Discussion Locked
How to clean an infected Computer
0 helpful
11 replies
Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.
blog root
11 replies
"Time and space are modes by which we think and not conditions in which we live." - Albert Einstein
"Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any knowledge of the empirical world. All knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it." - Albert Einstein
Dr Robert Jordan ( Scientist )
I think scientists, if we possess any sense of humility, must acknowledge that science cannot provide us with Ultimate Truth, only little hints of understanding about how the Universe operates. Scientists are appropriately taught that today's comprehensive theory is merely tomorrow's special case of an even more comprehensive theory.
The North Wind and the Sun
The North Wind and the Sun disputed as to which was the most powerful, and agreed that he should be declared the victor who could first strip a wayfaring man of his clothes.
The North Wind first tried his power and blew with all his might, but the keener his blasts, the closer the Traveler wrapped his cloak around him, until at last, resigning all hope of victory, the Wind called upon the Sun to see what he could do.
The Sun suddenly shone out with all his warmth. The Traveler no sooner felt his genial rays than he took off one garment after another, and at last, fairly overcome with heat, undressed and bathed in a stream that lay in his path.
Moral: Persuasion is better than Force.
http://www.kyushinryujujitsu.com/Kyushinryujujitsupage1.htm
THE PRINCIPLES OF JUJITSU
The principles behind each technique compensates for power, strength etc.
Effective fighting strategies occur spontaneously. They must flow and blend with a confrontation as it unfolds, and cannot merely be rehearsed responses to a given attack. Your attitude in a life or death situation is the determining factor that governs your tactics. Your body is merely a conduit for the fighting spirit that is channeled from your heart and mind. This spirit or attitude, can and most likely will fluctuate and change during a conflict.
Jujitsuans have categorised these principles to call on during training and any real situation they may encounter. A Jujitsuan can use one or more principle combined in any given situation.
1. The principle of the Earth attitude:
This is characterised by the immovable, grounded, stubborn elements of an individuals personality. The earth attitude is that confident feeling you might experience when confronted with a situation that poses no threat. By using the earth principle your opponent will think you are immovable, strong and grounded. To achieve the earth attitude physically, the Ju Jujitsuan must centre his movements in his/her thigh and buttocks. With a low centre of gravity, most movements will be limited to upwards and/or downwards motions. These actions are very powerful for striking and blocking, and also lend themselves to uprooting an attacker. Assuming an earth attitude will make it very difficult for an aggressor to disrupt your balance.
2. The principle of water attitude:
Jujitsu is the water element. Water bypasses an opposing rock but wears it down in the process and finally masters it. The use of the water principle provides total penetration of the attackers defenses for like water flowing into empty spaces the Jujitsuka?s attack flows to the most vulnerable area of the opponent. The passive resistance of water harmlessly absorbs the attack.
3. The principle of the Fire attitude:
This resides in the aggressive, determined and energetic portion of the human personality. Fire is an all-consuming attitude. You will accomplish your goal at all costs, with no thought of consequences. In a self defence situation, fire translates to ?it?s him or me, and I will be the one who survives this confrontation!?
To achieve this attitude on a physical level, a Jujitsuan must link himself with the emotional fire element located in the solar plexus region. Once that is accomplished, his footwork will assume the distinctive backward and forward movement of the fire attitude. Moving linearly in a fire mode can take on several variations: Leaping, shuffling, running, entering etc. The assailant will get the feeling he/she is being overrun, consumed. It is as the defender is blasting through his opponent, leaving him totally devastated in a pile of ash.
3. The principle of the Wind attitude:
This manifests itself in the wise and loving aspect of your personality. Wind is both slippery and resilient, allowing the Jujitsuan to redirect his opponent attacks without injury to either party. It is as though the Jujitsuan is not only protecting himself, but also his attacker from his own ignorance and poor judgment.
To manifest the spirit of the wind element physically, the Jujitsuan must draw his attitude from the centre of his chest and heart. The physical maneuvers associated with the wind attitude are circular, as if the practitioner is spinning on his spinal axis. Wind defences are more or less deflections, rendering the defender untouchable and almost impossible to grab. Wind moves in all directions left, right ,forwards backwards up and down. By using the wind principle you can create you own whirlwind where your opponent won?t know which direction he/she is moving or what is happening.
5. The principle of Redirection (rechannelling the force):
In Jujitsu we do not clash with or directly oppose an opponents strength or force, rather we harmonize with it, avoid it and redirect it back to the attacker. Controlled redirection does not just knock aside the force of an attack but makes use of it. The opponent?s energy is accepted and redirected. We move naturally with the moves of the opponent, not in opposition to them. For example the Jujitsuka (an exponent of Jujitsu) intersects a punch then accelerates it and thus unbalances the attacker by virtue of redirected momentum. Jujitsu is the art of deflecting, redirecting, evading and blending force, using minimal strength for maximum effectiveness. It allows for minimum employment of one?s own muscular force.
