Legacy: Mind, Meaning and the Freedom to Choose #51 #cong24 #legacy
William O'Connor

Synopsis:

Despite what society, including organised religion, may claim, our universe offers no inherent meaning. Only when you grasp this truth and seize control of your destiny can you truly examine the societal meanings imprinted upon you since childhood – meanings shaped by language, culture, and creed. These are the rules that are meant to be broken. Forge your own path. Define your own purpose. Let this be your legacy.

Total Words

1,288

Reading Time in Minutes

5

Key Takeaways:

  1. Uncertainty is the only certainty there is.
  2. Every single thing in the entire universe including your own existence is a product of this uncertainty.
  3. This is why the most random experiences can re-route your future including your legacy in an instant.
  4. Your primary duty is to yourself, and that duty is to make your own meaning.

About William O'Connor:

William (Billy) T. O’Connor is Foundation Professor and Director of Teaching and Research in Physiology at the University of Limerick School of Medicine, Ireland. He also holds a position as Visiting Research Scholar at Flinders Medical School in Adelaide, South Australia.

Contacting William O'Connor:

You can connect with William via LinkedIn or see his work on Inside the Brain.

By William O’Connor

Two fundamental laws govern our reality and they both describe the nature of energy as it relates to our Universe. The First Law of Thermodynamics, sometimes called the Law of Energy Conservation, tells us that energy cannot be created or destroyed – only transformed. For instance, the burning of coal transforms its chemical energy into light and heat energy. The Second Law of Thermodynamics, however, governs the direction of these transformations, introducing the concept of entropy (uncertainty and disorder) and tells us that it constantly increases. For instance, the burning coal disperses the ordered molecules in (solid) coal into a more disorganized state found in the smoke (gas). These two laws, shaping the flow and transformation of energy, set the stage for everything we experience in the physical world.

The second law of thermodynamics is such a breathtakingly profound insight, and its understanding is the greatest achievement of the human mind. If there is one testable truth that explains the behaviour of the physical world – what we call reality- it is this law. This single principle doesn’t just apply to burning coal or dispersing gases; it shapes the unfolding of everything, from the stars in distant galaxies to the fragile balance of life on Earth, and to the personal identity that makes you, you.

Simply put, the second law of thermodynamics is a law of nature telling us that in our Universe, uncertainty and disorder can only increase and can never decrease. In everyday life, this explains why you have no idea what the future holds for you, and why the most random experiences can re-route your future including your legacy in an instant.

The second law of thermodynamics explains the origins of reality by tracing a path from the moment of the big bang. From that initial explosion emerged primordial matter in the form of hydrogen. Gravity then coalesced hydrogen into stars to randomly generate the heavier elements like carbon, oxygen and iron through nuclear fusion, and how the energy released by that process sustains life here on Earth.

Unlike cultural, political, and religious beliefs, a belief in the second law of thermodynamics costs you nothing and does not require your loyalty. It simply is. No other philosophical belief rests upon such a verifiable, fundamental truth. According to this law there IS life after death, but not in the way we might traditionally imagine. It’s not the persistence of “me” or personal consciousness. Instead, it’s the infinite life force found in the recycling of the building blocks that make life, and that make you.

The probability that you came to exist at all is testament to the power of this uncertainty – the power of possibility. You are the product of the fusion of just one of twelve trillion sperm cells created by your father with just one of 100,000 egg cells created by your mother, which made the fertilized egg that came to make you. The odds of this precise union, the one that led to you, are roughly 1 in 400 quadrillion. To put it another way, imagine winning the lottery against truly astronomical odds. While the chance of any one person winning is minuscule, someone eventually wins. And in the grand lottery of life, that someone, against all odds, happened to be you on the day you were conceived. Now that’s an achievement worth celebrating.

You and all other life in the entire Universe are a product of this fundamental uncertainty. From a purely human perspective, our understanding of nature tells us that existence is devoid of inherent meaning and there is no point to it. Therefore, it falls upon each individual to forge their own purpose, and to create meaning amidst the chaos. It is up to each individual to make their own meaning. Consider the brevity of your individual impact: You emerge from an anonymous stream of humanity, shaped by a handful of recent ancestors—your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. You, in turn, shape a few generations of your own descendants and then your contribution dissolves back into an anonymous stream of humanity. The only life lived is remembered in the here-and-now. The rest is lost in the wind.

The second law of thermodynamics tells us that there is no pre-ordained meaning woven into the fabric of the universe. However, while there are some things you cannot avoid such as school and taxes you are largely free to chart your own course Your purpose can be whatever you want it to be and is yours to define. Just as boundless number of possibilities converged to bring you into existence, there are countless number of things for you to do while you are figuring that out.

