Agents of Change
It would seem that the higher intelligence is at liberty to use pretty much anything and anyone to convey its course-correcting messages, whether a temporarily faulty device, or a momentarily inexplicably abrasive companion.
In the case of people, I find this is reminiscent of how agents in the Matrix movies can borrow the embodiment of passersby to suddenly manifest themselves near a desired location. The virtual characters in the film do so more conspicuously though, and with significantly more devastating consequences.
I associate this state of affairs with the Buddhist notion of selflessness. From a pragmatic perspective, I take it to mean that the personality we impute to others, as well as to ourselves, are not necessarily indicative of the attributes of a deeper self. Rather, they are constructions based on what we have come to know about them, or us, through our experiences.
In the context of a redirection, I think it is important to acknowledge that messengers might not be ill-intended towards us at all, even less fundamentally so. Also, they possibly aren't aware of what is happening, just like we might not be aware when we are delivering such messages to them. Moreover, if the exchange becomes heated and they get embroiled in it, then it probably reveals that they have erred too, otherwise, they wouldn't have to suffer the ordeal. Therefore, they are potentially in a situation similar to the one we are in, and we potentially have information for them too.
Staying mindful of the mechanics of repentance in interpersonal relations makes it far easier to avoid harming others, and in this fashion compounding sin. Surely, blaming them because they are the ones who have to wield the pointed stick is being oblivious to the fact that we have deserved the unpleasant event in the first place.
Playing for the Wrong Team
The question of the existence of evil as a force attempting to thwart our efforts remains unaddressed.
For my own part, my observations suggest that there is no such entity, and that every instance of hindrance I have faced in recent years can be explained by the course-correction automatism. I readily recognize that the latter doesn't preclude the former however. Also, I should stress that I evidently haven't examined my entire life through the lens defined in this essay.
It seems likely that the role of those individuals and organizations that we perceive as evil is essentially to serve as beacons. In other words, their presence incites us to be vigilant, and deter us from self-indulgence. And obviously, at times, they are involved in the processes by which we get reoriented towards our chosen destinations.
Working actively against those outwards manifestations of evil might not be the way to dispel them. Instead, conceivably, in endeavouring to rid ourselves of error, the structures we associate with evil should gradually become useless and obsolete, and therefore impelled to reform. Furthermore, by helping others to improve themselves, evil should not only recede from our local sphere, but it should eventually leave our whole reality altogether.
« Give evil nothing to oppose and it will disappear by itself. »
[source : Tao Te Ching, Chapter 60]
And You And I
Sayings such as do unto others as you would have them do unto you, love thy neighbour like thyself, and whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me, all appear particularly relevant in light of the primary mental poison of identification to an independent self. Likewise, when the Dalai Lama repeats that his religion is simply kindness and compassion, the declarations speak of more than just his greatness of heart.
I believe it is worth emphasizing that the appropriateness of such statements lies not only in their nobility, but equally, and maybe mostly, in how they delineate conduct leading to sorrowless, repentance-free experiences.
The Karmic Web
The internet could very well be an ideal vehicle for karmic restoration. Whenever one is running low on good karma to sustain their world, if there is an imbalance between give and take for example, then social networks, self-publishing tools, and similar resources provide the means to rectify the disequilibrium.
In my opinion, this is a strong incentive for keeping the web free for everyone, and it is potentially also one of the reasons why it has come in existence in the first place.
1-800-Fulfill
Among the many determining experiences which have supported my faith in a higher intelligence are instances of unmistakable, albeit nonverbal, two-way communication with my universe, for lack of a more precise designation.
I should stress for the benefit of the skeptics that I don't claim any of these events to be reproducible nor verifiable. Therefore, relating them here wouldn't alleviate their doubts. Nonetheless, they have contributed to silence my own skepticism.
In view of those occurrences, beliefs such as the law of attraction, cosmic ordering, and perhaps less controversially, the power of prayer, seem all the more plausible to me, although I have long deemed them the farfetched fantasies of fluffy folks.
But hopefully more to the point, in my limited exposition to the practices mentioned above, I don't remember seeing warnings regarding how error might cause them to fail. Thus, I suggest that reconsidering the matter, with attention to the effects of wrongdoing on the processes, could profit the ones who have yet to be successful in their attempts.
