turn away until I have finished explaining myself! I know as soon as anyone mentions the “a-word” opinions go all over the place, and this is understandable. On the one hand we have those who could not fathom such an idea, for if true, opens up a whole can of trouble on our secure belief systems which breeds fear, a concept many would rather turn away from and ignore. On the other hand, we have those paranoid conspiracy theorists who jump up and down screaming “yes!” because they are convinced they already knew this to be true. Personally, I cannot subscribe nor be bothered with either of these opinions, but by allowing myself to think about life in a no-holds-barred kind of manner, I have come to reveal some interesting connections.

But before we dive straight into this, let’s look at the probability of extraterrestrials as a whole first. As I’ve spoken about before, I think any logical person at least believes that other intelligent life form is plausible, as I find anyone who doesn’t, simply hasn’t grasped the very rudimentary basics of mathematics. If we do indeed live in an infinite Universe (which I will touch on further a bit later), then this would mean there are infinite possibilities. Which not only suggests that other life forms must exists simply on a statistical basis, but there must in fact be an infinite amount of them. You can take this much further, for even if there is a one in a centillion to the power of a vigintillion times by a billion billion billion chance that another world exists exactly identical to ours in every minute detail, it will be out there, as the Universe is infinite, and so this chance would eventually and inevitably come about. Hell, infinite worlds exactly like ours would exist. Fuck, it even means there are an infinite amount of worlds out there identical to ours, except the only difference being that you personally don’t exist on it, because no matter what the chances of such a weird occurrence, it will occur an infinite amount of times in infinity. So with that in mind, let’s just logically agree that the concept of aliens isn’t actually that far-fetched after all.

Ok, fine, so what does this mean to us? I have no idea, but I theorise something like this: when the Earth was populated with lesser-intelligent creatures, a race from outer space observed us, and studied a few of the species. They took particular interest in the monkey gene, and experimented with it by combining their own genes within these monkeys, eventually doing so rather successfully, and creating human beings. As peculiar as this sounds, there are a few reasons why this could make a lot of sense. One of these reasons is that we have often inaccurately compared ourselves to a virus on Earth, for we do appear to be the only species which doesn’t entirely live in harmony with our nature. We rape the earth of resources, destroy forests and animals and our fellow man, and instead of adapting to our surroundings, we have learned to adapt our surroundings to us by constructing huge buildings with roofs for the rain, air conditioning for the heat, and heaters for the cold. In many ways, it does seem we don’t necessarily “belong” here.

But for me, some of the main evidence is physical. Countless reports have come forth from people who claim to have had sightings or been abducted by otherworldly entities, and they all eerily agree on a very similar type of creature: those small hairless light grey dudes with big eyes. Now, if you compare these attributes with that of a monkey’s, you can pretty much see us humans as the mid-point. Please refer to the brilliant and anatomically perfect drawing I put together below. As you can see, we walk upright like the aliens, but still have a more slouchy posture like the monkeys. Our faces are flatter than our brother primates, but more pronounced than that of a reported alien’s. We have lost much of our body hair, but not all of it, some people having hair closer to that of an apes, others (like me), more that of an alien. We are the exact midway average frame size between the two; our skin texture appears to be the exact midway average coarseness; and etc; and etc.

It goes even deeper that. On an intelligence level, it would appear that we are not as smart as the aliens (with their ability to effortlessly travel space and technological advancements), but we are obviously intellectually miles above that of an ape. And yet, we still haven’t lost all of our animal traits, like our instinct, our tempers, our sex drive, and our weird primal habits of picking our noses and yawning. In actual fact, it seems to me we got the best of both worlds: the extraterrestrials seem quite bland and monotonous yet smart and placid, while the monkeys seem passionate and driven yet slow and simple.

Regardless of how this makes you feel, one thing you would have to agree with is that humans do exist (duh), and we are the most intelligent beings we officially know of. And yet this intelligence coupled with natural instincts seems to have come with a cost. Due to our link with monkeys, we have grown to believe women have the role of nurturing the young, preparing food and cleaning the habitat, whilst men assume the role of providing. We are territorial, which has not only been the cause for much racism and slavery over our existence, but is also the main cause for war. We consider the young to be ignorant and the old to be inferior. We are massively driven by sexual urges, where affairs stem from and rapes are still common occurrence. We thrive on a pleasure based mental system, which is why so many turn to drugs or other such vices. There is much hatred for our fellow man, which leads to stealing and killing of our own species, and we are one of the only who seem to do so. All the while we build and construct faster and faster, ripping down trees and polluting the water, surely damaging everything around us.

However (and much like I spoke about in the chapter previously), all of the war and discrimination and ugly things serve a purpose: conflict. It may seem like life is unfair when people are getting their countries invaded and children are living in poverty and women are forced into sexual activity—and on a personal level, it absolutely is—but on a universal level, these seemingly terrible incidents are actually a huge contribution to the Universe. It’s where we as people make global decisions, and it’s where the energy of everything learns and makes adjustments for future generations to adapt and evolve with. The last thing we should ever pray for is peace and total understanding, for that will be the moment we no longer learn and shall become redundant like the dinosaurs. This is the price of life.

Because what I need everyone to understand, is that as unnatural as all of these horrible things may seem, they are perfectly perfectly natural, and even important. We must not limit our concept of “nature” to be exclusive to our planet. “Nature” is universal, and even if aliens evolved to the point of breeding with monkeys, this was all part of the natural process. Sure, we may be the only known animals who commit acts which are considered so horrendous, but we are also the only known animals who are aware of and contemplate such matters. Just look at the people who devote all of their energies to saving endangered species or preserving the planet or helping Third World countries, which is amazing because nobody was even aware such problems existed merely centuries ago.

Right now more than ever, there is greater concern and education for the well-being of others. Equality between people of different sexes, ages, races and sexual preferences has never been so close before, and continues to grow closer per each and every generation. Even war is a testament to our vastly conflicting opinions and our raw emotional passion about our beliefs, which is a good thing we could even be proud of. We are the only beings we know of who have such a high scale of love to give and know how to register and express it. Sometimes we hardly even know how to contain our emotions, and they burst out into art, which no other known animal does. Unlike other creatures, a human may even kill themselves, which is as sad as it is so complex that one can’t help but find a small sense of beauty that a being can experience emotions on this level. And we are very lucky and must be very grateful for this love/hate health/sickness joy/pain equilibrium.

I will be devoting an entire chapter to this hypothesis later, but for now I hope that at very least the majority of my readers can somewhat agree that (despite what the scary sensationalist news man is telling you) things are getting better and better all the time, especially as we move into a more and more united global state. But before we go there, let’s look at this:

CHAPTER 4: THE CONFINEMENT OF SPIRITUALITY INTO RELIGION; THE DEVIL; AND THE DEFINITION OF GOD v3.0

As far back as man was recording his thoughts on walls, there has been evidence of our inherent belief in a Higher Power. And while a lot of these markings revolved around the Sun, I believe it is all related to the spirit (or energy) which lives in all things. Even the Sun itself was worshipped for these very qualities: it kept crops springing up and kept the animals warm, essentially the most ultimate life giver one could comprehend back in the day, and even still ‘til this day, to a degree.