You only live once, and your life is random and transient. A chance meeting leads you to your profession and the places you visit. That same randomness decides the people you meet including your life-partner. The irony is that you may regard this randomness as stressful – as a stone in your shoe never knowing what is going to pop up, when the secret is that embracing and surfing this wave of randomness is what makes your life what it is. Mental health is being curious and open to new experiences. When you embrace life’s uncertainty then countless possibilities open in your life. The same random possibly than generated you in the first place. Accepting this reality frees your mind and lets your spirit soar.

You have no idea what your future holds and even the most random events can re-route your future in an instant. Despite what society, including organised religion, may claim, our universe offers no inherent meaning. Only when you grasp this truth and seize control of your destiny can you truly examine the societal meanings imprinted upon you since childhood – meanings shaped by language, culture, and creed. These are the rules that are meant to be broken. Forge your own path. Define your own purpose. Let this be your legacy.

Once you grasp the profound truth that your life, and indeed the entire universe, is devoid of inherent meaning then a subtle shift occurs in the mind that truly seals your fate. The understanding that your legacy is the freedom to harness your imagination and passion to create your own meaning and chart your own course in life. To create a self-forged purpose to guide you as you make authentic choices in the pursuit of your own truth, and there can be no judgement.

November 14, 2024 2024 Legacy No comments yet

Understanding Reality #24 #cong23 #reality
William O'Connor

Synopsis:

In the end we are all left with the same question. Why must we suffer so much? Perhaps the contradictory nature of our experience of being alive, mirrors the contradictions in humanity itself. The biggest truth that no one tells you is that we humans are co-creators of our lives.

Total Words

1,507

Reading Time in Minutes

6

Key Takeaways:

  1. We are finite creatures. Our lives are small and we can only experience a small part of what we call reality.
  2. Our universe is defined by one ultimate way of being – the cosmic speed limit which also happens to be the speed of light.
  3. Every single, separate thing, including your body and your mind is a manifestation of the resistance to this ultimate way of being.
  4. The biggest truth that no one tells you is that we humans are co-creators of our lives.

About William O'Connor:

William (Billy) T. O’Connor is Foundation Professor and Director of Teaching and Research in Physiology at the University of Limerick School of Medicine, Ireland. He also holds a position as Visiting Research Scholar at Flinders Medical School, Adelaide, South Australia.

Contacting William O'Connor

You can connect with William via LinkedIn or see his work on Inside the Brain.

By William O’Connor

Understanding Reality

Understand (verb): to stand in the midst of, in the space among, between.

Reality (noun): from Latin, rēs (thing) and ‎-ālis (suffix for an adjective of relationship).

We are finite creatures. Our lives are small and we can only experience a small part of what we call reality. What is common for us is just a tiny sliver of what actually exists. We can only perceive so much of the electromagnetic spectrum. We can only delve so deep into dimensions of space-time. Common sense applies to that which we can access. But common sense is just that. Common. If total sense is what we want then we should be prepared to accept that what is new or unfamiliar is weird or strange. The history of discovery continues to show us that new aspects of reality are not strange. We are.

We humans are only as intelligent as the knowledge we have to work with. For centuries deep thinkers thought of earth, air, fire and water as the fundamental elements. It was a reductionist idea and nothing was more fundamental that those four elements and you could build everything up from them.

Then, in the mid-1800’s we discovered the periodic table of the elements so while we continued to study Earth (geology), air (meteorology), fire (combustion) and water (hydrology) we became aware that for instance since the Earth is made from many elements, Earth itself was no longer fundamental.

After the periodic table came the modern atomic age including the discovery of the smallest particles namely quarks and leptons – the basis of today’s standard model of physics. So today, we know that while the periodic table is good for chemistry it is no longer fundamental, and for the deeper fundamentals, we have to go to quarks, and leptons, and so on – irreducible representations of matter in space-time. In fact, most scientists assume that space-time is as fundamental as the tiny particles which are embedded within it. In fact, the whole framework of human understanding of the natural world (reality) is based on this idea of space-time.

As we understand it today, the relativity, consistency and symmetry of our universe is defined by one ultimate way of being – the cosmic speed limit – which also happens to be the speed of electromagnetic radiation – and this speed limit is called the speed of light. Thus, the cosmic speed limit is the speed of light, but here’s the thing – it is the speed of causality first. In other words, the speed of light is the maximum speed at which any two parts of the universe can talk to each other. It is the only speed that any massless particle can travel in the cosmos.

In this way, light (photons), gravitational waves and gluons which all have no mass, travel at this maximum possible speed. In fact, and this is important, mass is an impediment to motion. No mass, no impediment. So massless things go as fast as it’s possible to go. In fact, the very existence of mass and the space time in which it is embedded (reality) tells us that this universal speed limit is finite; and what we call reality is just a manifestation of resistance against this one ultimate way of being – the speed of light.