Binary Logic
In the recent years, I have often had the impression that there is a movement against established religions. If not necessarily widespread, it yet appears to affect specific layers of society.
While I readily understand the criticisms, and actually share some of them to a certain extent, I feel I must emphasize that religious traditions, at least some of them, nevertheless preserve valuable knowledge hinting at insights that the seeker might not be able to discover via any other source.
Personally, in this wanting to systematically expel those institutions from one's world, I perceive a genuine danger of throwing out the baby with the holy water.
In general terms, while science is apt at proposing models of what is, in my experience, religion is unrivalled at revealing how what is can be navigated. In my opinion, descriptive science is manifestly helpful, yet whenever it becomes predictive or prescriptive, it runs the risk of committing the same blunders for which religion is typically blamed.
Foolproof
The question of whether or not the redirection mechanism is infallible is an interesting one that sheds additional light on the situation.
Individuals who aren't aware of what is going on might rationalize the cosmic cues as chronic bad luck, or simply as inevitable incidents that are bound to happen once in a while and to which philosophical resignation is the best reaction. Still, in turn, this stoical attitude might lead to an increase in the intensity of the indications. If the more innocuous prompts remain unnoticed, then maybe the higher intelligence resorts to less ignorable methods. This could explain bodily discomforts and diseases for example.
It looks to me as if a similar principle applies on a larger scale. Many of the efforts of science and technology, in the medical field in particular, are aimed at eliminating the albeit unpleasant messages of a benevolent universe. Conceivably, in trying to make some of those disagreeable occurrences vanish, we merely displace the problem, and the course-correcting agent finds other ways to get its communications across.
In such instances, perhaps what we successfully elude is then reflected in the state of the superorganism of which we are constituents. Thus, as touched on earlier, when it exhibits symptoms of illness, like the crises we are collectively facing at this time, possibly what that means is that some of its cells are oblivious to the fact that some of their deeds impact the whole negatively. And if so, it is our common responsibility to remedy the circumstances.
From a totally different perspective, it is tempting to think that the automatism can be used against itself in order to escape it. Presumably, one could choose as their goal to access a reality wherein redirection is no longer in operation, and by sustaining the creative process in an error-free fashion, attain their objective. Thus, they would be at liberty to do whatever they wish, without ever having to meet the consequences of their acts. However, supposing they are still part of the superorganism, they could harm the whole, and themselves by the same occasion, and never have a chance to become conscious of the causality.
Alternatively, one might decide to sever themselves from the superorganism, but then this would raise other interrogations. If the whole usually provides for them, how would they support themselves ? Can a cell survive without a host ?
Furthermore, there would be the matter of determining which is the more fundamental between mind and its physiology. That is to say, if everything is actually made by mind, can mind change its core functions of creator of all things, or is there a layer that it inherently cannot modify ? In my opinion, there is potentially such an essential physiology that cannot be reprogrammed, and it therefore ensues that, to protect this physiology, certain behaviours will always be sins.
Insofar as I am concerned, the existence of a foolproof, uncircumventable mechanism guarantees a form of justice. If we are all subjected to its laws to an equal degree, it follows that no amount of money, nor any inherited condition, nor any accomplishment, can absolve anyone from having to play by its rules, at any time.
Enlightenarium
In a variant of the self-aware master plan theory, there would be one main criterion for individual undertakings to be acceptable from the standpoint of the higher intelligence. This requisite would be that the endeavours leading to the completion of the projects must ensure that seekers will improve themselves. In other words, pursuits through which they couldn't gain additional understanding of themselves and of their world wouldn't be satisfactory.
In this conjecture, the universe could be an elaborate instrument thanks to which we would eventually reach perfection, by achieving the succession of aims that accord with our preferences. The purpose of this enlightenarium would be to supply a metaphor that would facilitate the task of ridding ourselves of error. Thus, in this respect, the grand design would be reminiscent of Pirsig's Quality as a positive force for self-betterment.
At the Risk of Repeating Myself
In the next section, I will summarize the core ideas that I hope to convey via this essay.
