ZEN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS - 2

So, what happens when you've finally become unentangled (during zazen, for example, if you're doing it correctly, of course)? Firstly, you begin to feel that you're the centre of the Universe. That is, it's no longer you moving along the road, but the road moving relative to you.* # (Actually, it's the correct perception of really indeed since physicists claim that the geometry of the Universe is a such that 'every point in space, every observer can be lay equal claim to being at the very centre themselves.')

Once you reach this state, you can be fully aware of your body and the external world at the same time, and you start to be able to intuitively grasp reality instantly as a whole.

Secondly, you begin to feel that time flows from the future to the past** -- that's how time flows when you're the centre, the reference point. It's the same as the previous point, but now it's about your perception of time: it's not you're moving from the past to the future, but the future is moving towards you. Indeed, we always say that the future turns into the past, not the other way around.

I reckon this means that in this state, your present is determined by the future, not the past, so you have a choice (I'll dwell on free will in some upcoming posts). At this point, you begin to anticipate the future -- this is what I call Zen intuition -- but surprisingly, it's all about how you have to act in the long run to maintain this state of mind.

Some may say that all we see is the past, but it actually isn't. It takes for the brain about 0.1 seconds to process visual information, so to correct our perception, the brain models the future and anticipates what's going to happen. Otherwise, if we, for instance, walked at a speed of 1 metre per second, the error, the lag, would be 0.1 metres.

What I've learnt from my Zen practice is that there're two perspectives. From one perspective, as the majority see the world, you're part of something -- a group, tribe, etc -- it's a realm of hierarchy; you share opinions and ideologies with others; your present is entirely determined by the past; you explore the world empirically.

From the other perspective, you're the centre; you're alone: the whole universe is just you. You perceive it instantly as a whole, and in this way you understand it; you see and evaluate the world from your own standpoint; you're free: your present is not determined by the past, so you have a choice.

To be continued.


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* https://0zen1.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-main-trick-walking-zazen_22.html

** https://0zen1.blogspot.com/search/label/time