However, as man has evolved, inevitable questions followed and we looked to others for answers. “Why are we here? What is the purpose? Where do we go when we die?” and from the necessity of finding guidance, religion was born. It was a way to tap into the Universal Spirit; feeling the presence of some greater force at work, with easy to follow instructions set out by those men who claimed to be (and perhaps were, although it's doubtable) “holier” than the average.

The concept of religion is a weird one, and even in this very modern age I have friends who wholeheartedly subscribe to some form of scripture, as well as having friends who reject the practice as stupid, unnecessary or even dangerous. But what people need to understand is that there is nothing essentially wrong with religion whatsoever. It was, like anything, a natural evolution and development of our species, a much needed guide to teach people how to get more in touch with their inner and outer energy; to enforce morally just behaviour; and to have a reason to get on with their mundane tasks with less confusion and more love. Many are quick to point out how religion has caused so much pain and suffering throughout history, but this is not religion’s fault. This is man’s fault. And when you understand that thousands of years ago, all over the world, these beliefs were coming to prosper completely independent of each other and without any knowledge that the other side of the world even existed, it becomes obvious that religion and the practice of worship was as natural as the development of language. It is only in very recent times people have begun to completely disregard the concept of a higher life force, and I find this far too hasty and sad.

And, at the end of the day, every single religion is exactly the same. They teach the same principles when you sift away the nonsense, and no matter who they follow or how they got there, each one of them subscribe to the following two rules, and hardly anything else:

Rule #1: Love your fellow lifeforms (especially your own)
The reason for this one goes without saying: we are all connected, us humans to each other and everything else. It is only beneficial to your own being, to other beings, and ultimately every single living creature you come into contact with, if we respect and be nice to one another. Even atheists would agree this is a good practice.

Rule #2: Belief in a Higher Power
Call it what you will, as I have called it many things already throughout the course of this article, but every single one of us believes in a Higher Power. Even if you think you don’t, I am about to explain to you why you do.

All a Higher Power means, is that you are not the Highest Power. There is a power in existence greater than yourself. A guy once explained this to me the best, by saying: try and lift a really large table. You cannot. You are not strong enough, no matter how hard you try. But what if someone comes along, and helps you? Now, it feels a lot easier doesn’t it, even if it is still a bit too weighty to lift off the ground. Now what if someone else comes along? And someone else, and someone else? Suddenly, this once immovable object becomes very light with your combined strength, doesn’t it? Therefore, it is very simple to comprehend you are not the Highest Power. If you were, you would lift that table like a boss, and yet you couldn’t. However, with more and more individuals joining the cause, the collective energy became more powerful, became a higher power in front of your very eyes, and that is the kind of collaborative strength that can achieve anything.

On a universal scale, it is not much different, except instead of four or five people trying to lift a table, it is the mass collection of all the energy in all of the Universe. If you find the concept of a God difficult, do not even go down that route, but admit that there is a Sun rising every day; that there is grass growing without any interference; and that the weather does what it likes whenever it likes. If this is a result of random matter or an equation or a big white bearded man on a fluffy cloud, it is irrelevant. What is relevant, it is that you personally cannot stop the wind from blowing; you cannot stop death from knocking; and you cannot grow a carrot in your hands. Therefore, you are not the Highest Power.

However, if you still at this point do not believe in a power higher than you, come and talk to me in person, and I’ll show you that I alone am a higher power than you.

If you look at the Ten Commandments, these two rules pretty much cover all of them (except for that whole Sabbath thing, but fuck that), and this goes for every single other religion on the planet. But if this is the case, then why do separate religions still exist? If we really can break down every spiritual belief into such a rudimentary state, why is there this clash of worship? And the answer is, of course, the holy men or “prophets” (for lack of better word) which each religion worships, in faith that they were the true messengers of God.

Now, once again, it would be easy to put blame on the so-called prophets of whom we do not agree with, especially if you were anti-religion in the first place. But as before, I must express that the prophets themselves from our history were not bad people, and cannot be held responsible for the manipulation of their words by other men. Without going too far in detail, you will find that each one of these dudes taught much the same principles: belief in a “God”, and love for one another.

And like every single living thing in the Universe, from the planets to the wildlife to each flower in existence, these prophets were born out of necessity. There was the eternal conflict and desire of the Universe to expand, and as part of its evolutionary growth, these people were created to serve a purpose. There was an imbalance in the Universal Equation which needed rectifying, hence why such figures came about. This is to say, that like anyone (even the homeless junkies or serial murdering rapists), they were merely here to progress life. And while these people may have had a greater influence on the larger scheme of things, nobody is more important than anybody else, every single one of us is playing a role, and none of us specifically chose what our role was to be.

Due to the repercussions of such prophets, it is easy to see why we put them on much higher pedestals, but we really don’t have to. Every person is born with talents and unique minds, designed to add their flavour to evolution, and even those people who seem like a complete waste of oxygen are living their own story and exist purely because, at the time of their birth, they were needed to add their two cents to the Universal Energy regardless of what that two cents may be. Prophets are just like this, no more, no less. However, their talent, instead of having an eye for art or a knack for sports or a good looking face, was on a spiritual level. They were born with a deeper connection to the energy of “God”, which was not something they chose to have and as a result, are no more or less impressive than any other talent in the world. Although I am sure a healthy dose of charm and charisma didn’t hurt their mission either.

But (and despite what stories may have developed over the centuries), they were human. They were just like you and me. Perhaps they were “holy men” by some definition, but they were men all the same. If you had to hang out with Jesus, perhaps he was incredibly generous or loving, but maybe he had bad body odour or a bit of an ego problem. If you were to hang with Buddha, perhaps he was serene and zen-like, but maybe he couldn’t draw for shit or had a messy room. Nobody is perfect, is what I am saying, and this goes for the prophets too. In fact, I am convinced you may find that they were so blessed with their deep rooted connection to Source Energy, that they had some pretty huge flaws in their personality too, because much like the Universe itself, we have a system of balance within each one us, everyone essentially exactly the same with only the details distributed in different areas. More on this later.

However, at this point, we did have these men who preached words of wisdom which made a lot of sense to those in our past, especially because it was a time rife with inner-conflict. People were desperate for answers to reconnect to a spiritual side of life, and out of these desires, came many many prophets to balance it out, most of whom have long been forgotten, but some of which are still followed with mass passion all across the globe today. And because people can never agree on anything, this religious passion based on chosen leaders came with different scriptures and designated churches, which divided worship to such an extent that even within these same churches came further denominations, splitting off into more and more directions until it became hard to keep up with who believes what verse of what book means what anymore. It’s messy, but it was a completely natural process which came with our monkey intensity and alien intelligence. Reject it or respect it all you want, but it simply could not have gone any other way, and yet is rapidly dying as we speak.

