A World of Possibilities
Always loved this idea – a world of possibilities, and now,
it has exploded. Yes, exploded for
me. My understanding of world is
so much larger.
I am taking a course from Princeton University, through
coursera.org, delivered by David Spergel – Imaging Other Worlds. It was the title that initially lured
me in and I am amazed that I have stayed.
It turns out to be a lot of mathematical equations and scientific
principles, which quite frankly I would normally run away from. However, David Spergel, is
amazing. I am captivated,
challenged and more curious than ever.
For a quick overview, a 54 minute video go to www.pbs.org/nova. Yes, 54 minutes and I hope you are as enthralled with
the journey as I am.
Imaging Other Worlds has really made me ponder how limited
my thinking can be.
What I don’t know, I don’t see.
Yes, I see stars in the night sky. I am lucky enough to go out with an Astronomy Group here in
Oman to view the night skies through some very powerful telescopes. But even this did not prepare me for
the wonders of the Universes - millions of star and millions of planets. I was still understanding Science from
my school days and seeing only our sun and our solar system. This has completely changed.
I remember as a University student being completely
disenchanted with Sciences when I was told that it has now been proven that
dinosaurs are warm blooded not cold blooded as I had been taught and
believed. At the time I was not
ready to have my way of thinking of the world challenged or even worse, proven
to be false!
What I don’t know, I don’t see.
Is this where it starts?
Back to this earth.
If I can envision it , I can do it. I can start today by throwing off my self-imposed limitations
and see what might come forward.
I was out on a snorkeling and camping trip a few weekends
ago. Whilst happily snorkeling around
a fairly quiet part of the Island I was suddenly taken aback. It looked like a giant rope attached to
a piece of coral. I immediately
stopped, sensing danger although not sure why. This piece of rope scared me. So I happily changed direction and snorkeled elsewhere. Upon getting back to shore I asked the
other snorkelers if they had seen the rope. They informed me quite seriously it was not a piece of
rope, it was a very large
jellyfish. It could cause quite a
bit of harm!
What I don’t know, I don’t see! Rope/jellyfish
Leads to another interesting question. Ok, so there are many stars and planets
up in the sky and many forms of life in the seas, all of which I am only starting
to become aware of. What
else? What is it in my everyday
mundane existence that I don’t see.
What do I see only as what I expect to see? (rope/starfish) Perspective is everything.
Psychologist and author David Hawkins, in his book, Power versus Force, tells a story of a
man dressed in ragged clothing, not shaven, standing on a street corner in a
well to do neighborhood. I may not
have this exactly correct but here goes.
He tells us that how we see the world is how we see this man, it depends
on our state of consciousness.
Here’s what I remember from the story. If we have a state of lack/fear we see the man as an
intruder, perhaps a robber, going to break into the homes and steal. If we are in a state of love, we see
him as a poor man who needs our help and sympathy. We feel condolence, seeing him as someone less than
ourselves who needs our help. If
we operate from a state of power, where everyone is equal, we see a man and
wonder what kind of interesting stories he has. Note, this is a different definition of power than is
commonly held.
Perspective
Redefine a world of possibilities by removing your self imposed
limitations.
What do you see?
