Sunday, July 28, 2019
New BELIEVE IT OR NOT (With Song) Ready!
7/28/2019
Hello, Everyone!
Last night I could not sleep. So I got up at 11:30 and worked
on proof reading my first volume of my planned work -
BELIEVE IT OR NOT - and pretty much finished it.
Except for some final format reviews, I think IT IS DONE.
That is, it is done for now. Now it will out to a publisher.
Anyway, speaking of "out," I have long realized that "up in the sky"
is not really up from a round world perspective. It is "out;" and
to some degree of thought, that means there is no "up to Heaven"
either - or perhaps "down to Hell." I do believe we have had all of that
wrong - simply because we have not taken into account the real shape
of our Earth.
What the Hell! Or What the Heaven! I am going to slip in below
one of the articles of my next book - book # 9. And while you are
reading that one, if you choose to do so, I will be working on
a proof read of my second volume of my BELIEVE IT OR NOT series.
That one is BELIEVE IT OR NOT (Without Song). The short volume
I just finished at 2 this morning is the BELIEVE IT OR NOT (With Song)
and as such, it has an attending song. No songs however, just essays,
in BELIEVE IT OR NOT (Without Song). Keep in mind, be it with song
or without, it is all personal opinion from personal perspective.
Just take it as they say, "with a grain of salt." OK?
Thanks!
Be in touch as you wish - as we (Nancy & I) wish you all well.
Enjoy our Round Earth - and realize like we do that the shape of it
has a whole lot of importance. At least we think it does,
but consider yourself welcome to comment as you will -
and if you request it, I will add your comment to my blog.
You have to request to be added, though. I do not want to assume,
know what I mean?
Gently,
From a Round World Perspective,
Francis William Bessler & wife, Nancy Shaw
www.una-bella-vita.com
FLAT WORLD
DOCTRINES
IN A
ROUND WORLD
By
Francis William Bessler
October 19th, 2007
The World of My Youth
When I was a kid, I was enamored with the Earth; however before being educated about the Earth being round, I had only one impression – that the ground went on as flat forever and ever. I had no sense of curvature of the Earth; and I had no sense whatever of a solar system and that the Earth is but one planet revolving around the Sun. In fact, I had no idea what revolve meant. Being uneducated about the universe, the idea that the Earth actually travels around the Sun meant nothing to me.
In addition to being enamored with my Earth, however, I was also fascinated with the sky. It was so mysterious to me. Nothing in it was known by me. The Sun was but a bright glittering mystery in the sky during the day; and the Moon was its mysterious counterpart of the night. I knew nothing about either the Sun or the Moon in terms of what they really are as celestial bodies in space. I had no idea that light actually comes from the Sun or that the Earth travels around the Sun. I had no idea that the Moon actually travels around the Earth.
I had no idea about anything in the sky in terms of what anything really is – including the far away stars that my parents told me were God’s little angels keeping watch over me. I was quite impressed really with that idea that angels were watching me from above. It made a lot of sense to me – having no idea of what the Sun and the Moon and the stars really are. I was completely ignorant of any of the three – the Sun, the Moon, the stars; but I had a deep sense of being watched.
As it happened, I never experienced any voices that might have seemed to have originated from somewhere in the sky; but if I had, I would have placed my visitor as one visiting the center of the world – or at least the base of the world. Having no sense of curvature of the Earth and thinking that the ground upon which I stood simply went on and on and on as flat as the ground upon which I stood, I believed only one sky existed – the one above me. I had no sense of a sky on the other side of the world because there was no other side of the world. There was a world down from me – but no world on a down side or opposite side of the world.
Up there in the sky, I was told, God reigns. I was told there is a Heaven up there somewhere, perhaps beyond the clouds; and when I die, if I was a good boy while I lived, I would be taken up into the sky to that wonderful place where God lives and God would bless me forever and ever. That made a lot of sense to me as a kid because it was not hard for me to envision such a thing as possible. Why couldn’t it be so? Surely, God can live where He wants and if God chooses to live in the sky – or above the clouds somewhere in a really nice fluffy Heaven – then He can do so. Why should I contest such a notion?
Later, however, upon being educated as to what the Sun and the Moon and the stars really are, I discovered plenty of reason to contest the notions of my youth. The stars were not really God’s little angels looking over me. They were vast bodies way out in space. The Sun turned out to be the source of my light, not just something I could see in the sky during the day. The Moon turned out to be something that actually encircles the Earth and is not just a bright light of the night; and most unbelievably of all, the Earth itself turned out to be a round ball in space – not a flat platform or stage that stands at the bottom of the world looking up.
