Week 3 Assignments

What evidence can I find for synchronicity?

I think the evidence for synchronicity is quiet plentiful as it occurs everywhere and at all times.  And yet in spite of its common occurrence we still feel synchronicity is mysterious.  I think the reason comes from our mistaken assumptions of inner vs outer spaces.  We assume that our inner spaces, which include our thoughts emotions and intentions, are subjective and only governed by our free will.  On the other hand with regard to the outer space, which is the physical world surrounding us, we assume it is only governed by the laws of cause and effect.  Since we do not understand how free will and causation can be compatible with each other whenever we observe that there is a non random connection between the inner and outer spaces we become incredulous,  amazed, or both.  Synchronicity, I think, is a term we use to describe this non random connection between our inner and outer spaces.  

However I believe free will and causation are really two aspects of the same reality, one practical and the other theoretical, and both exist in our inner as well as outer spaces.    For instance, once we allow theoretical investigation into our own inner space we realize that our thoughts, emotions and intentions, just like the physical objects, also follow laws of causality.  Similarly once we are open to the possibility that our thoughts, emotions and intentions do affect the outer space or the physical world around us we develop technologies that allow us to control the physical world with our thoughts and intentions alone.  As we become less and less imprisoned by the the artificial divisions of inner vs outer and free will vs causation we will find more and more evidence for synchronicity until it becomes commonplace.  

Based on what I know, how would I explain connectivity?

The connectivity of the synchronicity comes from the connectivity between inner and outer space as well as the connectivity between free will and causation.  For a short elaboration please see above.  For a longer elaboration please see my previous blog posts on the problems of realism. 

Week 2 Assignments

My Reflections on Uncertainty

I feel that uncertainty principle is challenging our intuitive realistic idea that objects are isolated from each other and exist independently of the subjects that observe them.  An object having a definite position in space serves as the most direct scientific evidence to our fundamental realistic belief that an object has an independent existence a part from  other objects as well as observing subjects.  However if an object in fact has no definite position in space that can be precisely measured then this fact serves as the most direct counter evidence to our realistic belief.   

My comments on Causality

Usually when we think of causality we think of it within a realistic framework or realistic view of the world.  In this realistic world objects and observing and acting subjects are independent of each other.  Furthermore in this realistic world the sequence of the past present and future is fixed.  However this realistic view of the world faces many insolvable contradictions and cannot be supported by newest scientific evidence such as quantum mechanics.  If we can only disentangle causality from this realistic framework we might be able to make more sense of it.  Freed from realism, I imagine causality would be a more encompassing concept that incorporates synchronicity, free will, and uncertainty principle among other concepts that are previously believed to be incompatible with causality.

Is the Universe Weird?

Once we give up the idea of realism and no longer separate the objects being observed from the observing subjects then there is really no fundamental differences between any and everything in the world.  As a result to say that the universe is weird is fundamentally no different from saying that “we” the ones who are observing the universe are weird.  This means both the universe that is being observed and the subjects that are observing the universe are weird.  In other words the totality of existence itself is weird.  However since being “weird” also cannot be fundamentally different from its opposite of being “not weird” this totality of existence is also not  weird.  And that is weird.......... or not : )   

Physics Assignment for Week One

Short Bio and what attracts me to Chinese Medicine

General

I was born and raised in Taiwan until my family moved to southern California when I was 14. From a very young age I have had a sense of wonder about existence and life in general which led me to study various subjects with enthusiasm but especially philosophy (both western and eastern).  Throughout this journey of learning I have traveled to various schools in different parts of the world and enjoyed learning from many brilliant and very interesting people along the way. (Philosophy in Munich and Taipei, Law in Minneapolis and Charlottesville Virginia, Economics in West Lafayette Indiana and Cambridge England)

TCM

One of these people that I met who have sparked my interest in studying and working in traditional Chinese medicine is Albert Chang.  We met at Cambridge while he was a doctorate student in computer science.  As a person of multiple talents, Albert learned qi gong treatment as a child and would offer free treatments to fellow students and even his supervisor in school.  Even though I have also received his treatments, my initial friendship with him was based more on our lively discussions of zen Buddhism and how it's related to modern science and logic during meal times.

Several years after he received his PhD, Albert opened a qi gong gym in Vancouver where he trains people for long term physical rejuvenation by combining his knowledge in qi gong, Buddhism and modern science.  After each visit to his gym I became more and more excited about how creative and effective his methods are in bringing people back to health until finally I decided to make it my career as well.

To fulfill my wish, Albert's brother Joseph, who is a very successful acupuncturist in San Francisco, was kind enough to take me on as his intern.  Because Joseph has integrated Albert's training method into his more traditional acupuncture treatment, by working in his clinic, I get to experience first hand how different modalities can be effectively combined to better our health.  I feel very blessed with these opportunities and am looking forward to deepen my understanding of various treatment and training methods through working and further studying.

What do I honestly think of Physics, really?

I think physics is a fundamental and important science.  Personally when I have time I love to read up on both the standard and alternative theories of physics. As to the alternative theories of physics there are two that I found to be the most interesting.  The first is called "The Reciprocal system" by Dewey Larson and his followers.  The second is a book written by Miles Mathis called "The Greatest Standing Error in Physics and Mathematics."  Both theories/books can be found on the internet.    

Now that I think about it have I ever experienced time "slowing down" or speeding up"?

In general when I am enjoying and engaging in something time "speeds up" for  me.  But when I am inactive bored or in pain time "slows down".  Perhaps my feeling of time speeding up or slowing down is an indication of how much "damage" my body receives during these events.  The feeling of time flying by may be a sign of my body going through less wear and tear during these activities and the feeling of time slowing down more wear and tear.

This would explain the phenomena that during times of enjoyment and productivity even though minutes and hours "speed up" my days actually seem longer.  This is because I can, in one day's time, finish projects or tasks that would usually require many more days.   And since I am much more productive during this one particular day it would seem longer than other days because it is packed in with so much more content than the rest. 

My reflections on this week's class

I find this week's class very interesting.  Time is such a familiar component of our daily experience and yet once we begin to reflect on what it is we begin to realize it is deeply mysterious.  Time is literally related to everything in our universe from the smallest particles to the very structure of the universe itself.  

Time and change are two very closely related and confusing concepts.  On the one hand all changes happen in time and presuppose the concept of time.  Another way of putting it is we cannot even imagine what it means to experience some kind of change either in the outer physical or inner psychological world without a temporal element. And yet we cannot experience "time" itself directly.  All we can experience is some type of change in the state of things either in our outer physical or in our inner psychological world.  It is only through experiencing these changes that we become aware of the passing of time.  In other words we cannot imagine what time is if there is no changes at all to be experienced.  Perhaps time and change are not two different things but two different ways of looking at the same experience.