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https://github.com/chrisrzhou/unverse

A personal collection of writings and meditations in the Unverse
https://github.com/chrisrzhou/unverse

meditations metaverse universe unverse writing

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A personal collection of writings and meditations in the Unverse

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README 

        
# The Unverse



A personal collection of writings and meditations on my journey of unforming my mind in the *Unverse* to *Truly* experience the *Universe*.



## Content



- [0. Preface](#0-preface)

- [1. The *Universe* is Perceivable](#1-the-universe-is-perceivable)

- [2. Human Perceivers](#2-human-perceivers)

- [3. Metaverses](#3-metaverses)

  - [3.1 Metaverse definition](#31-metaverse-definition)

  - [3.2 Metaverse example](#32-metaverse-example)

  - [3.3 Symbols](#33-symbols)

  - [3.4 Creating metaverses](#34-creating-metaverses)

  - [3.5 Challenges](#35-challenges)

- [4. *Nirvana*](#4-nirvana)

- [5. The *Unverse*](#5-the-unverse)

- [6. Experiencing The *Universe*](#6-experiencing-the-universe)

- [7. Universal Nirvana](#7-universal-nirvana)

- [8. Postface](#8-postface)

  - [8.1 Teachers](#81-teachers)

  - [8.2 Writings](#82-writings)

- [9. Unlicense](#9-unlicense)



## 0. Preface



This specific writing began at the start of 2022.  It serves as an initial personal exploration on the concept of the *Unverse*, and is accompanied by other writings that can be further explored in the collection.



Where terms represent an important concept or entity, they are indicated with *Italicized Proper Case*.



My ideas do not belong to me.  They are manifested under a personal history of conditions and influences.  My ideas belong to everyone and everything that has led up to their conception.  Feel free to [use and distribute](#9-unlicense) as required.



## 1. The *Universe* is Perceivable

The following axiom will be the basis of thought for the rest of this writing:



> The *Universe* is, and is perceivable.



The terms "Universe", "is", "perceivable" are not formally defined since it is intentionally left for readers to define them in their own context and cultures.



The axiom does not assert on the origins and ends of the *Universe*, simply that it "exists" (or *just is*), and can be perceived.  The reader may choose to include these ideas if they wish but they are non-essential to the main ideas explored in this writing.



## 2. Human Perceivers



The first axiom allows for perceivers to perceive the *Universe*.  We will assume humans as perceivers in this writing to focus on a human perception and experience of the *Universe*.



Most past and existing cultures can affirm that the axiom we laid out earlier is relatable.  Note that we do not claim the statement to be true, but simply establishing it as an axiom.



We have been perceiving the *Universe* since the birth of humanity.  We observed the stars with just our eyes and created monumental Pyramids outlining their patterns; birthed Gods and religions in the image of the Sun and stars while celebrating or killing in the images of these abstract gods; discovered the building blocks of biological life and engineering biological and artificial life; and the list of all human accomplishments can be inserted behind here...



We are a part of the *Universe*, and by nature of consciousness, we are able to perceive and understand the *Universe* and work within it to advance humanity.



## 3. Metaverses



### 3.1 Metaverse definition



We introduce the following definition to differentiate the absolute *Universe* that *just is* against the perceived *Universe* as perceived by perceivers:



> ***metaverse***: the perceived *Universe*.



### 3.2 Metaverse example



Using the definition provided earlier, a metaverse[^1] is created by our collective consciousness and represents our perception of the *Universe*.  There maybe one or more metaverses[^2] existing in arbitrary periods of time depending on the conditions of society and the diversity and state of our collective consciousness.  A metaverse can involve small or large numbers of perceivers.  The key here is to establish that many perceptions of the *Universe* exist, across people and time.



### 3.3 Symbols



A metaverse, as defined in the earlier section, can also be called a *Symbolic* representation of the *Universe*.  Perception and consciousness involve attaching symbols that allow the mind to perceive concepts it cannot yet understand.  It is worth noting that the mind tends to reason in symbols and not in the *True Nature* of things, a core Buddhist teaching that we pass on as an exercise for readers to explore in related writings in this collection.  When there are symbols, there is perception, and also mis-perception.



### 3.4 Creating metaverses



Forget the [ongoing marketing efforts][fb-metaverse] on creating "*The* Metaverse", we have already created and are living in many metaverses.



With the advance of scientific reasoning, our logical perception of the world has deepened and moved humanity forward.  But the very nature of logic is to advance our powers of abstraction.  It is our abstractions of the *Universe* that create these perceived metaverses that our minds are comfortable reasoning with.  With the advent of digital computing, the cost of abstraction is greatly reduced, so much to the point that we are approaching a breakthrough in creating *literal* digital metaverses in the upcoming decades.



### 3.5 Challenges



Misperception and subsequently miscommunication and misunderstanding is at the heart of conflict and suffering.  The metaverses that we create fragment our natural experiences with each other, and at a more fundamental level, it fragments our experience with the *Universe* itself.



Instead of offering solutions to our current problems, we simply create new metaverses and hide our existing problems by shifting our perceptions of current issues onto new problems.  I am very troubled by the creation of [the Metaverse][fb-metaverse], which will only build even more layers of abstractions on the *Universe* that we are increasingly detached from.



## 4. *Nirvana*



A powerful definition of *Nirvana* is given below:



> ***Nirvana***: the extinction of concepts.



And a natural theorem follows:



> ***Nirvana***: the extinction of perceptions.



Nirvana sounds troubling and seems to be at odds with the goals of expanding consciousness and free will but it is often misunderstood.  Nirvana itself does not imply limiting consciousness nor giving up free will.  It simply is just a paradoxical concept of extinguishing all concepts.  The mind does not play well with paradoxes and loops, and a friendlier way to define *Nirvana* is the "detachment from all concepts".



