Cosmos and Me

Attribution: Shutterstock.com, Creator:Syda Productions

It is said that 'Self talk is a conversation with the Universe'. Here is an excerpt from the conversations with myself.

1. Who created this world?

WE did. We created this world. We all used to be together representing a single entity. We then entered a realm where change was the only way to survive. In other words, we became part of an expanse where anything that stops changing would eventually perish. Changing constantly as a single entity posed a big challenge. So we split some parts of us into multiple strands and created a sense of isolation (more of an illusion) to those strands of us, enabling us to express and act as an independent individual entity. However, we are always connected to the larger part of us, which we refer to as the Source or the Supreme. I visualize the cosmos as the source. The source is a repository of knowledge which we keep populating as we create new things as individuals. This new knowledge ensures change and helps us survive. So, the goal for these strands of energy is to create new knowledge and pour it into the repository.

2. How do we pour this new knowledge into the source repository?
Separation from the source is only an illusion to enable us to act on our own. The moment we create something unique, it will automatically get stored in the main repository.

3. When one puts the knowledge into the repository, is it accessible to the others?
Yes. But the knowledge base is huge, so you have to ask the right question or query to get the specific answer.

4. Are even the planets an illusion?
Yes, they are part of the illusion. Their purpose is to help individuals think beyond the obvious. It is one of the ways to expand the capacity of an individual.

5. What is the role of the spirits of the animals?
One strand of energy can further split itself and become independent to represent individual entities in this 3D world. Each entity referred to as a soul contains certain level of knowledge. Based on this, it manifests into a physical form capable of using this knowledge. This physical form could be a human or an animal. All of us have the same goal, accumulate new knowledge that is possible within our own capacities.

6. Why are we having so many natural disasters in the world?
We have explored 3D world to a good extent, and accumulated great ideas. But we learnt that the 3D world is not sufficient to implement some of these ideas. We need another dimension to be able to start something afresh. To accommodate this, Earth is going through a transformation.

7. What kind of changes is the new dimension bringing?
One of the key changes that I can think of is all of us having immunity to radiation. Another one could be that nature gives us an element that can replace the role of plastic or maybe give us a natural way to recycle it.

8. Why do we have an influx of thoughts all the time? Some thoughts are not even related to us.
Whenever we take a major decision like creating a new dimension, we need to enter into a group consciousness. Its a communication channel that connects all of us in this world of illusion. It simulates the way we were connected earlier as a single entity. This opens up pathways to allow thoughts to flow across to all in the network. We need more than half of the entities dreaming of the new dimension for it to manifest. So, thoughts from each entity flows into all entities in the network. It is the responsibility of each entity to process this bundle of information coming via thoughts and focus on the important ones. This is possible only through meditation which helps clear the noise in the incoming thoughts. At a subconscious level we know that we have to give prime importance to the new dimension and our focus is on it right now.

9. Can you please explain more about group consciousness.
Group consciousness is a telepathic way of communication within a group of entities. For example, the bees and ants work in group consciousness. Their communication is very quick and very synchronized. There is very less conflict. If a conflict arises, the entity with differing thoughts has the right to follow its own path. Free will is the basic right of all entities.

10. Do the animals play a role in decision making ?
Not all possess the ability to process that kind of information. However, some animals like elephants, dolphins and whales are equipped to participate in it.

11. Would humans and animals ever communicate like the way humans communicate with each other?
Each type of entity uses a certain range of frequency to communicate with each other. The communication is via a language of emotions or feelings. Hence, to communicate with an entity which is on a different frequency, you will have go beyond your survival instincts or habits and build an emotional relationship with them.

Entities of the same type do not prey on each other as they are emotionally connected. Predators on the other hand are on a different range of frequency and hence emotions do not come in the way when hunting or eating their prey. However, every entity has the option to change itself to connect emotionally with another entity.

12. What part do verbal languages play in all of this?
A verbal language was based on sound and vibration which can evoke an emotion. It is one of the greatest innovations added to our knowledge base post the isolation from the source.  

13. Some believe that the world is real. Some believe it to be an illusion. Why is there no consistency?
Both are true. The world can be viewed in two ways. One from the perspective of the individual who believes to be different from the source and another perspective is from the source itself. The source refers to it as an illusion as it creates it merely by projecting its thoughts. But the world is real for the individual entity, as it functions within the scope of the defined projection. When an individual becomes a spiritual seeker, he starts to see the world from the eyes of the source.

14. Why do we have so many representations of God?
In large organizations, we need many managers to manage work and employees. An employee interacts with his manager and follows instructions provided by him. These managers have one key responsibility -  guide the employees in the right direction. Similarly, entities who represent the Supreme leave behind a legacy of information and instructions for other entities.

15. So, we have one GOD like the CEO of an organization?
The Organization is GOD. This organization includes all entities. So, we all represent God at some level.

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Technology and Spirituality

Technology and Spirituality

Attribution: Shutterstock.com, Creator:Sergey Niven

Is Technology emulating the ways of the spiritual world? Is Technology (re)teaching us ways on how to grow spiritually?

There are a few glaring similarities that I would like to share here. To understand this better you would require some knowledge on spirituality and software programming or technology.