And it is here that we have God v3.0, which is by all definitions the exact God so many religious nutters follow blindly, and the exact God the atheists are rejecting. It is the concept that there is an intelligent omnipresent conscious being watching over all of us. He knows everything you do and everything you are going to do, and yet judges your every move. He is the decided being who waits for you when you die, and then lets you into Heaven or shoves you down into Hell. And, of course, by this theory, there is his polar opposite: Satan himself, a red monster living in fiery pits of Hell. This figure too was created, not by evil men, but by the men who believed in this version of God. These two entities were imperative to each other's existence, to balance out good and evil, representatives of both sides of “choice”: one being the statement of everything right, and one conversely being the statement of everything wrong.

This is all a ridiculous concept. Why would Satan be punishing the bad people, while God rewards the good people? Surely that would mean they were on the same team? And that is exactly what I believe, on a more “Source Energy” kind of level. There is no opposite Higher Powers in some fight for human souls, but rather one Higher Power, encompassing everything, good and evil. Essentially, if the characters of God v3.0 and the Devil existed, they would be part of God v2.0, for all things “good” and “evil” (whatever that truly means) are crucial to existence and conflict. Without both these types of things, “choice” would not exist. God v3.0 could not “exist” without the “existence” of the Devil, and therefore, they would be equally as important. The Universe is everything, nice feelings or horrible feelings, which I will elaborate on in the next chapter.

However, and while I can see the ridiculousness of all of this (and despite what I said earlier), I do actually subscribe to these silly concepts too. It’s not on a religious level, but more on a humourous one, as I see both this God and Devil as cartoons, merely personifications for everything in the world which is g(o)od, and everything which is (d)evil. I see value in it too, for if a more simple person can only find some sort of a spiritual connection via this path, then no harm done. But personally for me, I like imagining the whole Man With White A Beard on one shoulder, and Demon With Horns And A Trident on the other, it’s fun. And when stumbling upon a decision which needs to be made, we all have that internal argument where one thought tells you to “do the right thing”, and the other tells you to “do the fun thing”, and when this happens, I find great pleasure in putting faces to the voices. And believe me, I listen to them both on almost equal occasions. It’s about knowing when it’s time to step back and let something go; or when it’s time to fuck consequences and do the shit you know you really shouldn’t be doing but want to do anyway.

Aside from all of this, one of the main reasons for religion or the personification of God is down to something I haven’t specifically touched on yet, but have hinted at between the lines if you’ve paid attention. Prayer. Now it’s easy to say prayer doesn’t work when you don’t do it, and it’s even easier to say prayer doesn’t work when you have asked for stuff and haven’t got it. But let it be known that I know from first-hand experience that prayer does work, even if it probably isn’t as “magical” or unexplainable as everyone else seems to think.

Prayer is the act of (1) putting your attention onto something you want, (2) having faith that it will come, and then (3) letting go of that thought until it manifests into your life. There are many ways to achieve this, and if you pray to a so-called God (v3.0) in the sky, that’s fine, because it can be a much easier to grasp approach and will work as long as you follow those three points. When I pray, however, it’s more to God v2.0, the Universal Energy, not entirely convinced that anything is consciously receiving my prayer, but rather that a universal law is in place which responds to such energy, as it recognises a being’s “want” as something that will progress them as an individual, and as a result, progress the entire Universe, aiding an even better evolution for generations to come no matter how small. This concept is much the same of another concept which I wholeheartedly practice called the Law of Attraction, the belief that (on a spiritual or scientific level, it doesn’t matter) thought influences the physical world, and like-energy attracts like-energy. I have written about this thought movement extensively before, so I won’t be going into it again, but even atheists can believe in such things without risking any of their proud dismissal of God. In fact, something I find funny is that I have met atheists who spit on the idea of prayer, and yet still believe that “magic” and spells and ancient witches existed, whereas this is exactly the same thing! By using some interesting methods, people who practice magic (dark or light) do just that: they place their attention onto something, have faith it will come, and then let it go until it manifests. I have cast very successful spells in my life, and I know they work exactly like prayer or Law of Attraction or anything in this vein, as they all achieve the same results.

It’s difficult to write an article like this and be linear, so unfortunately I have back up a bit and inform you that I wasn’t entirely honest in my introduction. However, I must first warn you that there is a very controversial statement following, and so if you wish to read it, I do beg you to read my explanation too. And it is this: I don’t 100% believe I am an agnostic. For, if any “religion” makes the most sense to me, it is the loose definition of Satanism.

But most people have no idea what this is! Like God v3.0 and his counter-opposite Devil friend, the general population thinks Satanism is the counter-opposite of organised religion, and that its followers all worship some red demon and the evil blasphemy that comes with him. This is not true. Satanists do not actually believe in Satan at all (well, Theistic Satanists do, but I feel that’s an attention seeking belief more than anything), but rather (as far as the more popular LaVeyan Satanism goes) a different form of individualism and epicureanism. It is, in its most basic form, worship of oneself and one’s own pleasures. I find it tragic that Anton LaVey (the Church's founder) shoved his beliefs under the Satanism label, because it gives off the wrong impression that such a path is evil (although I am sure he did it purely as a marketing tool, as a name which already struck fear within men, designed to cause controversy, and did). And while I don’t believe in everything the Satanic Bible preaches, I take the fundamental principles on board, which I still think agrees with every single religion too, despite what LaVey may have taught. As follows:

In very basic terms (or how I interpret it), it's the belief that “God” lives inside of you and you should listen to this internal energy above all else, your sole purpose to follow your pleasures and keep your emotions happy. This could be regarded as selfish, and it is, but selfish doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing. The worst kind of existence is people who try to please others, risking their own happiness for the benefit of someone else’s happiness. We are taught that this admirable, wherein it is actually so silly, for if you cannot tend to yourself first and foremost, you won’t benefit anyone else to the best of your ability anyway. Just because you love yourself and follow your own path of desires and happiness, does not mean you have to neglect the needs of others. Quite the opposite, in fact, because very often helping someone else can be the best feeling in the world, and that is still beneficial to you. We each have energy inside of us, and this is our own personal slice of the Universe; our electricity, our life force. It knows what is best for us, and we would be stupid to ignore this, for it is a gift. I will delve into much greater detail about what this means and how to utilise it in the next chapter, but for now I want you to understand that your own exclusive piece of “God” is buzzing within you right now. This still complies with all the other basic religious beliefs, except we do not have to look outward from ourselves for answers, but into our own core to connect to this Higher Power. Once you get this, it feels amazing.

Finally, to conclude this exceptionally bloated chapter as fast as possible (just in time, I’m sure, apologies), I would like to touch on solipsism, which is the theory that your mind is the only mind in existence. While I can totally understand that this is the bare minimum of what we can individually prove, I simply cannot swallow this for my own sanity. For if this is the case, it makes very little difference, because you can’t confirm any of this shit regardless, so we might as well have fun by looking at other possibilities, right? I don’t understand how people who believe this even get up in the morning.

Now, let’s move on to exactly what this all means to your very own life path. This is where it gets a little more beneficial for you personally, I promise.