6. The principle of balance:
Balance is the key factor in Jujitsu. An opponent will lose his balance by virtue of redirected momentum. Momentum is an expression of the opponent?s Ki. The attacker?s Ki is led to the point of unbalance.
Balance is that which enables one to preserve one?s psychic and physical equilibrium during the endless varieties of dynamic changes of position one?s body makes when executing Jujitsu skills. The equilibrium point for the human body is constantly changing.
Balance in Jujitsu refers to the balance between hard and soft, body and spirit and between thought and act. Our own inner balance must be maintained in the face of challenging situations, not only encountered in Jujitsu but in life. The unbalancing of an opponent occurs both mentally and physically making him lose control of the situation.
7. The principle of Ki:
Jujitsu uses co-ordinated Ki in harmony with the circumstances of combat. Ki is basically life force, or energy. Ki is concentrated by mental and physical concentration that helps the Ju jitsuka overcome a superior force. This state of co-ordinated energy is essential and accompanies all other Jujitsu principles.
Ju-Jutsu provides for an effective integration of the attacker?s and defender?s Ki. Ki can be focused and projected to produce a power greater than physical strength.
Kiai is a physical extension of Ki. It involves deep abdominal breathing and mental projection in the channel of a shout in a co-ordinated direction. There are three types of Kiai: Stopping, focusing and winding/multiple.
8. The principle of Circularity:
Many Jujitsu techniques rely on this principle. The circle may be as large as a hip throw or as small as a wrist twist. Circular movements make use of the laws of physical forces, momentum, leverage and inertia whereas linear concepts tend to directly oppose force. ?Marui? refers to round circular movements involved in moving. Effective mastery of this principle will continue to keep the opponent off balance, mainly through pivotal action.
COMPARING MARTIAL ARTS SYSTEMS
Although there are a great many names for different styles of fighting systems, there is a relatively small group of basic techniques used in all of them. No matter what it is called, a hand to hand fighting method will employ one or more of the basic techniques shown on the chart.
No other system of the Martial Arts uses as great a variety of techniques from among the categories as do the Jujitsu methods. Within the classification of ?Jujitsu? there is considerable variation in emphasis and style. One system of Jujitsu might emphasize kicking and throwing techniques; another, throwing & grappling. Some styles of Jujitsu emphasised hitting and kicking to such a degree that they are indistinguishable from what we know today as Karate. Today?s Kempo Karate was previously known as Kempo Jujitsu. Some styles of Jujitsu used techniques from all the categories, weaponless as well as crafted stick and cutting weapons, as well as weapons such as farm Implements e.g. Sai, nunchaka, tonfa and so on.
THE PRINCIPLES OF JUJITSU
The principles behind each technique compensates for power, strength etc.
Effective fighting strategies occur spontaneously. They must flow and blend with a confrontation as it unfolds, and cannot merely be rehearsed responses to a given attack. Your attitude in a life or death situation is the determining factor that governs your tactics. Your body is merely a conduit for the fighting spirit that is channeled from your heart and mind. This spirit or attitude, can and most likely will fluctuate and change during a conflict.
Jujitsuans have categorised these principles to call on during training and any real situation they may encounter. A Jujitsuan can use one or more principle combined in any given situation.
1. The principle of the Earth attitude:
This is characterised by the immovable, grounded, stubborn elements of an individuals personality. The earth attitude is that confident feeling you might experience when confronted with a situation that poses no threat. By using the earth principle your opponent will think you are immovable, strong and grounded. To achieve the earth attitude physically, the Ju Jujitsuan must centre his movements in his/her thigh and buttocks. With a low centre of gravity, most movements will be limited to upwards and/or downwards motions. These actions are very powerful for striking and blocking, and also lend themselves to uprooting an attacker. Assuming an earth attitude will make it very difficult for an aggressor to disrupt your balance.
2. The principle of water attitude:
Jujitsu is the water element. Water bypasses an opposing rock but wears it down in the process and finally masters it. The use of the water principle provides total penetration of the attackers defenses for like water flowing into empty spaces the Jujitsuka?s attack flows to the most vulnerable area of the opponent. The passive resistance of water harmlessly absorbs the attack.
3. The principle of the Fire attitude:
This resides in the aggressive, determined and energetic portion of the human personality. Fire is an all-consuming attitude. You will accomplish your goal at all costs, with no thought of consequences. In a self defence situation, fire translates to ?it?s him or me, and I will be the one who survives this confrontation!?