Put another way, the very fabric of reality is woven from blind energy, and we each channel this energy through our (limited) six primary senses of seeing, hearing, touch, taste, smell and pain to construct our own version of reality.

What would happen if the speed of light were infinite? Well, first there would be no matter because it would take infinite energy to make any mass. We would only have massless particles travelling at infinite speed. There would be no space and no time, and no cause or effect, because all locations and times would communicate with each other instantly. The universe would be an infinitesimal here and now.

Just as it is impossible to sell if there is no buyer, what we call reality is the result of a fundamental cosmic transaction between the one ultimate way of being as manifested by the speed of light – condensed into space-time and the matter embedded within it. This finite speed of causality is fundamental to us having space-time and matter – what we call reality – in the first place.

The job of space-time is to separate things from one another. In this way every single, separate thing, including your body and your mind (where you yourself only exist inside your skin) is a manifestation of the resistance to this ultimate way of being.

This might explain the reported energizing and healing effects of the ancient practice of meditation whereby letting-go of body and mind allows us become continuous with this ultimate way of being? It may also explain the action of psychedelics to temporarily dissolve the structure of the self, expanding our senses to create a sense of interconnection with the external. In the same way, the most important thing every person must ask themselves in their search for mental health boils down to just one question, and here it is: What is blocking me from what I need to know?

Reality can be experienced in many ways. Science is one among many, and there are many modes of reality other than science which affect human life. There is the reality we call art. The reality of interpersonal relationships. The reality of politics. The reality of spirituality and religion (personal truth). And many others. Each of us gets to choose the reality or realities we will engage in. However, some realities are more important than others, and few theories trump political reality.

In Japan there is an idea called ‘mono no aware’ (物の哀れ), meaning ‘the deep awareness of things’. It celebrates the melancholy of the passing of life, often seeing more beauty in the fallen leaf than in the one on the branch. Maybe that is what being alive actually holds for each one of us. The sadness in the soul expressed in the beauty of things. In the end we are all left with the same question. Why must we suffer so much? It is too simple to say that we mourn the loss of people in our lives. Perhaps the contradictory nature of our experience of being alive, mirrors the contradictions in humanity itself. Seeking perfections but never finding peace. Having a single-minded focus at the expense of empathy. The lure of freedom but only within the closed confines of what we can know, and to which chance holds the key. To reconcile these contradictions I think we have to look at the other half of our relationship with the reality of our existence. The biggest truth that no one tells you is that we humans are co-creators of our lives. We have to look to ourselves to embrace the ephemeral nature of beauty, and the quietly elated, bittersweet feeling of having been witness to the dazzling circus of life, knowing that none of it can last.

November 9, 2023 2023 Reality No comments yet

Finding True Purpose #6 #cong22
William O'Connor

Synopsis:

To really live you must have faith. You must trust yourself to the totally unknown, to a Nature which doesn’t have a boss because a boss is a system of mistrust.

Total Words

779

Reading Time in Minutes

3

Key Takeaways:

  1. Some of the things we perceive to be truly fundamental today may actually be just accidental.
  2. In the West we have made the truth our highest value but this is weak compared to the actual power of belief.
  3. Anxiety is the green light to seek your true purpose
  4. Here is the choice. Are you going to trust Nature or not?

About William O'Connor

William (Billy) T. O’Connor is Foundation Professor and Director of Teaching and Research in Physiology at the University of Limerick School of Medicine, Ireland. He also holds a position as Visiting Research Scholar at Flinders Medical School, Adelaide, South Australia.

Contacting William O'Connor

You can connect with William via LinkedIn or see his work on Inside the Brain.

By William O’Connor

The key to a happy life is the ability to transcend personal suffering, find a balance, and recognise that the world has problems. This requires purpose (mental effort) and those of us who strive to better understand ourselves in the world come out the other side as a new person, with some peace of mind and a purposeful way to live.

A limit to finding true purpose is the fact that we do not know that some of the things we perceive to be truly fundamental today may actually be just accidental. For instance, the brain uses systematic patterns of thought to produce philosophy including science, mathematics, literature, ideas and beliefs including a belief in a deity to guide us towards new insights. What we need to understand is that none of these may be fundamental in themselves. They are just tools that our ancestors used to probe the unknown and to see what is possible – knowing that what is common for us is just a tiny sliver of what actually exists.

In the West we have made the truth our highest value. This motivation while important is weak compared to the actual power of belief. We are born into a culture which often insists on a particular religious or ideological philosophy as fact and the only way to understand ourselves in the world, but adhering to this belief may cause personal suffering by impeding insights necessary to achieve your true purpose.

Especially nowadays, anxiety is often seen as something wrong and negative – a weakness or an illness. But anxiety is a fundamental ingredient of being alive. To feel and to think is to be anxious. How can you not be anxious when it is a natural response to a confusing and uncertain existence that you did not ask to be a part of? Yet, anxiety is the green light to seek true purpose. The trick is to try living with-and-through it as you move forward into the unknown, and as you take the leaps of faith into what you truly believe makes it all worth living and dying for.