The Ancient World
Now, let’s recede a few thousand years to that time before mankind ever became aware of the solar system or became aware that the Earth is really a round body in space. That which I believed in my youth, ancient civilizations probably believed as adults. Most importantly, they probably saw the Earth as flat; and that could not have but conjured all the basic impressions that would ally with the notion of a flat Earth.
The single most basic impression would have been that the Earth is the base of the world, not just one body in a swirling cosmos. That in itself could not have but left mankind with such an impression that virtue is out of reach on a solitary basis. Our arms naturally reach up when stretched that way and anyone I have ever known that reaches for the sky reaches for it with a sense that there is some help up there. Why? Because of a sense that what is on the ground is not adequate since it seems that there is so much helplessness and unhappiness on the ground. The natural inclination of anyone who feels despondent would not be to embrace what they have because that would only add to their depression since the perception would be that what is on the ground is the basis of depression. So, if one is depressed and desirous of something that is not available on the Earth, there could be but one direction to look – up.
From that looking up because of a failure to understand that there is nothing upward that is also not downward in terms of offering safety, mankind could not have but fallen into a trap of looking for salvation elsewhere than the Earth. In other words, because of a failure to understand the cosmos and a failure to realize that the Earth is not flat and therefore is not the base of the world, mankind was left to grope for answers for its depression from a source other than itself. That set in force the many, many voices that have been heard by various Earthlings searching for power and for escape from depression. From the consequent need of humankind to seek for help from a source other than itself to cure its depression and its desire for a better life, many have been open to voices who claim to be authorities on behalf of a better life – but mostly, a better life elsewhere, not a better life here on Earth.
Thus, prophets arise and have arisen who have been recipients of other world voices – prophets such as Moses for the Jews and Christians, Mohammed for the Moslems, and Joseph Smith for the Mormons. Basically, it is quite likely that Moses and Mohammed and Joseph Smith were ones who were absolutely sure that help is needed to cure human ills on this Earth and for that help, they could look but one direction if they were convinced that their salvation was not to be found on Earth – and that one direction is up.
Remember my earlier discussion about my feeling that I was being watched from up above me. That feeling derived from my thinking I was on a flat surface and there is only one up because there is only one sky. It is my belief that Moses and Mohammed and Joseph Smith among many others who have been the recipients of voices down through the ages were caught in the same web as I was as a kid. They were caught looking up for a failure to realize that there is nothing up that is not also down on the Earth in terms of a measure of safety or value.
Mankind has always looked up for the answers; and I think the reason for that is because of wanting or begging for answers not suspected as available on Earth. In 1969, several Earthlings actually set forth for the Moon and eventually walked upon it. Before that adventure, mankind was not entirely sure that the Moon is unlike the Earth in terms of being a cosmic body in space; but upon walking upon the Moon, mankind learned that the Earth and the Moon are almost exactly alike. Mankind knows the Earth and the Moon are alike today because we have gone there; and from our adventures of going to the Moon, we can be absolutely positive that it is no different with Jupiter or Mars or Saturn. Those bodies may vary in some detail, of course, but basically it is unlikely that there is any really significant difference among any of the cosmic bodies in space.
But Moses did not know that. Why? Because he believed in a flat Earth. He had no idea that he was wrong on that notion. Why would he have suspected he could be wrong? As a kid, even though I could have realized otherwise because the truth would have been available for me, I felt that I was standing on a flat Earth. I felt that there was – or is – only one sky. I had no sense that the Earth is round and that there is sky all around the Earth, not just upward from one flat surface.
Standing on what I thought was a flat surface of the Earth as a kid, I could have been a perfect vessel for hearing voices. Why? Because I was convinced that up is different than down. I was convinced that the clouds were other than mist in the sky. I was convinced that they were more like fluffy pillows where I might lay my head; but can you imagine my actually rising to the clouds and laying my head on one of them? I would fall right down onto the Earth. Wouldn’t I?
But you see, I understand what a cloud is. Moses did not. Moses probably looked up and reviewed the clouds in a similar way as I did as a kid; and Moses probably looked up at the Sun and saw – not a cosmic body – but a god with a huge head; and he probably saw the Moon as a smaller god with a smaller head; and he probably saw one as the Father of the other because he did not know that both the Sun and the Moon are but sons of one gigantic star – just like the Earth and Mars and Venus and Jupiter are sons of the same gigantic star. Who knows how they all came to be; but more than likely, they all came from the same source – and they are probably all brothers, not one a parent and the others sons.