To achieve this attitude on a physical level, a Jujitsuan must link himself with the emotional fire element located in the solar plexus region. Once that is accomplished, his footwork will assume the distinctive backward and forward movement of the fire attitude. Moving linearly in a fire mode can take on several variations: Leaping, shuffling, running, entering etc. The assailant will get the feeling he/she is being overrun, consumed. It is as the defender is blasting through his opponent, leaving him totally devastated in a pile of ash.
3. The principle of the Wind attitude:
This manifests itself in the wise and loving aspect of your personality. Wind is both slippery and resilient, allowing the Jujitsuan to redirect his opponent attacks without injury to either party. It is as though the Jujitsuan is not only protecting himself, but also his attacker from his own ignorance and poor judgment.
To manifest the spirit of the wind element physically, the Jujitsuan must draw his attitude from the centre of his chest and heart. The physical maneuvers associated with the wind attitude are circular, as if the practitioner is spinning on his spinal axis. Wind defences are more or less deflections, rendering the defender untouchable and almost impossible to grab. Wind moves in all directions left, right ,forwards backwards up and down. By using the wind principle you can create you own whirlwind where your opponent won?t know which direction he/she is moving or what is happening.
5. The principle of Redirection (rechannelling the force):
In Jujitsu we do not clash with or directly oppose an opponents strength or force, rather we harmonize with it, avoid it and redirect it back to the attacker. Controlled redirection does not just knock aside the force of an attack but makes use of it. The opponent?s energy is accepted and redirected. We move naturally with the moves of the opponent, not in opposition to them. For example the Jujitsuka (an exponent of Jujitsu) intersects a punch then accelerates it and thus unbalances the attacker by virtue of redirected momentum. Jujitsu is the art of deflecting, redirecting, evading and blending force, using minimal strength for maximum effectiveness. It allows for minimum employment of one?s own muscular force.
6. The principle of balance:
Balance is the key factor in Jujitsu. An opponent will lose his balance by virtue of redirected momentum. Momentum is an expression of the opponent?s Ki. The attacker?s Ki is led to the point of unbalance.
Balance is that which enables one to preserve one?s psychic and physical equilibrium during the endless varieties of dynamic changes of position one?s body makes when executing Jujitsu skills. The equilibrium point for the human body is constantly changing.
Balance in Jujitsu refers to the balance between hard and soft, body and spirit and between thought and act. Our own inner balance must be maintained in the face of challenging situations, not only encountered in Jujitsu but in life. The unbalancing of an opponent occurs both mentally and physically making him lose control of the situation.
7. The principle of Ki:
Jujitsu uses co-ordinated Ki in harmony with the circumstances of combat. Ki is basically life force, or energy. Ki is concentrated by mental and physical concentration that helps the Ju jitsuka overcome a superior force. This state of co-ordinated energy is essential and accompanies all other Jujitsu principles.
Ju-Jutsu provides for an effective integration of the attacker?s and defender?s Ki. Ki can be focused and projected to produce a power greater than physical strength.
Kiai is a physical extension of Ki. It involves deep abdominal breathing and mental projection in the channel of a shout in a co-ordinated direction. There are three types of Kiai: Stopping, focusing and winding/multiple.
8. The principle of Circularity:
Many Jujitsu techniques rely on this principle. The circle may be as large as a hip throw or as small as a wrist twist. Circular movements make use of the laws of physical forces, momentum, leverage and inertia whereas linear concepts tend to directly oppose force. ?Marui? refers to round circular movements involved in moving. Effective mastery of this principle will continue to keep the opponent off balance, mainly through pivotal action.
COMPARING MARTIAL ARTS SYSTEMS
Although there are a great many names for different styles of fighting systems, there is a relatively small group of basic techniques used in all of them. No matter what it is called, a hand to hand fighting method will employ one or more of the basic techniques shown on the chart.
No other system of the Martial Arts uses as great a variety of techniques from among the categories as do the Jujitsu methods. Within the classification of ?Jujitsu? there is considerable variation in emphasis and style. One system of Jujitsu might emphasize kicking and throwing techniques; another, throwing & grappling. Some styles of Jujitsu emphasised hitting and kicking to such a degree that they are indistinguishable from what we know today as Karate. Today?s Kempo Karate was previously known as Kempo Jujitsu. Some styles of Jujitsu used techniques from all the categories, weaponless as well as crafted stick and cutting weapons, as well as weapons such as farm Implements e.g. Sai, nunchaka, tonfa and so on.
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein
How to clean an infected Computer
http://forum.grisoft.cz/freeforum/read.php?4,27725,backpage=
How To Clean An Infected Computer by Randy D. Stafford November 26, 2004
Cleaning an infected computer today has become harder than ever. To effectively clean your system you must first learn a little about what you are trying to get rid of and what tools you need to get the job done. I'm going to try to give you some of the background, followed by the basics of getting rid of these pests.