CHAPTER 5: THE MEANING OF YOUR OWN PERSONAL LIFE; AND WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE

"There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open." - Martha Graham

By now I have covered everything from the history of the Universe, to the evolution of mankind, and exactly how personal spirituality has come to be. So fucking what. What does it all mean for you as an individual? What is the meaning of life? Why are you here? What are you supposed to be doing? And what happens when you die?

I will tell you everything you need to know, but I doubt any of it will satisfy you on any acceptable level. The reason is as simple as you would have already guessed: it is not our place to fully understand the reason for the life of everything. Why is it evolving? Where is it trying to go? What is the big idea, Mr Universe? We will never know, and must never find out, for if we did, everything would be completely fucked. This may be frustrating, but it is imperative to our survival. It is what breeds curiosity—this desire to find answers by using science or looking up at the stars or dissecting badgers. If God suddenly appeared and said “the answer behind life is that the Universe is hoping to evolve into a giant grapefruit and nothing else matters,” I doubt anyone would bother getting up in the morning. Instead we have this inner conflict about our purpose, as well as this external conflict about which answers are the best between us, and as a result, we aid the evolution of future generations by granting them even more knowledge to work with, without ever actually giving them any proper conclusions whatsoever.

However, this does not mean that your own personal life has no foreseeable meaning. It absolutely does, it has mass importance, and you must carry it out to the best of your ability to ensure you are beneficial to all the energy in existence, and hopefully prove your worth in order to remain fascinating and not die as quickly as those who have become stagnant (if that is indeed how it all works). And how to do this, is so incredibly easy, it blows my mind that some people are generally unhappy and lost within their own story.

It all begins with what I like to call “The Sims Theory”, and it works like this: you were born, and just like creating a character on the Sims PC game, there were a certain amount of points set to be distributed within your being. The number of your points are exactly the same as everyone else’s number of points, no matter how untrue this may seem when comparing yourself to other people. These points may be heavily in favour of having a friendly demeanour; or exceptionally talented painting skills; or a good liver; or a great sense of character judgement; or an epic sense of smell; or the compassion for other people’s feelings; or general happiness; or a deeper connection to God (like a prophet) ... the combination of possibilities are literally infinite. Additionally, some people have a nice even spread of their points over almost all factors, making it seem like they are not particularly good at anything, when in actual fact, they are a little bit better than average at everything. Maybe there is someone you know who is considerably more skilful at a specific topic than you and you may feel inferior or even jealous of this, but rest assured that their other factors will suffer for it. And while much of this is surely based on some genetic structure, I believe it is even more to do with reasons of evolution. You were given what you were given, to do what you do, and by doing what you do, are playing your role in balancing out conflict as well as creating more of it, aiding the evolution of all things. As they say, you are special, so very very special, just like everyone else. And this is a good thing.

It is exactly what I have been discussing since the beginning of this article. There is this infinite Universe of energy, which we have been using interchangeably with the word “God”, and within you is your very own slice of this “God”. And this energy is telling you—literally screaming at you—the answers every single day. The issue comes when people do not listen to this energy, instead going on about their life with the misconception that they have no control over their direction or inner feelings. And this simply is not true, for your feelings are a guide pointing you towards the right path for your entire existence.

The best analogy I’ve heard goes like this: if you had to stick your hand in a fire, what happens? Your nerves send the message to your brain that whatever you are doing, it is wrong and you need to stop it immediately. This is the physical equivalent, an indicator which is warning you of what feels negative and what feels positive. And what surprises me is that, while nobody ever doubts that physical pain is an informer of something which is unhealthy, so many people suffer through the exact same kind of torture on a daily basis, as long as it is on an internal level.

It is your emotions. Your vibe, your feelings. When you are feeling unhappy (nervous, agitated, bored, heartbroken - pick your variation), your emotions are saying “your hypothetical hand is in the fire, you need to get it out”. Conversely, when you are feeling happy (proud, excited, relaxed, humoured - pick your variation), your emotions are saying “your hypothetical hand is feeling really good right now, is somebody massaging it? Keep this up!”. And you have complete control over this, often by what you are currently doing, but even more so, by what you are currently thinking, and at any time in any situation no matter how bad your thoughts/emotions have got, you can always find a better feeling thought if you are willing to put the work in. And it gets even easier with practice.

And that is literally it: the meaning of your life, or at very least the key to understanding it. You need to remain happy at all costs and at every moment. I know it sounds simple and I also know it sounds easier than it is, but there are methods. One I found to be most beneficial was coined by a very clever otherworldly being named Abraham Hicks, who called it “The ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice’ Game”. It works like this: if you find yourself in a situation which is bringing negativity into your core (I don’t have enough money; I lost my job; I’m feeling sick; I was raped) you instead turn to face a better feeling thought by asking the question “wouldn’t it be nice if... (I found £20 on the floor; that dream job I applied to got back to me; when I wake, my nose clears up; that bastard gets arrested)". Even if they don’t come true, I am willing to bet anything that just by looking at those examples, you can feel your innards shift towards a better vibration and out of the fire. And that is exactly the goal here, because good/bad thoughts breed good/bad thoughts, and by consciously making the effort to keep your thoughts clean, your emotions will follow, and happiness is the exact standpoint you need to be in order to achieve your maximum potential and purpose.

There are many other ways to induce these good feelings (write lists of things in your life you are appreciative for everyday, hang out with the people you love, imagine yourself living in prosperity for 15 minutes every morning, watch a comedy etc) but whatever your method, once tapped into that inner energy and listening to exactly what it is that makes you feel happy, pretty soon your life purpose will open up in front of you, because you are listening to your inner energy, and it will guide you. Suddenly, things will become obvious to you, like: “wow, I’m really happy when I dance”, or “I’m really stoked when I eat”, or “I’m really proud when I take photographs” or "I really enjoy feeling healthy when I go to gym" or whatever. And this is the most important aspect of what you should be listening to. These are the things that you are meant to be doing, your meaning, because not everyone gets those feelings when doing those things, but you do, and that’s because these actions are what makes your inner-God happy. That is what it wants you to do, and you simply must do those things because that’s who you are on the deepest level.

Hopefully this aids some of you to discover your passions and what you should be focusing on, but what about those who already know? You have already pinpointed the exact thing you love doing more than anything else in the world, the thing that makes you happiest, and so where do you go from here? Well, it’s as simple as what we’ve already covered: keep doing that! Do it as often as possible! When you aren’t doing that, think about it! Of course you’ll have other chores to complete throughout your day, but do not allow those tasks to distract you from the goal. Daydream about your life-dream while you do anything, live your dream life in your head, experience those emotions even if they are not your reality, because how does it feel? It feels great! It feels right! Your hand is not in a fire, your stomach vibrates with excitement, and your thoughts are racing freely and smoothly. Because this is your purpose. This is the meaning of your life.