A long, long time ago, I realized that Moses was wrong; and he was wrong because of false impressions about the cosmos. He was wrong because he believed in a flat Earth and did not see how things really are. He did not see the Earth as a globe hanging in the sky, but as a stage where he could perform for the voices he heard from above. He probably did hear voices and those voices were probably real, but those voices were probably not from the source Moses suspected. He expected he was talking to a god – or God – from whom help could come to save him from all the many atrocities that he and his Jewish race were experiencing at the hands of fellow humans; but just because you hear a voice and that voice claims to represent some one thing does not mean it actually represents some claimed voice.
Here, however, I conjecture because personally I have never been the recipient of a voice from without. As a kid, before I realized that there is nothing up that is not also down in terms of value, I could have been the victim of a voice because I was open to such an experience – always looking up to find answers that I failed to realize are in the world itself. But I grew up – and with Copernicus and Galileo as friends, I discovered that the Earth is round and that my sense of a flat Earth was wrong – and once I made that discovery, all the prophets who have ever lived looking up for answers have not been able to capture me.
Salvation
on a Round Earth
What has a round Earth hanging in a vast cosmos taught me that Moses could not know? Basically that it is unlikely there is anymore help from above than from where I am because there is no need for any help. Life is not likely some helpless form of entity needing help from outside itself to improve upon itself. Life – all life – is probably perfect because it emanates in some way from within a perfect process. We may not understand that process; but we have no right to accuse it of imperfection.
I see the Earth much different than did Moses or Mohammed – or even Joseph Smith. I can picture things in my mind like they never did; though I suppose Joseph Smith could have been able to see things clearly having lived past the age of Copernicus who lived from 1473-1543 and Galileo who lived from 1564-1642. The perception of reality is there at hand for those of us who have lived beyond Copernicus and Galileo, however many choose to retain the values of Moses and his flat Earth doctrines – and in so doing, retain all the confusions and inadequacies of Mosaic perception.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I do not claim to know a whole lot about either Copernicus or Galileo; and I admit I should know a lot more about both of them than I do. Perhaps soon I will study the lives of both of these two outstanding scientists. At this time, however, even without knowing much about either of these two brilliant human stars within the history of man, I am given to believe that they were among the first to challenge the concept of a flat Earth. So, I am beholden to both of them for their various challenges. Without them, I may well have continued on as Moses and Mohammed probably did, believing in a flat Earth; but it is my contention that the single greatest challenge ever conducted by anyone on this Earth is the challenge of the flat Earth belief of the past.
Though many may find it astounding that I should make such a claim, I think the concept of a round Earth is far more important than any single concept that mankind can imagine. Why? Because roundness or flatness implies a totally different set of doctrines. If the world is flat, then certain doctrines can be concluded from that; and likewise, if the world is round, another set of doctrines can be concluded from that. The shape of the world makes all the difference in the world. It is not just an asterisk type of comment that the majority of humankind think it is.
Or
on an object
Suspended in Space
Perhaps, though, the fact or idea of a round world is not definitive of itself. Perhaps the idea of suspended in space must be added to offer the idea of a round world its full impact. Perhaps it is not really the idea of a round world that should set the soul free, but the idea of any world – flat or round or otherwise – suspended in space that should tell the story. It is the suspended within an eternal space or location that is really the liberating thought. Why? Because the rational mind cannot go up or down from the perspective of a suspended object in an eternal arena. Down will reach one object and up will reach another object, but realistically, an object down from the Earth will be but one planet, for instance, and up will reach another planet. In the middle, of course, is the Sun; but out from the Sun, no matter which way you go, you will not find any level of existence different than any other.
If you do not believe me, take your own test. You know what the universe is like – one huge object in the middle (The Sun) and varying planets extended from that middle. Take a trip in your mind. I do not know my planets very well, but assume that Mars is up from where you stand and Jupiter is down from where you stand. Would it make any difference in terms of level of existence if you go up to Mars or down to Jupiter – or up to Jupiter and down to Mars? Of course not. In all directions is the same space – and because that is so, effectively speaking, there can be no up or down in terms of up specifying something good and down representing something bad.
But up designated something different to the flat world mentality and down reflected its opposite. In reality, there was no up or down in terms of actually meaning anything from a spiritual point of view – spiritual meaning the assessment of soulful value. There really was no Heaven where Moses looked to attain it and there was no Hell beneath the Earth which Moses believed to be the realm of the unholy or damned; but Moses did not know there is no up or down from a universal point of view because Moses was not even aware of a universe.