Today there are a variety of things that can infect your computer such as viruses, worms, trojans and spyware. I refer to all of them as parasites since that word seems to best describe them. I find it best to use a multi-pronged approach to fighting parasites, so I use several software programs to find and get rid of them.
Hopefully, by giving you a little of the background, you will be able to learn what tools to use and when to use them so that you may clean your computer of these parasites. Viruses were the first computer bugs, and anti-virus (AV) software was made specifically to detect and get rid of these. Worms are a little different than viruses, which is one reason why AV software has a harder time catching them. Finally came trojan horses, usually just called trojans.
These are very different than both viruses and worms. They actually take advantage of the weaknesses that are inherent in AV software. For one, most trojans actually try to hide from being detected by AV software. They also work "smarter" by creating hidden copies of themselves so that when they do get detected and cleaned, they can re-infect the computer with the hidden copy right after the AV software cleans the original infection. Basically, trojans are AV software's worst nightmare simply because AV software wasn't designed to specifically go after this type of threat. Today, AV software is much better at detecting all types of parasites than before but they will need to be redesigned and start using multiple methods if they are ever going to be effective against all parasites. Spyware isn't a new bread of parasite. It is simply a combination of various computer exploits and they utilize various combinations of scripts, trojans and worms. Currently they take advantage of trojans the most since they are harder to detect and clean properly. Anti-spyware (AS) software was created specifically for detecting and cleaning this type of parasite, so when it comes to trojans and some worms, AS software is much better equipped to fight these than the AV software is. First, you will need to get some software programs to help you. The following programs are what I use personally. Not only do I trust them, but they are also free for personal use. The companies that provide the free software, also provide software that they sell for use in a commercial environment. Usually, the free versions are just as good but simply don't have as many of the extra features which make the commercial versions even more attractive to use.
Anti-Spyware Software ? CWShredder - You can find it at [www.intermute.com] ?
Lavasoft's Ad-Aware - You can find it at [www.lavasoftusa.com] ?
Spybot S&D - You can find it at [www.spybot.info]
Anti-Virus Software ? Grisoft AVG Free - You can find it at [free.grisoft.com]
First you will want to download each of the above programs and then install them. After you install them, you MUST update them so you will have the latest protection.
There is one small exception: CWShredder is a stand-alone program that doesn't need to be installed, but you do need to have it check for an update to ensure that you have the latest version.
If you don't update these programs and you are infected with the latest parasites, you will not be able to effectively detect and clean them from your computer, so remember to update, update, update. Since spyware is a bigger problem today than viruses, and spyware is typically harder to find and get rid of, I suggest to start looking for spyware first. I also use the different AS software packages in a specific order so that I go after the tougher problems first and the easiest ones last. Turn off System Restore
? WinME and WinXP have a cool feature called System Restore. It is used to restore your computer to an earlier configuration in case of a problem. The only problem is that it wasn't made with parasites in mind, and often it can't tell the difference between an infected file and a good file, so it might automatically restore an infected file also if it had been in a protected area, effectively re-infecting your computer. Because of this, it is recommended to turn off System Restore before you test, and when you're done, turn it back on so you are still protected from standard computer problems.
? For WindowsME Click Start, Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click the System icon. The System Properties dialog box appears. NOTE: If the System icon is not visible, click "View all Control Panel options" to display it. Click the Performance tab, and then click File System. Click the Troubleshooting tab, and then check Disable System Restore. Click OK. Click Yes, when you are prompted to restart Windows.
