The "upside down" world.
I came across a world map tonight as I was perusing the internet. It was "upside down." By that I mean that south was north and north was south. It shocked me. And then it shocked me that it shocked me. Why should I be surprised? My initial reaction was to say Hey! That map is upside down! But, wait a minute. What the hell is "upside down" anyway on a big ball planet suspended in space? And in the interest of including everyone here (hey, I'm a nice guy, what can I say) this novel way of thinking about things even works for the flat-earthers out there. So, let's look into this.
My life has, at different times and in varying measures, been composed basically of things I have been told to think. The messages have been repeated--even without words--endlessly since my birth. Fire is hot. Ice is cold. USA is good. Saddam is bad. Christianity is right. Buddhism is wrong. North is up. South is down. AC/DC worships satan. Things of this nature. But I want to look at things as a baby would. What the hell is "up" and "down," anyway. What the hell is this government I am supposed to pay money to? Why do bees fly? What are butterflies?
Looking at the map above, I encourage you to think of Australia as a kind of "New America." No longer "down under," but sitting proudly up there at the top, surrounded luxuriously by the vast and sprawling space of the Indian and Pacific oceans. I don't say this because I am some big fan of America, but if you think of it this way, you can see how, if you had been raised seeing Australia "at the top," then that would just be "normal" and right for you. If this were the "normal" map, folks in America would be saying Be careful when you go UP NORTH there to Florida! Gets COLD up north! Folks in Brazil would be traveling down to Mexico. Santa would live "down south." This is not hard to imagine.
Letting your mind blur to see something new.
THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT IS A FICTIONAL ALPHABET. BUT TAKE ON A BABY'S MIND AND LOOK AT THE "REAL ALPHABET." IF YOU CAN LET YOUR MIND "BLUR" AND JUST SEE THINGS WITH NO PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS OF THIS "NORMAL ALPHABET," THE ABCs WILL BEGIN TO LOOK JUST LIKE LINES AND DOODLES ON A PAGE. ALMOST LIKE PICTOGRAMS. YOU CAN FORGET, AND SEE THINGS ANEW, AND AFRESH. IT'S SIMILAR TO SAYING A FAMILIAR WORD OVER AND OVER ALOUD UNTIL IT LOSES ALL MEANING TO YOUR MIND.
So what's the point?
As babies, children, and beginners, the world is "blurry" and full of possibilities. As we grow older we are programmed by society. Culture. The state. That said, we gain some powers along the way. Powers of interpretation. Shrewdness. Wisdom. Do you know what I think it means to be "born again," as it is called in the religious traditions? I think maybe it just means to regain this "child's mind" while at once retaining the shrewd and serpent-like wisdom and experience-based perspective of adulthood. You'll be unstoppable.
Peace, Love, and Voluntaryism.
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
Would be really great if we were able to push our own reset buttons and start again from zero. With a completely open mind and without anybody telling us what we should think and what we should do, exploring everything again like a new-born just out of curiosity.
Feeling no boundaries and no limits, nothing at all in our lives is set in stone , oh what great possibilities would lay ahead of us
Possibilities, but I think it would be scary as well. Not knowing if anything will kill you or save you. So it is both ways.
It won't be scary because we wouldn't know of any danger yet. As I said like a newborn without any fear of making mistakes or getting into trouble.
Well just a dream
wow man you caught me. "Scary" and "dangerous" is preconceived notions we have about the world. A dream is in a sense also preconceived and caught up in our web of concepts. It would be like waking up in the middle of a jungle with sensory input from all directions.
Blessed are the innocent, without any concept there is no failure. Every step is another success. No losing jus winning...
Indeed. Someone in the comments here said we need to do some mushrooms. Maybe that will help us see the world with a new view.
I really enjoyed this post. I love trying to see things with a fresh perspective. I love the idea of seeing it like a baby sees it. It goes to show that we only really know what someone has told us to know, or even how to know it.
Damn man. Yeah. That's right, "or even how to know it." That's how they get you.
Cheers man, and thanks for such an insightful comment.
Seriously, you're making my head spin. What is going on here??? xD
The awesome thing about philosophy! But at the same time you feel empowered and good about it.
Taking a look at the map upside down, militarily, the strait between Alaska and Russia would be fought over the way the Persian Gulf is today.
No it wouldn't. This map doesn't change anything, it's a new way of looking at the same globe.
Nice article📚📖 @kafkanarchy84
Challenge your ideas about how things should be. it seems Sometimes when you decide how things should work, you limit your ability to be effective in the world as it was meant to be.👍
Many times in life things just need to be re-visited to use recent learning and experiences which open a whole new outlook. Just as one reviews his insurance coverage annually there is new information as well as new understanding.