I find it mighty surprising, however, that over three and a half centuries after Galileo passed on that almost no one has discovered the astounding impact that the idea of a round world – or any world suspended in space - should have in the world. It is no small issue because the freedom of mankind may very well depend upon it. With a round (or suspended in space) world, there is the potential of fantastic liberty for its suggestions as to the makeup of the world and ourselves within the world; and as we have found by the past, with a flat world, there has been demonstrated excuse for domination and justification for superiority.
Take away the up and you remove ancient Heaven from consideration. Take away the down and you remove ancient Hell from consideration. Where does that lead? It leads one to find Heaven where one stands – not up into no man’s land, but right where one is standing; and, of course, it leads one to find Hell where one stands – not down into some labyrinth of shame which does not actually exist.
A Flat Earth Doctrine
What is a flat Earth doctrine? It is a doctrine that was dictated based on the notion that the Earth is flat – or at a bottom of the world. What was that basic notion? That the Earth is defective because it is “below” and those on that flat Earth can only find salvation by help from “above." I can understand how Moses could decide that mankind needs help from above for sensing a location of being below; but for the life of me, I do not understand how modern man can continue to base human conduct on needing help or grace from up above when any sense of above in terms of superiority should have disappeared with the discoveries of Copernicus and Galileo centuries ago that the Earth is not the base of existence Moses considered it to be. The Earth is not at the bottom of the world as Moses thought. It is in the world. All sense of being at the bottom of the world should have been erased long time ago when mankind discovered there is no bottom and there is no top. There are only bodies suspended in space.
I look at the Earth and what do I see? I see a globe hanging in space with sky equally all around it; but I do not see only the Earth. I see the Earth as but one of many planets encircling the Sun. What does that tell me? It tells me that the Earth is the same as all other planets. It deprives me of a sense of hierarchy. It forbids me to assign more importance to one planet than another. It tells it like it is; and in telling it like it is, I can transform the lesson of equal bodies in space to equal persons on Earth. It is all very clear. Though I may not understand any of the details about how each planet happened into existence, I can know that there is equality among planets simply by having a picture of the solar system in my mind.
What does a lack of hierarchy in space among cosmic bodies say? Again, that it is unlikely that any hierarchy among humans is ideal. You see, I can learn how I should value other humans by looking at how Mars and Venus and Jupiter and Saturn relate – as equal, but various, brothers in the solar system.
Taking my vision further, though, I can know there is likely no Heaven anywhere in the cosmos that may be better than a Heaven I might know on Earth. I might want a Heaven elsewhere; and maybe there is a Heaven elsewhere; but I have no reason to believe that if attained, it would be any better than the Heaven I can know on Earth.
For those who believe there can be a better Heaven elsewhere, where is it? Is it on Jupiter – or on Mars – or maybe somewhere way out there in another galaxy? And if you were to actually find your way to Jupiter, expecting Heaven, you may actually find Hell. Is it likely that conditions for survival are better on Jupiter than the Earth? Probably not. Maybe life in a different form can survive on Jupiter, but life as we know it on Earth probably cannot survive on Jupiter.
How about Hell? If it exists as a place for the damned, it must have a place. Where is that place? Can anyone pick a place in the grand universe and declare it to be Hell and then demand that all souls who defy some given doctrine of choice be sent there? Where is there any intelligence in that notion? And who came up with such a notion? You guessed it – the same flat world people who expected to find answers from up above. The contrary of up above is down below. Right? Thus, very conveniently, without any proof of any such place existing, people are directed that there is a Hell Below. Below what?
In truth, there is probably no Hell below anything as there is no Heaven above anything. The notions of above for salvation and below for damnation came from the flat world people – those who had no idea whatever that the Earth is not flat – but round and therefore, incapable of meeting all their flat world definitions – and expectations. In not realizing that up is no different than down for failure to know about the universe, they predicted what they expected – a Heaven beyond the depressions found on the Earth.
How many times have I made predictions based on my expectations? We are all prone to predicting according to expectation. Moses and Mohammed and Joseph Smith were all prone to the same human tendency of predicting by expectation. Moses expected help from above to aid his race in their struggles with the Egyptians; and I am quite sure that he predicted help would come based on his expectations. And when it seemed like he and his fellow Israelites did survive, then it was believable that Moses knew what would happen. Since he predicted rescue and since rescue did occur, the entire scene is enveloped in a picture of clairvoyance by Moses and instruction and salvation at the hands of the Jewish God; but in reality, Moses simply experienced as he expected. His expectations were the source of his predictions – just as all those who predict various things to happen are predicting according to their own expectations.