? For WindowsXP Click Start. Right-click the My Computer icon, and then click Properties. Click the System Restore tab. Check "Turn off System Restore" or "Turn off System Restore on all drives." Click Apply. When turning off System Restore, the existing restore points will be deleted. Click Yes to do this. Click OK. Carefully Look at Windows Add/Remove programs for suspicious programs
? Many of the spyware threats actually install into your system like a program. Many appear to be utilities that you may think are helpful but in reality aren't. Look for add-an toolbars, while toolbars like those provided by Google, MSN, Yahoo and other are great utils, there are many more that aren't and if in doubt check it out to see if ones you have are parasitic. Another common exploit are the Search helpers, WinTools, Gator products, IE Helper, Comet Cursor and many others just to name a very few. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) programs are another common source for these and even the ones that doen't come with spyware themselves are a security risk that may lead to your system being infected or to spread infections like these. Remove all suspicious programs, if you are wrong, you may always re-install them later. Run Disk Clean-Up
? This actually comes with Windows and has been installed by default since Windows 98. You can find it by clicking the Start Button and then going to Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Clean-up. I recommend selecting all of its options except the ones for Office Setup Files and Compress Old Files if you have them. While you may select those if you wish, they aren't as important. This will clean up all of the temporary files so your testing will go faster, and may also delete any spyware that may hiding there if the spyware isn't already running. Run CWShredder
? This is made for detecting and cleaning of the infamous CoolWebSearch exploits. Currently there are about 40 types of these, each with up to 4 variants and growing. These are some of the toughest ones to get rid of. Run Ad-Aware Next
? This handles the next toughest types the best. When it finally presents you with the list of parasites it has found, put a check mark in the box next to the ones you want to get rid of, I suggest checking them all. If you want to select all, just right-click your mouse on the boxes to get the options menu, and left-click on Select All. If it says it can't get rid of a problem right now, it will ask if you want to run it again after you restart your computer, answer yes and restart your computer so it may test again. Run Spybot Next
? When you run it, it will automatically select all the spyware that it finds, if there is something you don't want to get rid of for some reason, deselect it and then let Spybot fix all of the rest of the problems that it finds. This program also will ask to restart your computer so it can test again if it has problems removing something, so let it. Now Run The AVG Program
? All antivirus programs, including AVG, by default have their settings to only scan executable files in an attempt to speed up looking for infections. While most of the time this is just fine, the newest threats that can infect your computer have started getting sneaky on how they hide their files making it easier for them to reinfect your system if your antivirus program detected and removed their executable file. To help also detect these "backup" files that the infection leaves on your system, you should in my opinion, make a couple of changes to what your AVG scans from just executable files to all files.
? To change AVG's settings, open AVG's Test Center. Click the Tests menu then in both of the tests labeled Complete Test Settings and Selected Area Test Settings select Scan all Files and click the Ok button.
? Now AVG will scan all of the files when you scan your computer. This will take longer to complete, but I feel it is a small price to pay for the added security it provides.
? Have it scan for the remaining parasites that the others may have missed. If you found any parasites, you need to restart your computer so you can test everything again. There are times that after cleaning certain parasites, you will need to test again because something may have been hidden earlier by the infection. So repeat this process of testing and restarting until you find no more parasites.
? Run the scans again in Safe Mode. This will keep many of the parasites from loading and being able to hide from your protection software. To access Safe Mode on most versions of Windows, start tapping the [F8] key after you first start or restart your system, start tapping it before you ever see a Windows Splash Screen and continue until you get the Menu where you may select it from the list. On WinNT, this is called VGA mode and on Win2k you actually start tapping just after the first splash screen shows. For Detailed instructions see Restarting Your Computer in Safe Mode
These procedures should have cleaned most cases of infection that you will find. Yes I said MOST because there are some infections that are very hard to detect and remove. Generally, if you have one of these, you will need the assistance of an expert to help you get rid of it.
When you believe you are finished, remember to turn System Restore back on if you had turned it off.
I recommend testing for parasites as often as you can, probably at least once a month if not more. The sooner you catch them, the less damage they can do to your computer, and the less chance of a hacker finding your sensitive information such as checking account info, passwords, etc.
Windows Tip
Windows itself, by default, hides certain files, system folders or file extentions from the user to make it easier to navigate. If you are having to find an infected file or just one you are looking for, this can cause you to not find it. If you wish you may change this to show all of the files on your computer.
Open your My Computer icon (Either from your desktop or the Start Menu) Click the Tools menu and select Folder Options(on older systems it may be in the View menu)
Select the View tab and scroll through the Advanced settings Enable or disable the following (using a checkmark to enable)
enable - Show hidden files and folders
disable - Hide extentions for known file types
disable - Hide protected operating system files (WinME and WinXP only)
Now click Apply and Ok
How to find an embedded infection
AVG 7 Free now detects infections in areas that it was unable to before. The most notable are ones embedded inside of archives. Since AVG can't determine if you created the archive or if it was a parasite that created it, they leave these alone so you may have a chance to recover uninfected files from the archive and then you simply delete the archive when done. Infections that are inside of an archive aren't a direct threat to your system unless the file gets extracted to allow it to run. Grisoft has chose this method because it is safer for your data that the archive may contain.
For someone that is new to looking for these embedded infections, it can be a little confusing with the way that AVG will list the file because it also must include the archive file name that contains it in the full path/filename.
The following is an example that I made up to highlight the info so you will know which filename to look for so you may either extract files and or delete the correct file. I will color code these for you, but AVG will not.