But whether you are on the “I know what I want” side of the fence, or on the “I’m not too sure yet” side of the fence, do not fear bad thoughts. You will at times doubt your abilities. You will at times be unsure about what it is you want. You will at times grow frustrated that your dreams aren’t right at your doorstep. But you must understand these thoughts are incredibly important in themselves. For, like the Universe demanding conflict in order to evolve, your thoughts work in much the same way. The negativity serves a purpose: to bring about discomfort within yourself which begs for balance, and this is a good thing. It is with these emotions, you can step back and go “Hey, I am feeling pretty shitty right now. Why? What was it I was just thinking about to make me feel this way?” and once you have determined what this thought is, it’s much easier to say “Ok, so I feel shit right now, so that must be a bad thought, and is obviously what I don’t want because my emotions are telling me so,” followed swiftly by “with that in mind, what is it I do want? What is the complete opposite of that thought which would bring me joy?”. It is that simple. Do not fight bad thoughts, work with them. Use them much like the examples before. Don’t like the thought of having no money? That means your inner energy wants you to have more money, so spend an imaginary £1000 on rubbish and then feel better. Don’t like being single? That means your inner energy wants you to find someone to love, so think about what kind of person they would be and then feel better. Don’t like the thought of your talents being ignored? That means your inner energy wants you to be recognised, so write your award speech and then feel better. Don’t like the neighbours making so much noise passed your bedtime? That means your inner energy wants you to have a decent nights sleep, how about imagining a holiday and then feel better.

Because (and if nothing else, please understand this) your personal energy is connected to the Universal Energy, and the very reason you want something is because you are meant to have it. Your inner core is sending messages to you, telling you to go for these things, whilst simultaneously ordering those exact same things from the Universal Catalogue to bring them to you. You need to get in line with these feelings without any doubt (much like prayer), and then they will come to you, because the Universe wants you to have them for its own selfish reasons: it is using you to have a unique experience only you could have, so it can learn from you (on a minute level or not) and have a more developed system of conflict in place for future generations, ensuring the eternal evolution and growth of all things. We have been granted this internal emotional energy system for this very reason. It's not just trying to fuck with us and make us want what it is we can't have—it is demanding that we go and get what it is we must have, because that is why we were born! And yes, once again, this is rooted heavily in the Law Of Attraction theory, stating you will receive what you think about the most, but don’t let this overwhelming new age thought movement distract you. For at the end of the day, and at very least, this approach promises improved happiness, and regardless of what you think about the concept of energy; like attracting like; thoughts manifesting into physical; or even God ... everyone could benefit from an extra dose of happiness, would you not agree?

So in summary, the meaning of your individual life is as follows: (1) Find out what it is you are best at, and what it is that brings you the most thrill. (2) Do this thing at any given point you can, to the best of your ability. (3) Make sure you are having fun in every single moment you are doing so, for if you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong, and must either find a more happier way to approach it, or find something completely different to do.

By following these instructions, you are not only benefiting your life and your future, but also everything else in the entire existence of the Universe, and that is your purpose. Follow your stomach. Follow your bliss. Follow your dreams. Be happy. It. Is. That. Simple.

And then ... you die.

With that thought, I’d like to conclude this chapter with what happens once we leave this life, but it will come as no surprise to you that I can offer nothing more than speculation, as I haven’t died yet. However, I feel it is safe to assume that we will not end up in front of some golden gates or in some Hell for all eternity, as that would be far too predictable and highly unimaginative, something the Universe could never be accused of being. The reason I am so sure of this, is the descriptions people have offered for these eternal lives. Smell of burning flesh, you say? Angels playing harp music, you say? Fiery pits of lava, you say? Souls to hug and love you, you say? All of these things are far too based on physical conceptions, and it was my understanding that we left our physical bodies behind when we died, no? In fact, all of those examples can be found right here on Earth, why wait until you die to experience them?

I would be gravely disappointed if we could see or hear or touch anything in the “afterlife”. These are human traits, so simple and confined, and I am sure by the time my own death ends my path, I would want to leave these things behind. I mean, even thinking to me is a physical thing, a result of our God electricity powering up our brains and creating a mind. I believe while seconds before our death we may have a glorious moment where our thoughts register the separation of our soul from our personality, but after that, it would be much like before you were born. On a conscious level, you will cease to exist.

This is not a scary nor a bad thing, it is a wonderful thing. For this slice of energy we have trapped inside of our flesh (leading us with its emotional guidance and building upon itself with our experiences), will finally be set free from this enclosed body, soaring and then expanding back into Source Energy, touching every single piece of the Universe with one swift move. And as this energy is an emotion based substance, you can imagine the feeling to be one of great liberation.

After this point, I do believe your energy (perhaps even separated into pieces, or combined with other bits of other energies) will get reused to power-up another physical life form, and in this way, I do agree with reincarnation. However, I do not believe in it on the same level many religions have taught, as in that bad souls will come back as a mouse or a slug, and that good souls will be born into prosperity—for no soul is bad, all energy is made up of the same stuff, based on love and good feelings, and cannot be held responsible for the mind it was put under. And to believe energy would be so segregated that it’d be reused on the same planet twice is to greatly underestimate the vastness of the Universe. Perhaps some energies are so traumatised by the mind they powered, that they leave traces of themselves behind like an imprint on the physical realm, which would explain ghosts. Perhaps some energies are so passionate that they manage to be reused in much the same place and carry some essence of their former experiences, which would explain past-life memories. But all of this (while not impossible) seems a touch far-fetched, if not exceptionally rare, but who am I to say? Rather, I will say, that on a conscious level, you will be gone. Your thoughts and your personality will no longer exist, while your energy will thank you for the shell you provided as it reconnects to where it came from. And all that will be left of you—truly left of you—will be the stuff you have created on Earth (art, children, memories inside someone else's head etc), and the valuable experiences you granted the Universal Energy to use and evolve with. And that’s pretty cool, if you think about it.

CHAPTER 6: THE ILLUSION OF CHOICE; THE FUZZY GREY LINE BETWEEN "RIGHT" AND "WRONG"; AND WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?

This chapter was the one I struggled to write the most. Originally, it was part of the last chapter, but I felt it completely ruined the joy of it. I then attempted to merge it into chapter 3, but it didn’t exactly fit anywhere. I considered cutting it out completely, but then knew too many questions from readers would go unanswered, and I’d have to tell this story anyway. So I begrudgingly granted it its own chapter, but let it be known that I didn’t enjoy writing it and so I hope it was worth it.

When I explain my theories to people, a lot of them have the same question: if life and happiness and everything is as simple as you say, then why do bad things happen to good people? Why do decent members of society get cancer? Why do innocent people get murdered or raped? Why are children born with disfigurements only to die within moments of their life? Why do so many people live in poverty? Where are their Simpoints? Where is there emotional guidance? What is their purpose? Where is their fair share? Where is their happy place?