Just by, at least attempting to, describe *Nirvana*, we can see a path out of the layers of metaverses, and a path back to finding and experiencing the *Universe*.



## 5. The *Unverse*



We now define and introduce,



> ***The Unverse***: the mindspace of unforming the *I* symbol.



Of all the symbols in the mind, *I*[^3] is the most powerful symbol.  Every perception and symbol formed by the mind on phenomena in the *Universe* is related back to the *I* symbol.  In every statement we speak in our minds, the *I* symbol is inevitably accessed and reinforced. Even a statement lacking human subjects such as "The table is there." links back to notions of *I* via inferred thoughts such as "I am not the table.  I am here and not there.".



The symbol *I* is powerful because it has been reinforced over generations of evolution and passed down through our collective consciousness as a habitual and almsot instinctual thinking.



The *Unverse* is the mindspace to mindfully detach from the symbol *I*.  Just as the thought of *Nirvana* is troubling, the thought of detaching yourself sounds almost like *ethos-cide*, the killing of your character.  But for the same reasons *Nirvana* exposes a path to the real *Universe*, the *Unverse* allows you a chance to mindfully unravel the layers of metaverses and gain a better understanding of the *True I*.



As closing remarks in this chapter, it's a convenient spelling coincidence that "Unverse" is simply "Universe" spelled without the letter *i*.  This is an easy reminder on how to experience the *Universe* by mindfully unforming the *I* symbol (even demoting it to lowercase before removing it!).



## 6. Experiencing the *Universe*



*Nirvana* and the *Unverse* are troubling insights, but so is the infinite cycle of suffering that stems from our misperceptions built in the metaverses.  While our ancestors had less choices on their quality of life, they seemed to have more choices on their quality of mind.  We are losing the genuine spiritual connection with the *Universe*.  Instead of seeking refuge in the *Universe*, we create metaverses to hide the source of our suffering or push them onto others.  The problem only worsens with our ability to now create *literal* digital metaverses with increasing frequency and cheaper cost.



*Nirvana* and the *Unverse* opens a path for us to slowly untangle ourselves from these metaverses.  The ultimate metaverse is sometimes expressed in the [Simulated Universe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulated_reality) argument and can be described as an infinitely layered metaverse.



The discussion above on a theoretical infinitely layered metaverses is terrifying and it is difficult to imagine a way of moving out or breaking free.  *Nirvana* and the *Unverse* allows us to at the very least recognize and make an attempt to move out of the layers slowly.  The attempt is noble at the very least.



But the goal has nothing to do with nobility, hardwork, perserverance, belief or faith.  There is in fact no goal or aim in the journey with *Nirvana* and the *Unverse*.  If you are on the path, you already have the wish to seek the *True* *Universe*.  That very journey is what we call an *Experience*, and the *Experience* is all that matters.  When we are on that path, we no longer see nor perceive the *Universe*, but we simply experience it.  Even if we are infinitely far from the *Universe*, the *Experience* and journey is all that matters and we reveal ourselves to the *Universe* as it reveals itself to us.



## 7. *Universal* *Nirvana*



Perceptions of the *Universe* create engineered metaverses, and only from freeing our perceptions in the *Unverse*, can we see a path to *Experience* the *Universe*.



As we walk this path, we realize that the *Unverse* and *Nirvana* are also metaverses and symbolic concepts, and they disappear together.



Yet as we walk, we knew they were the very reasons that led us on this very path.  *Nirvana* and the *Unverse* no longer reveal the path, they *are* the path.  The *Universe* is now the path that we walk.  The path becomes the walk, and the walk becomes the path.



The *Universe* is the *Unverse* and is *Nirvana* and is all the metaverses.  The *One-*verse contains all-verses.  What was difficult to unravel now becomes clear and remains clear as long as we are walking the path.



And at this very *Present* moment, we smile to ourselves knowing that we are now truly *Experiencing* the *Universe* that we belong to.



## 8. Postface



As mentioned earlier, my thoughts are only manifested and made possible by all conditions leading up to them.  This section acknowledges what leads up, and continues these very thoughts.



### 8.1 Teachers



The following teachers guide my thoughts:



- *Life*'s *Experience*

- The *Universe*

- Dad, Mom, Sister, and Wife

- *Nirvana*

- [Loops](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_a_Strange_Loop)

- [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%ADch_Nh%E1%BA%A5t_H%E1%BA%A1nh)



### 8.2 Writings



The following writings extend ideas in this document.



- [Letters](./letters)

- [Meditations](./meditations)

- [Streams](./streams)



## 9. Unlicense



Uncopyright © 2022. This document is unlicensed.  Feel free to do use and distribute as you please.



[^1]: The term metaverse is somewhat overloaded in popular culture.  There is no relationship to the [specific metaverse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse), or [marketed Metaverse][fb-metaverse], or concepts of [multiverses](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiverse).  The Greek prefix *meta-* has many meanings but usually includes concepts of a self-describing and transcending nature.  These concepts are related to consciousness and perception.  To think and perceive is to form an abstraction around observable phenomena in the *Universe*, and that very act of perceiving gives way to the self-describing nature of the metaverse definition.

[^2]: A keen reader would notice that "metaverse" is spelled without *Italicized Proper Casing* which is reserved to emphasize important entities and concepts in this writing.  This is an intentional effort on my part to raise awareness that the metaverse that we perceive is non-important and a distraction from truly experiencing the *Universe*.

[^3]: The *I* symbol is synonmous with the *Self* symbol.  The journey of discovering *Non-Self* is an important Buddhist teaching to uncover the *True Nature* of both and none of *Self* and *Non-Self*.



[fb-metaverse]: https://about.facebook.com/meta