AVG will give you a name like... C:\Windows\Temp\InfectedArchive.cab:\InfectedFile.exe
The location of the file is in C:\Windows\Temp The archive that contains the infection is InfectedArchive.cab And the actual infected file inside of the archive is InfectedFile.exe Note the ":\" that seperates the archive from the file it contains. After you have recovered any files inside of the archive that you may want to keep (other than the infected one that is) just simple delete the whole archive.. in this example the file to delete would be InfectedArchive.cab
It looks harder than it really is.. just remember the file you want to look for is named just before the last ":\"
Most of the time, you won't have any files to recover inside of the archives. The only time this isn't true is if it is an archive that you had created yourself. If you didn't create it.. just delete and move on.
by jdclyde
How much luck have you been having with this? More and more I
have been finding that after finally getting rid of the infection the
windows install is very unstable and end up doing a wipe and
reload anyways.
Another tool I found was "counterspy". Only has a two week demo,
but it finds trojans and keystroke loggers that nothing else has!
I will be purchasing it soon.
jd
JD
It saved me - so that's why I kept it --- I got the Cool Web Search and Rundll problems and after doing the above a couple of times my Computer was back to normal. I also found it easy to understand. :)
by hulsman
Clean-Computer.org - Free computer clean up of hard drive of spyware, adware and registry. Get firewall anti-virus patches remove Spyware.
..
|
Cause & Effect |
Our constant separating of these two variables is greatly responsible for many of the problems we create for ourselves. Which in and of itself can be defined in western terms as a cause and effect happening, which just brought a chuckle from within.
In talking to a few people the other day on this subject, one person provided the scenario where if he threw a rock which then broke a window, wouldn't the broken window be the effect of throwing the rock (cause)? Many of us were stumped with this, but when looked upon it more carefully, we saw that they arose mutually. Can we have one without the other? Like space and solid, high and low, hot and cold, light and dark, good and bad; all are only experienced in terms of their opposites (or causes). In essence, though these things seem to be separate things, they are actually one. Inseparable, like bees and flowers.
So what does this mean? Though I still struggle to understand this fully and apply it to my daily consciousness, I believe that once we come to a complete understanding of this, a huge relief will flood over us and a calm and connection to all things will be realized, like seeing everything for the first time, through a child's eyes, noticing with amazement the myriad of beautiful experiences around and within us that we now ignore everyday.
Part of this realization would include that it is against nature for us to have only the good things in life, however you may define those. To have only one variable of nature without the rest is simply not possible. That all of the things we each personally like in life, are only likeable because there are the opposite, or other things in our lives which we do not like.
I grew up in New York and lived there for twenty-four years. We had some very cold, windy and snowy winters through my time there. I really didn't like the cold very much, it seemed to run a chill within me all the way to the bone marrow. I'd get the shivers and involuntarily dance a Gig well enough to give Elvis a run for his money. I have since moved to Southern California and been here for some time. Sun, sun, sun and more sun. The sun has become boring. Poor weather is virtually never a factor in making any plans for weekends or trips. It's most probably going to be a really nice day, and the sun will most certainly shine. Now I know it sounds kinda crazy to some, but I've grown a little tired of the sun. I would like some rain and cold and snow now please. So you see, we need our opposites, to distinguish things at all in the first place, but also to make all the things that we do like in life, special and spectacular.
In the end our little group all agreed that this was indeed the case. The window and the thrown rock arose mutually, that everything is interdependent. But later in the day... when I thought about this further, I asked myself "do I really get it?" I thought of perhaps two areas where this plays out in western civilized culture and really removes us from what is really here, from really living.
The first goes back to our view of nature. I had sadly recalled that earlier in that same day, while watering the plants and flowers in my backyard, a wasp had buzzed right by my head, and I instantly ducked, turned, and stepped away. At first I was proud of myself for what I had interpreted as a smooth Tai Chi movement to swiftly step away from my opponent, but after I realized that I was actually frightened of the wasp (and therefore the wind probably could have knocked over my Tai Chi move) then I wondered why it was I had even considered the wasp my opponent?
| This was of course the by-product of our thinking that it's "us against nature". My western roots, all the way down to the culture of my community, friends and family. That though the mountains, lakes and oceans are all beautiful, nature is not to be trusted. It is our job to get nature under control, to be it's master. So in that moment, I viewed that wasp as my enemy.
In our quest to control nature we are of course destroying it at an amazing pace. We do not understand that we are... ourselves plus our environment. It is as much of us as we are of it. When we study other organisms, our science always measures the organism and it's environment. For as the environment changes, so does the behavior and the physiology of the organism, they are one. Science defines this as a "unified field of behavior." But when we look at the environment around us humans, we seem to totally forget this and view nature as the enemy. Once again, just as the window and rock, bees and flowers, space and solid, it is all interdependent, all inseparable, one. |
|
|
|
What about nothing...simple empty space? There's a story that says when the first astronaut returned from space and was asked "if he'd seen God up there?", he replied "Yes, and she is black." The interpretation which followed and is now presented here was that "she", the feminine, is in it's root the "substance" of things, "sub" meaning beneath, in other words "that which is underlying that which sticks out." The "black" is the "no-thing", the "emptiness", which provides the backdrop (the she. the substance), to everything that is.