Well, there is an answer (and I will give it to you shortly), but there is an even more important thing to realise here: it is not your place to think about such things. In general, it does no good for your own life or anyone else’s if you self-impose suffering onto your thoughts without using it to take immediate action or to use it to find a happier place. Some people get so worked up about animal abuse or starving children or conspiracy theories, that they feel a need to intrusively push it into others’ faces or onto their facebooks. This is one of the worst things you can do. You may feel so negatively passionate that you are under the impression that you need to do something, but all you end up doing is spreading your own misery and discomfort, and this is not conductive to any form of growth—quite the opposite, in fact. If something is upsetting you, and you truly feel you can’t turn your thoughts away, then by all means, do something about it. Help these people in the right way. Be pro-education, not anti-ignorance. Be pro-peace, not anti-war. Be pro-animal rights, not anti-animal cruelty, because PRO feels good, and ANTI feels bad, and feeling bad is a crime against you inner energy. Give money to a charity or volunteer at an old age home or write an essay in order to realign your own path, but please do not push your beliefs onto other people unless they ask you to, for this is not your right to do so, and they do not deserve it. This is wrong and evil of you, and I have removed friends for less.

But while I choose to focus on the happy good things in life, I think it would be a bit too shallow of me to write such an overambitious article without delving into this nasty side of the world. Don’t get me wrong, I am blissfully ignorant by choice, but I respect that this won’t work for everyone and some will demand answers. And so I will touch on the above examples here, and hope you can apply them to whatever else is on your mind, but please excuse me while things get a tad blunt and uncomfortable.

Some babies are born to die. Some die within the womb. These human beings are no more or no less important than you. Their very existence is based on the exact same principles and system that your existence is based upon, and I have already spoken to death about it. It was their purpose, and while no less tragic on a personal level and while still a very very sad occurrence, it was that child’s contribution to evolution. Perhaps it died in a specifically unusual way. Perhaps the reaction the parents experienced was unique (and of course it would be, because no two people ever feel the exact same thing in the exact same way about anything). But it is my full-hearted belief that while something like this is not too uncommon, each and every time provides a new piece of conflict for the Universal Energy to work with; to build into future generations; to learn from; and to create a more magnificent self each and every day.

Moving on: as many have pointed out before, all you have to do is break up the word “disease” to find its origin. Dis-Ease. It’s caused by stress or discomfort within oneself. By following the three steps I highlighted in the chapter before to race toward your true purpose fuelled by happiness, the Universe will not want to slow you down, and will not put such obstacles in your way for its own selfish reasons. However, if you have become replaceable or boring or even work too hard without enjoying yourself, the Universe may try to kill you off or hinder you by force for its own benefit. But much like anything else, disease is an unfortunate natural thing. I can repeat myself over and over until you get this: it’s about conflict. When someone is fighting cancer or learning to live with HIV or suffering from any other terminal illness, it is providing conflict within this human, whereas they are embedding their own unique flavour onto the experience, and therefore benefitting everything else by having endured it. In fact, the people who defeat the conflict and come out the other side healthy, are generally stronger people than those who haven’t lived through such a struggle, and the same goes for the entire Universe as a whole, albeit on a bigger scale.

At points, perhaps there is a larger imbalance in the equation of evolution, and a more drastic action needs to take place where an individual's experience simply won't cut it. One reason may be over-population, another may be a huge advancement in a discovery, but whatever the case may be, the Universe will decide to wipe out a large amount of people. This can take place as a natural disaster, a famine, a widespread disease, a war, a grand scale terrorist attack—it doesn’t matter, for each of these examples are as natural and normal as the others. There is a need for conflict, and the conflict is delivered, forcing humans as a unit to put in place precautions to avoid a repeat of such occurrences, and forcing the Universe to learn and make changes within itself.

I will say it again: this conflict concept applies to every single one of these examples. Like how about people who are born with disabilities? These guys are living with conflict every single day, but what is interesting in my experience, is that the humans who have carried this weight their whole lives are (more often than not) much nicer, much more humble and much more determined people than those who were born with more of an “advantage”. Humans who have this physical conflict every moment of their life learn to complain less despite having more to complain about, and yet so many us who live in much “healthier” bodies curse God when we break a nail. Everyday, I see greater patheticness in more body-abled people than anybody who has some “limitation”, which is why so many of these “handicapped” girls and boys go on to achieve such great things. Can you imagine the kind of positive influence they have granted the Universe??

Once again, this exact same concept applies to people who are born within poverty (and this is my favourite one). It is a conflict that breeds ideas, which not only builds a stronger Universe, but also stronger characters. Many have fought their way out of this conflict and gone on to achieve great things, and they would have never done so if it weren't for living in harsh conditions which gave them an insight of what they didn’t want, and then the determination to get out of it. If I am completely honest, I feel more sorry for people born into extreme wealth or royalty. Your whole life handed to you on a silver platter? Your biggest issue if enough guests come to your dinner party or if your carpets are the right colour? My God, how fucking boring. People born into struggle live LIFE, real LIFE, they feel what it is to be ALIVE, and take each day the best they can to improve their situation, little by little. It is impossible for life to grow at any speed without such people who are seriously LIVING to this degree, and all the hunger and terrible conditions acknowledged, their lives are probably much more exciting than any of ours. On that note: I also think only middle-to-upper class snobs like us are looking upon these people with such massive pity. I don’t believe they are all living in the misery they are being portrayed in the media. They still feel love for each other. They still appreciate the value of family. They still find humour in things. While I am not devaluing the tough lives they are living, I refuse to allow charity organisations dictate my opinion. It’s not about being insensitive, it’s about understanding I have no idea, and about realising that while some of these kids may starve to death, many others access the mind-tools to fight their way out of it, and would most likely value those experiences much more than any of us could even comprehend. I’m almost envious of people born into poverty. Sort of.

And finally, I want to touch on those who have been raped or murdered, and those who commit these acts. Unfortunately, in order to do so, I must repeat myself. Those who have been assaulted experienced a conflict and that conflict bred thoughts which only that person (as a complete unique individual) could breed. Some become crippled by an incident; others use it to grow stronger, help others, or even capitalise on their misfortune by writing books or giving inspirational speeches. But regardless of where this path takes them, it was all thrust upon them without their consent as part of the greater good, to benefit (whether obvious or not) themselves, those close to them, society, and the entire Universe. It forces them and everyone else to think and feel and make decisions and act, which in turn, helps future generations evolve with a more educated purpose. And while the same can’t be said for those who are murdered (as they are dead, which is cool, as I spoke about in the last chapter), those around them are shoved into conflict, and the results are much the same.

However, and as hard as this may seem, we still must not judge those who commit these crimes. For starters, thinking about them will only upset your own internal God and may prove destructive to your own purpose. But beyond this, we also have no idea what voices are going on within these people’s heads. They are on their own path, perhaps even by following the three steps I highlighted earlier, and have found themselves killing or raping or behaving in other such anti-social manners without completely wanting to. Perhaps they were good at it and it gave them a thrill. Perhaps they have a serious misalignment mentally which gives them terrible urges to do terrible things. But whether they were in control of these actions or not, they were born to fulfill a mission which is horrible and disgusting for us who do not understand, but imperative for them to complete, and much like cancer or religion or anything else, were here to deliver the Universe one thing: conflict. Are these “good” people? Majority (including myself) would say no. Do they belong in jail? Yes, they do, for they are harmful to individuals, and in our society, such behaviour can not be tolerated. But do not think for one second they are a lower life form than you, for it is not your place to say. They are merely doing what their gut and mind are telling them to do, they are still part of the global spirit, and we must love all things no matter how detrimental they may seem.