1.       Software Programming: If conditions and Loops

Universe is a huge complex program with all life forms acting as programmed entities. This complex program can also be referred to as the universal grid which can be accessed by all entities living on Earth. At every decision point in its life, an entity lands on a set of predefined paths. Awareness of all the paths and the ability to choose the right path is dependent on the knowledge gathered by the entity. Lets contextualize these entities to humans.

Every human has accumulated knowledge which is used while taking a decision. The more informed you are, the probability of choosing the right path is higher. Every possible path for a decision or action is already present in the program. There may be millions of if conditions at every step. If I said ‘Yes’ to this job, then I take this path, else I take the other path. Even though the paths are predefined, the decision on which path to take is ours. Karma says, ‘your future is decided on the actions you have taken previously’. This is the way the universe is programmed. You take the decision and enter into one of the predefined paths. We spend most of our early years learning about right and wrong to make us capable enough to take the right decisions when needed. This emphasises on how important a childhood is. If your foundation is strong, you choose the right path sooner.

Among these paths, some of them are loops. Loops take you back where you started. Most times, people don’t realize it, or even if they do realize that life has gone backwards, they still continue making the same mistake and enter the same loop again. If these loops span long, then it is really hard to notice it. But with shorter loops, you should be able to observe the pattern and choose a different path the next time round. A very simple example are wars. It is an unending cycle of violence unless one party chooses to take a different path. This will end the cycle. Apply the same theory to your own life. If life is putting you again in front of the same problem, then think. Do not repeat your last decision. You are wiser now. You have learnt your lesson. Revisit all the options and decide wisely.

2.       Software Technology: Database

When an individual gathers more knowledge by using his cognitive ability, he discovers new paths on the universal grid. When new paths are found, the journey or the learning which led to discovering that path gets stored within the individual’s soul and also into every other soul via the universal energy grid which is accessible to others who have the ability to process that level of knowledge. There is no need to have direct connect between the individuals to share knowledge. Everyone has access to the database within. You just have to ask the right question or query.

3.       Software Technology: Search Engine

By far this is the best learning that has changed the way of life so drastically. Search engines (Ex: Google search) have taught us to ask the right question. Over time we have learnt the art of framing the right question and have accepted the importance of it. Our brains are automatically functioning this way now. It is so ingrained in us, that if we are seeking answers from the universe, we start to frame our query using the same technique. A very clear and specific query helps in getting the answers quickly from the database on the universal energy grid. If your query is vague, then it will take a long time to search for the answer and may eventually return null.

4.      Software Technology: Blockchain - network, consensus, immutability and distributed ledger

The universal grid is like a Blockchain network connecting all of us. It is an open public network with anonymous users.  Each of us carry a copy of the universal database in our soul. Hence, we say, the entire world is within us. We store our experiences in the database which cannot be altered, just like the immutability feature of the distributed ledger in Blockchain. All other data related to our current life is stored in a different database which can be overwritten as needed.
The decisions we make individually gives way to form a path for the world. In other words, the world treads into a path that was collectively endorsed by humans. This is similar to consensus in Blockchain.

5.       Software Technology: Social Media (Ex: WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Knowledge from the universal grid is pouring into humans all the time. Most information can be irrelevant to the current state in your life or maybe completely negative which is not required for you. Some have the ability to identify them and discard them into some sort of trash bin. Others tend to react to such information. This is very similar to what people are going through in groups like WhatsApp, Twitter, etc. There is huge number of fake news creating so much noise, polluting the knowledge database and taking up storage space. Hopefully in the future, social media companies will put in a mechanism to detect fake and outdated news and flag the message accordingly.

Another similarity is how social media is bringing like-minded people together. In the universal gird, there are multiple dimensions. Based on the decisions you make, you are connected to a dimension which enables you to meet people who have taken similar decisions in life or encounter situations that are similar.

6.       Software Technology: Internet to share knowledge

When majority of the people choose hatred and revenge as response to a problem, then there is no resolution. Along with the people, the world too goes into a cyclic motion of events. Many paths go out of reach and we go into a mode of regression. We lose access to the knowledge that was discovered. An example is the Vedic science which had discovered so many paths but is forgotten by the current world. Many of this knowledge is getting rediscovered. But why did we lose the previous knowledge. What went wrong?

An individual who has learnt the methods of positive thinking, meditation and yoga is the one who has higher cognitive skills and has the ability to access all the knowledge accumulated within. His/her responsibility is to share this method with all. Perhaps, this basic education was limited to a privileged few in the past and we eventually lost the ability to connect within. 

Internet has given us a platform to share knowledge with the whole world.

7.    The latest transformation

There was a time when the goal of all teachings was to identify good and bad. Today we spend most of our time figuring out whether it is real or fake. Be it articles or messages or videos, the first thought that comes to mind is its authenticity. Some of us check online for more information to verify it. Could it be just about losing trust in people due to commercialization of everything or is technology enhancing our cognitive abilities to be able to recognize the world of illusion, a world manifested by someone else.

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Cosmos and Me

Chi chi chi Le le le, Viva Chile !