The blank space on this page is what makes the type useful (of course I'm probably overstating the "usefulness" of my type, heheh). If we were standing in a room, having a face-to-face discussion. It would be the space between us that allows us to be and to recognize the other. Therefore everything and nothing co-exist as one, just as all other things. The alternative is that everything would be either completely solid or completely space.
If we put a rock (or anything for that matter) under a microscope, we notice that it has lots of pockets of empty space within it. In fact if you keep getting bigger and more powerful microscopes and look at the stuff you think you do see, you find out the deeper you look the more you can't find anything at all (see our science page for more on this). Everything is mostly comprised of empty space and the stuff that is there, well... it isn't "matter" in the way in which we think of matter as physical stuff. With current SuperString theory, electrons and quarks (the essence of all things to science) are just strings of vibrating energy, each vibrating at it's own frequency, or playing it's own note like in music, and the combination of these strings produces an orchestra playing a symphony, and this symphony is the rock, and that one is the tree, and this one is you.
The stuff that is there, the vibrating strings of energy, are waves. Like all energy waves, they consist of crests and troughs. An "on" state and an "off" state. Untold millions of times per second the energy vibration is on, then it's off, on, off....it's there,
it's not there, something, nothing, we exist, we don't exist, we exist, etc.
In fact as we make our microscopes more and more powerful, we will find smaller and smaller stuff within the Super Strings. Because it is said, that the universe, when being examined in this way, must make itself smaller and smaller, in order to hide from itself. The universe cannot look at itself. Just as you cannot see the back of your own head, or see your own eyes. This was theorized by a respected western mathematician, G. Spencer-Brown.
So in eastern philosophies, especially Chinese, the universe is seen as "organic pattern" and it is said that "from the nothing (no-thing), everything is born."
Suggesting we weren't made as the western baby asks it's mother, "Mommy, how was I made?", but rather as the Chinese baby asks it's mother, "Mommy, how did I grow?" If I may use a term from Alan Watts, in the way an apple tree "apples", the universe "peoples", from the intelligent nothing. We didn't come into this world; we grew out of it.
Now I've gotten slightly off-track here, caught up in the wonder of it all, but the song remains the same. We are our environment and it is us... a made whole, one.
|
"Standing on the bare ground, a mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all; the currents of the Universal Being circulate through me; I am part or particle of God." --- Emerson |
Listen to a Real Audio Talk from Philosopher Alan Watts on "Nothing" - Click here |
I see I have strayed into yin yang principles and slightly off the path of cause and effect. I'm just kind of walkin' around here kickin' a pebble, talking stuff and nonsense; please excuse. Both theories are the same to me I guess.
So back to cause and effect then...I'd like to introduce..."Winning and Losing." These two (this one) weave a wicked web indeed. Since we do not believe everything is interrelated, all connected, all inseparable, then we see the winning as something to get more of, to be treasured and revered, and the losing as something to avoid... at all costs. We ignorantly believe that at some point in the future we're going to get that oh so glorious time when we're swimming in winning and losing simply can't find the address. This of course this will never happen, but we strive nonetheless. It is represented in all the little things we do to obtain more winning in our lives. From the little conscious and subconscious stabs we take at people when they do something differently then us, to the corporate greed, theft, and abuse that resonate through the boardrooms across the Globe.
Bragging about your job; winning. Complaining your sick all the time; winning. Pointing out your charities; winning. Pointing out your enlightenment; winning. Pointing out your losses; winning. Criticizing others; winning, etc., etc., etc. I do it, you do it, we all do it (my apologies to the true monks out there). These are all just things we do to experience more winning in our lives, as if that were the key to all things, but we all have found out this does not work.
| "Like water the Tao always seeks the lowest level. It does not show greatness and is therefore truly great." --- Tao Te Ching |
So we begin a realization that it is us and we are it, winning and losing go together, they have to. We always exaggerate the degree of our losing anyway. We let our minds play with a circumstance until it has devised a million different ways it can hurt us or the one's we love. All of us are skilled writers plotting out the most devious of circumstances in our heads. So the Monks say the secret to escape these hallucinations is simple, we need only to recognize they are hallucinations, that our mind chatter is playing this crazy game, then regard it as you would a passing car. Release it as nothing more than imagination and come back to what's happening right now. Ahhhhhhhhh. It is as it is. tzu-jan - "that which is so of itself."
|
"I am an old man, and have had a great many worries, few of which ever came true." ---Mark Twain |
A related area of discussion is how we constantly worry about the consequences (effects) of everything we do (causes), and regret (effects) some things that have happened in the past (causes). It seems to be a circular cycle of worrying and regretting, planning and remembering, without ever really living in the only time we have...now. If we study the world closely we see that no event can be isolated from all other events. Every happening is interconnected and interrelated with all other happenings. But when an event that is displeasing happens around and within us, we sometimes let it eat at us because we have isolated it from all other happenings and because we have isolated it from ourselves.