With that in mind, I would like to extend the last paragraph by discussing “morals”. Much like psychiatrists who have ridiculous labels for every type of personality in the world and have written extensively about what they consider an “average” or “normal” mind (despite no mind existing anywhere near the definition), the same can be applied to morals. Morals go hand in hand with the internal energy living within you (your emotions) and are defined purely by what your gut is differentiating between what feels “right” and what feels “wrong”. So, for example, if I got the idea to murder someone, my inner-self would be quick to point out how uncomfortable that thought made me feel. I would instantly know this was not part of my designated path and would not follow through. But there is no universal “right” or “wrong”, as there is no “average” or “normal” set of morals which will apply to every (or even any) person, as every single one of our moral systems will differ. This is why we cannot judge someone who felt it “right” when they raped or murdered or molested another, because we don’t understand, nor is it our place to understand. Don’t get me wrong, I do not support this behaviour, it makes me feel sick, but I refuse to think that I am some authority on what anybody else should be experiencing other than myself. What I am saying is, please don’t be a moral Nazi. “Moral superiority” is one of the most repulsive pretentious traits a human can have. The most beneficial thing you can do for yourself and everything else, is to listen to your own feelings, follow that path with happiness and a clear conscience, and try your best to ignore those who do not subscribe to your exact vision.

I have told this theory to many people before, and funny enough I always get a variation of the exact same question: “You say this, Jared, but if your sister/mother/girlfriend got raped/murdered, your story would change.” And I must insist, no it would not. I would still believe that the perpetrator did what he did because he was following a path he felt he must. I would still believe that no matter how I felt, on a universal scale, it would be a small thing and is absolutely the nature of his contribution to evolution. And I would not judge the man for it. I would, however, find him and rip his face off and then suffocate him with it. Because I would be hateful and mad, and most likely get a feeling in my inner stomach which told me to destroy that motherfucker. I would do it because I was following a path I felt I must. It would be the nature of my contribution to evolution. And, in turn, nobody must judge me for it. It is not in our essence to accept this type of behaviour especially when it concerns our own personal lives, and if you feel that level of fury within your gut, do something about it, stop fucking around. Very simple concept. It works in all areas.

The main reason I feel so secure within my beliefs is a very complex theory which overrides all of these theories, and it is exceptionally hard to explain without contradicting myself and causing complete upset to the reader. But I will say it anyway: I am a hard determinist, just like Richard Dawkins, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Voltaire. This means I do not believe in free will. The reason is that, I cannot comprehend that a person when given a choice of two or more options, would ever choose anything other than the one they were going to choose anyway. This to me may relate somewhat to genetics, but most predominantly, life experiences. If someone asks you “Would you like an apple? Or would you like an orange?”, you may know from your life experience that you prefer apples, so that would be your choice. Or perhaps in your life experience, you already had an apple earlier that day, so you choose the orange. No matter how long you think you are weighing up your options, you will always make the same choice, in any given situation.

Most of this will be unconscious, for example someone may ask you “do you prefer the name Mary or Isabelle?” and you say “Mary”, without realising you hate the name Isabelle because when you were a child you read some book where Isabelle was the name of the evil twin sister, and now you associate that title with a negative emotion. Or perhaps you are very proud of yourself because you made the choice to quit smoking, when in actual reality, at that exact point at that exact time, in your experience you were fed up with morning cough or saw an ugly lung picture or someone shouted at you or whatever, and would have only ever decided to go down the stopping-path once your mind hit that exact fork in the decision-road. Don't misunderstand me, this is not to say everything in your life is predetermined, but it is to say that when presented with a challenge, your mind has already predetermined the answer before you even know it. You do not have control over outside experiences, and things are happening to you all the time and shaping your mind into solid positions. You are who you are, you will always weigh up the options according to your own already formed opinions and experiences, and you will always choose the one which you feel is the best choice. And the best choice was predetermined by your developed mind based on all the external things that have happened to you throughout your life, none of which you had any command over.

It’s difficult to explain, and even harder to defend, which is why I won’t go into too much further detail. However, people often do challenge this stance by asking me “if you don’t believe you have a choice, then why bother doing anything?” And the answer is, you have to do stuff. You don’t have a choice, haha. Seriously though, whether you want to take this on board or not (and I know most of you will refuse to accept it, and that's fine), just understand that you are a cog, this is all one big machine, moving along in the only direction it ever would, everything exactly as it is meant to be and would always would be, and you are an important part of it. So you might as well enjoy the ride.

In order to enjoy said ride, I’d suggest you pretty much forget this whole chapter. Never think about it again. Come to some sort of a place of acceptance that the world’s got some weird shit going on, there are people doing strange stuff, and it’s all a little bit out of your control. Then turn around, and walk away. Let this article sink into your brain and let your mind make the choices which guide you towards happiness. And, for God’s sake, don’t ever read the news for any correct representation of information, for they would love for you to believe that the world is falling apart and everything is going to shit, because fear is a marketing tool.

Instead, look at how amazing this place is. It’s fucking incredible, us humans and this gorgeous planet we live on. Anything you want is at your fingertips. Our technological advances are mind-blowing. Our scientific studies are opening doors which are unfathomable even for us living here now. Our medical advances are keeping people alive with other people’s body parts which is just wtffff, and they are even making organs in laboratories now. Humans, bro, fuck, it’s awesome! Never has the whole world been so connected to each other as we are now, there is this grand sense of unity that we never had before. I can chat to someone in Japan while I wait 10 minutes for a movie to download, and that’s fucking awesome. If we get bored, we can now get on a plane and fly to the other side of the world and spend some time in a rainforest or a desert—do you understand how recent this type of thing became accessible?? There are so many variations of food available right now, merging cultural and traditional dishes into one rad taste and into our stores so we don’t have to anything except shove them in a microwave. Music and literature and art are being created in mass force, sometimes in people’s bedrooms and then instantly shot across the planet with websites for everyone to check out, and even tutorials if you want to learn how to do it yourself—all for free. People are recycling and trying to save animals and feed the starving and teach safe-sex, and never as a globe have we been so well educated on these matters. Just research how fast the use solar energy or the idea of self-sustainable communities is spreading, it's seriously impressive. There is so much opportunity now, for every race and gender, much much more than there was only a short time ago. People are finding money and satisfaction in the strangest of professions as a testament to how far we have come. There are so many beautiful people and places on offer that it would be a crime against yourself to face towards anything else. People are making friends. People are falling in love. People are helping each other out all the time. These are the stories you need to read about, nothing else.

WE ARE BLESSED, PEOPLE. We have been given the gift of life, the most powerful and precious thing we know of, filled with all the wonderful and not so wonderful things which keep us entertained and busy. And we are all in it together, trying our best to make sense of everything whilst achieving our own goals and happiness, and being the best people we can be. And there is something so very very special in all of this. This life we have. Don't waste it.