Expecting
Heaven on Earth
Blame it on Galileo for his opening my eyes to the reality of a cosmos without hierarchy, but I cannot expect as Moses or Mohammed or Joseph Smith expected. I cannot expect to find anymore of a Heaven – or Hell – anywhere in the vast cosmos than what I may find on Earth. It makes no sense to me. Looking out into space and seeing all those wonderful equal bodies here and there, I can only relate that to my life on Earth. I can try to imitate what I see; but I cannot improve upon it. The model of life is there in the stars and in the Moon and in the Sun and in my Earth. It is there I will find my direction, not from the dictations of those who were convinced the Earth is flat and that the Earth is the base of all life.
The Earth is not the base of all life. It is only the source of my life; but there is no advantage for me to think that my life is anymore important or significant than that of any entity in existence. I am satisfied that I am equal to all other entities – and that no inferiority or superiority exists. There is no hierarchy of value in space; and there should be no hierarchy of value among humans.
And is that not what we want when we say we want a Heaven? Are we not saying – let me be equal? Are we not saying – let no one dominate another? Are we not saying – let us be free together?
In truth, our aid to become what we want is not from up above. It is in ourselves and from ourselves. Mankind is not below because it stands on some imagined bottom of the world. Mankind is in the world just as his solar system is in the world. Mars needs nothing to be a better planet than it is; and we need nothing beyond ourselves to be what we ought to be. We are what we are; and virtue is only accepting that and thanking God or whatever we wish to call our source for it. There is nothing up in the sky or beyond the sky or in another galaxy that is not also in us now – right here on Earth. If we are ever to find Heaven, I think we must change our expectations. We must not look for it beyond ourselves. We must find it in ourselves; and in finding our worth – though perhaps without desired explanation – we can abandon the detailed thou shalt not commandments of those who sought help from above.
Listening to the Universe
There is but one commandment that anyone needs to obey: Be Equal! Take a lesson from the cosmos and cast off hierarchy and any sense of one being more important than another. I think if we do this, wars will cease because domination of one upon or over another will cease; but even if the whole world fails to obey that single commandment that should drive us all, I hope that I will obey; and in obeying, I will find Heaven on Earth – and anywhere else my soul may go.
Of course, it is to each, his or her own; but as I have offered elsewhere in my writings: however we fill our soul, we will have to recover later all that we put into our bowl. That’s Judgment. It is only to say we will find tomorrow that which we expect today. If we expect that we can only find our answers and our worth by looking up today and fail to see Heaven at hand, we will only continue the process tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow – until such time that perception and attitude changes.
There is no need for help from up above because there is really no up above. Above and below are illusions. From the perspective of beings on a round Earth, China is below America in terms of being on the other or opposite side of the globe and America is below China. By the same measurement, America could consider itself on top of or over or above China – just as China could consider itself above America. All that above and below nonsense amounts to nothing, then. Doesn’t it?
In reality, there is nothing above and there is nothing below – in terms of anything important and in terms of absolutes. Everything is the same – or on the same level. A round Earth equal among planets and celestial bodies lost within an enormous galaxy tells us that – if we are willing to listen. Look up! No – Look out! – and find the lesson of equality as the universe dictates it – and find peace.
Living In A Round World
By
Francis William Bessler
(assuming that round is a metaphor for
suspended in space)
October. 8th, 2007
Refrain:
I’m living in a round world –
where the truth should be plain.
I’m living in a round world –
where there should be no shame.
I’m living in a round world –
a child of the universe;
and, my friend, I shouldn’t be living –
under a flat world curse.
Does it matter if the Earth is flat or round?
Well, I think it does.
The shape of things may well astound
and tell us all so much. Refrain.
If the Earth is flat, then there’s an up
as well as a below.
and mankind can look for help
where none can be bestowed. Refrain.
If the Earth is round, then there’s no up
and neither is there a below
and mankind can find what’s just
by looking inside to know. Refrain.
If the Earth is not the base of life,
then it’s just out there like the rest;
and we can find ourselves alive
by knowing there is no best. Refrain.
The universe will teach us
if we will listen
that equality is a must
to maintain celebration. Refrain.
So, let the mystery of life go on
as we ponder what we are;
but let us know our Earth is round
and is as gallant as the stars. Refrain.
Heaven is not some other place.
It can only be found in mind.
It’s knowing that the state of grace
belongs to all mankind. Refrain.