The Chinese believe Nature to be purposeless. However, in the West when we say purposeless, it is a put down and there is no future in it. When the Chinese say Nature is purposeless they mean it as a compliment. It is like the waves washing against the shore going on and on forever with no meaning. Haven’t you ever gone on a walk with no particular purpose in mind? Well, it is at that moment that you are a perfectly rational human being because you have learned purposelessness. All music is purposeless. If the aim of music were to get to the final bar then the best musician would be the one who got there fastest. It’s the same with dancing. The aim of dancing is to dance and it’s exactly the same with your life.

The problem is that many of us believe that life has a purpose. Priests insist that we must each follow God’s purpose but when asked what that is they are silent. Here is the choice. Are you going to trust Nature or not? If you decide not to trust the purposelessness of Nature then you will need to fence yourself around with rules and regulations and laws and obligations. To really live you must have faith. You must trust yourself to the totally unknown, to a Nature which doesn’t have a boss because a boss is a system of mistrust. There is a wisdom in insecurity. A wisdom that is hard earned. Let this wisdom be your true purpose.

October 27, 2022 2022 Purpose No comments yet

Brains, leadership and belief #46 #cong21
William O'Connor

Synopsis:

A person is what he makes himself to be, and those who lead and inspire help facilitate this process.

Total Words

797

Reading Time in Minutes

3

Key Takeaways:

  1. There are leaders, and there are those who lead.
  2. Leaders hold a position of power or authority, but those who lead inspire us.
  3. We follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to.
  4. We have to value this self-creating freedom that is enjoyed in our time.

About William O'Connor

I am Foundation Professor and Chair, Head of Teaching and Research in Physiology at the University of Limerick Medical School. My research focus includes the emerging field of neuroeducation – the brain science of learning – particularly those factors which allow the human brain to learn optimally. I retain a strong commitment to scientific outreach and communication. This is best illustrated through my popular Inside-the-Brain website, Twitter and Facebook accounts, which report on the latest findings from the world of brain research.

Contacting William O'Connor

You can see William’s work on the Inside-The-Brain website or send him an email.

By William O’Connor

In the summer of 1963, 250,000 people showed up on the mall in Washington D.C. to hear Dr Martin Luther King Jr. Dr King was not the only man in America who was a great orator. Nor was he the only man who suffered in a pre-civil rights America. In fact, some of his ideas were bad. But he had a gift. He did not tell people what needed to change in America. He told people what he believed; and the people who believed what he believed took his cause, made it their own and created structures to get the word out to others such that 250,000 people showed up on the right day and at the right time to hear him speak. These people travelled long distances to Washington for what they themselves believed about America. It was not about black versus white: 25% of the audience was white.

Dr King believed that there were two types of laws in the world: those that are made by a higher authority and those that are made by men; and not until all the laws that are made by men are consistent with the laws that are made by the higher authority will we live in a just world. It just so happens that the civil-rights movement was the perfect thing to help him bring his cause to life. By the way, he gave the “I have a dream” speech, not the “I have a plan” speech. We listen to politicians now with their comprehensive 12-point plans. That is not leadership and it is not inspiring anybody.

Today, there are leaders, and there are those who lead. Leaders hold a position of power or authority, but those who lead inspire us. We follow those who lead, not for them but for ourselves. Those who start with a belief have the ability to inspire those around them, and to find others who inspire them.

Is the brain wired for beliefs?
One answer is that the brain is wired to make predictions about what is going to happen next based on what has happened in the past, and in some ways, predictions are like beliefs. For instance, scientists write about scientific predictions as if they are beliefs or explanations that are pre-emptively offered to anticipate and explain the world as we see it.

Knowing that the brain is wired for prediction explains why we find uncertainty so stressful and if it persists, it can actually make us sick. In this way, religious beliefs can reduce the uncertainty of our own experiences by explaining the unexplainable. This also accounts for why those things we now explain through science were once thought of as magic or caused by a deity.

The explanation that the brain is wired for prediction is a general explanation to understanding how we make meaning. The brain of a newborn is not just a miniature version of an adult brain. Its wiring is incomplete. What infants are doing is waiting for a set of wiring instructions from the world. In this way, the people who raised you influenced the wiring of your brain including what to believe and what is meaningful to you. As we mature into adulthood, we have one self-creating freedom in that we can accept or reject these instructions. In this way, a person is what he makes himself to be and those who lead and inspire us help facilitate this process. We follow those who lead not because we have to, but because we want to. We have to value this self-creating freedom that is enjoyed in our time.

November 25, 2021 2021 Leadership No comments yet