I would like to give two examples of this. The first is an old Zen story: a farmer in the hills only horse ran away during the evening and later that day the neighbors gathered and said "poor farmer, isn't it terrible you have lost your only horse." The farmer seemed unfazed and said "who is to say what is good and what is bad?". The next evening the run away horse led sixteen wild horses and ponies to the farmers stable. When the neighbors gathered, they couldn't believe his luck and exclaimed, "oh farmer, that's great, what luck has come your way, you now have sixteen new horses." The farmer replied "Who is to say what is good and what is bad?" The following day the farmer's son was trying to break one of the horses, fell and broke his right leg. That evening the neighbors came and said "poor farmer, how terrible it is your son broke his leg." Once again the farmer replied, "But who is to say..." The next day the Chinese Army came to the farmer house to draft his son but because of his broken leg, he was deemed unfit to serve at this time...
The second story is a simple one of a man in front of my wife and I at the local Baskin Robbins ice-cream parlor. He was on his cell-phone (California, whaddya want?) laughing and just stirring up a riot. After he hung up I asked him what brought all the smiles and he told us that he and his wife just put their home up for sale and really needed to sell it quick, but today the laundry hose broke when they weren't home and filled their house with two inches of water. They were depressed. Well it turned out that the contractor they hired that morning to take out the water and dry out their home, he loved the house so much he decided right there and then he would buy it at their original asking price. Who is to say what is good and what is bad?
These are simple stories that really portray how life, when examined closely, simply goes on, always changing, on, now off, now on again. If we think back and isolate events we thought were "not in our favor", we see in most instances that the event had evolved into several other altogether different sets of circumstances, many of which were what we considered "in our favor." All things and events are ever-evolving, eternal. This moment is eternally linked to all other moments; past, present and future.
Everything and nothing are all interconnected, inseparable, a made whole. If we can realize this, we will certainly attain more peace in our lives, a natural peace, for you see once we realize that all events become new events, as a wave hits the shore then retreats back to sea. Flowing with both crests and troughs, all one continuos cycle...a truly amazing spectacle right here in front of us. To live in the now...with complete acceptance and utter fascination. Least that's what they tell me. : )
| "You cannot smell yesterday's coffee, nor tomorrow's, there is only the rich, roasted aroma steaming from the cup in front you." |
If we look at a constant whirlpool in water, we see that while the whirlpool retains its basic pattern indefinitely, the water within it however is always changing, never the same. This is us. Though we appear to be the same each day, we are actually exactly like the whirlpool, similar pattern; new content. The we we were yesterday is not the same we we are today. There is only the we we are now.
|
"Everything the same; everything distinct." --- Zen proverb. |
For now, this yakrider grows weary, thanks for reading, more to come...
To explore this topic further see our section on "unified field of behavior" - Click here
Like the whirlpool, the pattern will at some time cease to be, but it always was and always will be the water
http://www.yakrider.com/Poetry_n_Essays/Essays/cause_effect.htm
Is there something called the mind which is non-physical,
or everything including our mind is just a set of
bounded physical set of objects ?
If the latter is true, then everything at any given instant of time in future is theroretically
predictable if we can model the whole universe as a huge state matrix at this instant of time.
However if we postulate that there is some unpredictability in future if only due to the unpredictability of our own behaviours,
then it is attributable to a non-bounded, non-physical model of mind.
Then the other interesting question arises :-
If mind is not matter, then how can it control the brain which is constiting of matter ? In our model of today's laws, only physical entities (mass, energy, momentum) can cause a change in a physical object.
IF THE BRAIN CAN BE INFLUENCED BY NON-MATTER (WHICH IS OBVOIUSLY NON-BOUNDED IN SPACE), CAN "MY MIND" INFLUENCE "YOUR BRAIN" TOO ?
Rationalism is a desired trait, but trying to explain everything away with the limited set of models that exist today will actually stifle the creation of new models.
This discussion is closed to new replies.
Trending After Hours posts
Sort by Trending
0 helpful
2 replies
0 helpful
10 replies
0 helpful
3 replies
Discussion
Hello everyone
0 helpful
3 replies
Discussion Locked
Designing Websites for Clear Mobile Viewing
0 helpful
1 reply