We, the team of 12 IBMers coming from different parts of the world lived in Arica for a month and had a chance to feel the Chilean spirit.

We were thrilled to receive an invitation from our host, Jose to watch the Chile vs Argentina match in his house on 23rd Mar. On the morning of 23rd, Zach (our team member from USA) was surprised to receive many requests from the team to buy Chilean football jerseys for them. He soon found out that Tommy (our team member from Ireland) had just posted a picture of himself wearing a Chilean football jersey which had triggered the wave. Zach had bought some for himself and for Tommy the previous day, as it was close to the gym Zach goes to often.

So, Zach and Pam (our Chilean Project Assistant), spent two hours in the market searching and negotiating the prices for it. Of course, all that bargaining did not work as there was a lot of demand for it and the vendor knew they would buy it anyway. Zach swore that he would give Tommy a hard time for showing off his Chilean jersey to the team in the first place :-).

All twelve of us dressed in Chile team jerseys landed at Jose's house around 7:30pm. Jose's family welcomed us warmly and shared their home with us that evening. There was a barbeque area, a beautiful garden and a party hall with a wall mounted plasma TV, sofas, chairs and dining table all set with plates, glasses, food and drinks. We quickly gobbled some of the delicious grilled meat and bread and settled in front of the TV. The match started at 8pm.

Our jerseys had one of these numbers - 7, 8, 11 and 17. Everytime we saw Alexis, Vidal, Medel or Sanchez with the ball, people with those numbers would look at the screen nervously, except for Dora (our team member from Hungary) who was nervous for all the players :-). 

We anxiously watched the game and became sad when Chile lost ... WE lost. Its the day we became Chileans !

But then, the following week there was a match between Chile and Venezuela. We planned to watch the match in a restaurant called Republica. Just when Zach, Sebastian (our team member from Germany) and myself got out of the taxi in front of the restaurant, we heard loud screams. Chile had struck a goal in the first few minutes. Sebastian was upset, 'We missed the first goal. We missed the first goal.'

Three of our team members in Chilean red jerseys were in the middle of the hall screaming their lungs out 'Chi chi chi Le le le, Viva Chile'. We quickly joined in. We were wearing our Chile jerseys too. Within the next few minutes, Chile struck another goal. We jumped and screamed even louder. To add to our joy, the restaurant gave free snacks to anyone who came in wearing Chilean red jersey :-).

At the end of the game, we celebrated as Chile won ... WE won. Its the day we became Chileans !

#CSCChile8 #IBMCSC Chile

Chile, here I come !

Getting selected for the IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) was such an honorable moment as not all get such an opportunity. I cherished the moments when some eyes looked at me with pride and some with envy. Eagerly waited for an assignment … for two years. Finally, the email arrived on 24-Oct-2016. Yes, I remember the date :-). The assignment was in CHILE. YIPPEE!!!

The next few days was all about Chile :-).

“I have never been to this part of the world !”

“What language do they speak there?”

“What kind of clothes do they wear?“

“Oh … lets not forget the weather. That is most important. Is it too cold?”

Spent a lot of hours checking on flight connectivity from India to Arica, Chile. There were no routes less than 28-30 hrs.

Flashback (a year ago): Just back from an international trip and I vowed with vengeance “I am never getting on those long flights … never … EVER.” It was one of those ‘Cross my heart and hope to die’ moments. ;-)

(Vicugnas grazing in Arica, Chile)

Current (2016): “30 hrs ... thats it! Awesome!” :-)

Chile … here I come !

#IBMCSC Chile

Light an LED using Raspberry Pi

After getting the Raspberry Pi working with my Samsung TV at home, it was time to try lighting up an LED. As part of the Raspberry Pi kit, following items were given: Resistors, LEDs, switches, capacitor.

I need just the LED and a resistor. But the package had 10K and 180 ohms resistors and I need 220-270 ohms resistor for the power supply in India. So, I had to buy a separate one for it.

The mother board does not show the pin numbers. It provides a separate piece which contains the pin numbers which can be fixed on the white bread board.

Connect the pins to the bread board. I also took the printout of a description of the pins for reference.

And then connected the LED, resistor to pin 40 and ground. I connected a red wire from pin 40 to the resistor. The other end of the resistor is next to the long side of the LED. And the short end of LED is connected to the ground.

While setting this up, I realized that this bread board is really small. Wish it was bigger. Anyway, powered up the RPi and added a python program in /home/pi called FlashLED.py which contains the following code.

According to the image above, LED is attached to pin 40. So, the python program uses pin 40 as the output.

import RPi.GPIO as GPIO

import time




# blinking function

def blink(pin):

        GPIO.output(pin,GPIO.HIGH)

        time.sleep(2)

        GPIO.output(pin,GPIO.LOW)

        time.sleep(2)

        return

# to use Raspberry Pi board pin numbers

GPIO.setmode(GPIO.BOARD)

# set up GPIO output channel

GPIO.setup(40, GPIO.OUT)

# blink 50 times

for i in range(0,50):

        blink(40)

GPIO.cleanup()

Now run the python file:

sudo python FlashLED.py

And Voila, the LED glowed. It blinked for 50 times.