CHAPTER 7: THE FUTURE OF MANKIND; THE FUTURE OF THE EARTH; THE FUTURE OF THE UNIVERSE; AND THE INFINITY OF SPACE

In all my readings, no one has ever predicted the future on any satisfactory level, and I don’t expect myself to be any different, so take all of this with a pinch of salt. Because while there have been the odd interesting prophecy now and again which got something inconsequential right, on a massive global scale, it is generally nothing which couldn’t be written off as simple coincidence. And I believe this is down to the Universe itself, either on a conscious omnipresent God kind of way, or in a natural equation scientific law kind of way. It is just this: by predicting the future, you are developing the future. It is not fixed in stone, and by offering thoughts which are reaching every corner of space, whilst combining with every other intelligent life forms' predictions, the Universe is developing its own direction. No one person could handle this sized collection of philosophies in their mind, which is why the end result is always quite different from what we assumed. Personally, I like to believe that this “God” thing has a sense of humour and purposefully does the opposite of what people think it’s going to do, but that’s just me.

The reason I bring this up is because I believe it is related to why they say space is infinite, for (even after everything I have said), I don’t truly believe it is. We can start picking apart this theory by using the age old thought experiment "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" The answer is, of course, that hypothetical trees don't make a sound at all. Something has to be perceived in order to exist. Such a concept is not only agreed upon by Buddhist and Hindu perspectives, but also from the studies of quantum physics.

Now, I’m no physicist. I mean, have you ever tried to read about quantum physics? That shit be crazy hard. But from what I understand (at least as one factor goes), it teaches that reality changes once observed. One of the most famous experiments which proves this law, is called “The Double Slit Experiment”, which basically goes like this: once upon a time, clever people randomly fired a bunch of light particles through two slits, which created a pattern on a back wall in the same shape of said slits (two lines) when observed, but multiple lines like waves when unobserved. It’s very weird and doesn't make too much sense when I say it, which is why I recommend watching this video to break it down much better than I can, it's fairly insane

So what does this mean? Well, how the fuck should I know? Except to say that it proves that the stuff which literally makes up EVERYTHING, changes when a mind notices its presence. By this statement, we can take it a level further, and suggest that in order for something to even exist, it would need a mind to interact with it. This could mean that your room or your office or whatever, doesn’t even exist until someone is interacting with it. When you leave your house and there is no else one around, it literally ceases to exist, for there is nothing there to perceive it—it needs a mind to be there in order to reactivate itself, for lack of better term.

The same goes for space. It’s not that space is infinite. It’s that there is no mind interacting with it in certain massive areas, and therefore, simply does not exist. And yet, you could travel upwards for as long as you liked, and as your mind entered these spaces, you would be creating it as you went along, activating new places that perhaps had never been activated before. Perhaps these places would even form based on your own unique experiences and would turn out differently if someone else was to observe them for the first time? All in theory of course, but it does help grasp all of our finite mathematical rules in our finite minds in a so-called “infinite” Universe. It’s not that it's necessarily infinite, it just doesn’t exist, but will exist the moment you enter it, forever chasing an endless creation process. Forget evolution for a second, we are literally making this place up with our minds as we go along.

And that is exactly where we are going as a human race. To space. To infinity. AND BEYOND!!!

This is my theory on the matter, and if there is anything in this article you can laugh at and disregard, it would be this, but listen anyway. As I have been building up since the beginning of this piece, there is this mass evolution going on within everything’s combined energy. Creatures ended up on our little planet, and evolved themselves, until us humans came into power. We created a mass amount of conflict within our own groups, which caused us to evolve even quicker, eventually uniting these groups and outgrowing that conflict, then forming designated pieces of land and countries. When a country got along nicely, whether they knew it or not, they desired (and needed) more conflict, which is why war between countries became common place and still goes on to this day, creating greater and greater conflict, and as a result, propelling us so fast through the evolution process that any other species we know of is static in comparison.

But as I have also gone over, we are reaching a nice turning point of unity. Thanks to the internet and sky travel, we are all connected and aware of each other’s histories and cultures. And each generation is less and less prone to prejudice, and less and less supportive of these wars and discrimination. In culturally flourishing cities such as London, we find people of all religious backgrounds and races falling in love and breeding, miles above anything we could have even comprehended only decades ago. And I believe this is the future.

Slowly but surely, cultures and races will muddy down as more mixed children are born. It seems sad in a “culture lost” or “our differences keep us interesting” kind of way, but is definitely the result of unity and more evolution as the one human race. Once this happens, borders will break down, wars will cease, language will merge, and even something like government and money could fall away. And we would be at peace, which as I have drilled throughout this article, is not what we want.

We would need conflict, or we would no longer evolve and no longer be beneficial to the Universe. This would result in one of two things: (1) We would be rendered useless and wiped off the Earth (or the Earth itself would be wiped out); or (2) We would still have potential and therefore new conflict would present itself, either delivered by the Universe, or sought out and found by our own missions. And this is what I’m thinking:

The Human Race enters the Interplanetary War. Them Humans have finally formed an alliance and cooperate with each other, sharing goals and coming to an agreement about what they want to achieve as a single unit. They have evolved their technology and can now leave their orbit effortlessly to investigate new planets and search out alien races. And eventually, we find them.

Perhaps it will start with one planet. Perhaps it will be the same planet those little dudes come from—the ones people report sightings of. Perhaps their planet is quite close to us, and we find it on a search for a new place to settle because our planet has become over-populated. Perhaps they won’t like this, and our planets will go to war. Perhaps the only reason they didn’t kill us before is because we were already in such a mess of wars between ourselves, that it would have been far too easy to wipe us out and much less entertaining than just observing us. Although perhaps they anticipate our arrival. Perhaps they let us know of their existence. Perhaps they will receive us with open arms and we will help each other evolve even further, as we join their alliance in a fight against another planet. But whatever the case, it will be like we have graduated, now strong enough to join a higher form of conflict on such a larger scale that planets become what our countries are now.

And on and on it will go, more planets interacting and connecting, causing more and more conflict for future generations to deal with and grow from, aliens breeding with aliens until the human species itself gets watered down into a mixed breed, more and more war leading to more and more peace leading to more and more alliances and then bigger and bigger scale wars, until the Galaxy itself becomes one unit and enters the Intergalactic War, where other such fully formed Galaxies are looking to each other for conflict, whether they are aware of it or not. Perhaps by this point Earth has floated too close to the Sun and is no longer inhabitable, and we live exclusively on some other central planet or simply on floaty machines in space like all those Sci-Fi flicks. It would be epic.

And then one day, all conflict within the Universe will be exhausted. There would be an infinite amount of this one race, all living in harmony, and at that point of evolution hitting its limit, God will come down from his figurative cloud, shake all of our hands and congratulate us on passing this level of the game. He will then take down the curtains to reveal an infinite amount of other Gods all playing with their own Universes, the ones with the most developed Universes entering the Interuniversal War, where we will be informed that there is an even greater force at work, and these Gods and Universes must now battle other Gods and Universes in order to maintain conflict until all the Universes reach the limit of their evolution, and then the next even greater level of the War will begin, forever more.

Take it or leave it.

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