This is so true. Context can change so much.
LOVE IT, GREAT POST!! oops caps lock.. Have given up-vote and Re-steem for this thought provoking post. Peace and love to you and yours.
And you as well. Thanks :)
Your unknown alphabet looks a lot like Japanese ;) Not the symbols, but the syllables and the order of them.
Anyway, I agree. I have that upside down map on my wall, actually, or a version of it. I also like looking at various other orientations. Some old maps of Europe favored putting east up. Those are always interesting.
Tricking your mind into seeing the world with fresh eyes is a great exercise. Shoshin—exactly!
Haha. Yeah. I found it on the net and am considering employing it now in my daily life ;)
East up? That sounds great. I really would like to get one of these maps for my home as well. It's like a blast of fresh air for the mind. Makes so many things seem possible.
Excellent post my friend, i agree with your points i also love baby minds because they are so true, they see's the things in original and they won't try to fake their skills and there mind is free and creative and they found fun in every activity, thank you very much my friend for sharing this information and advise with us, Stay happy and have a fantastic week ahead.
You too my friend.
What the ... I'm confused! :D put it back to normal. :D
Wow man insane post. I do philosophy (busy with masters). And this took me back to first year philosophy where the lecturer asked something like how do you know what an apple is? If you take away all the subjective experiences, what is left? Substance, but what is substance? Fascinating to "think like a baby" again and try and comprehend our experiences without the normal concepts we normalized. Will follow you from now on, awesome stuff!
Cheers, @fermentedphil. Glad someone gets it! Followed back.
I like it this way
Psychedelics are immensely useful for obtaining a fresh perspective on things.
Thanks, makes you think doesn't it. I do think Australia is the better country, they tend to get on with their own lives, and only interfere where requested.
As all modern governments are violence-based, I am glad I did not make any comparisons regarding which brand of violence is better or worse. It's true though that the state called "USA" is the biggest terrorist entity on the planet, quantitatively, now, though. But that really has nothing to do with this post at all.
Here is an interesting point, if you notice the map says corrective it has not corrected everything however, it is a start. The proportion of the continents are still very much out of scale. By land mass Ethiopia or as most people know it "Africa" is much smaller on the map than it is on the earth. A bit of history if I may, Before the Romans came into "Africa" after the fall of Hannibal, "Africa" was renamed after Scipio Africanus, before that all of "Africa" was called Ethiopia. (also ref: Homer's IIliad and the Odyssey). Anyway as I was saying the Ethiopians made the maps in this same fashion with the south at the top. This is most likely the reason for the name corrective map. So you are "Shrewd" my friend!
Also see this
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/930148434673389570
Disclaimer: I am just a bot trying to be helpful.
Nice interpretation... And really appreciate your philosophy.. Thanks for sharing an informative post...
Superb post my friend...I have upvoted and re steemed ...please upvote and resteem me
No.
Awesome
Keep posting..
I vote you
IS IT REALLY AWESOME!?!?!?
Yes..it is awesome
Nice information sir I follow and upvote you like this post
I don't care.
No pro sir
Nice post! But the map is still not accurate for distances between 2 points like this one ;)
<<<
Those 2 points are great. I think you missed the main point, though ;)
thats a good way @kafkanarchy84
After people spend a few decades on this sphere called Earth, they're really just going through the life labeling everything they already came across, and having really iconic representation of things, without really paying enough attention to the details. That's why it's a bloody hell to be at the age you were supposed to have a grandchildren but having noone.
It's not just tough because of the loneliness you might experience, and the sense that you haven't left much behind, but grandkids are especially important because they look at everything in awe, with eyes fully open and surrendering to every experience. This makes them feel alive again, and show's them the freshness of things which they haven't seen for a long time just by themselves. :)
Aloha! @kafkanarchy84 - I just noticed you removed your witness vote for me. That is the 3rd vote removed in the last few days and no-one who has removed their vote has replied to me asking for what their motivation was. I'd really appreciate if you would let me know your thoughts here. I feel as if someone may even be actively campaigning against me behind the scenes, but have no clue really. cheers.
Well, I would rather discuss things like this in chat and not on my personal blog post man, but basically, I didn't really resonate with the answer you gave me about some of your views a week or two ago. Nobody has come to me telling me you are some sort of bad actor or to remove my vote, it was just a decision I came to and made on my own.
sure ok - i don't know who uses what chat - i'd appreciate a chance to discuss in steemit chat if you use that. i'm in there as ura.soul. cheers.