Buffalo Rising Online

Nov 18th 2007, 1:46am By Bill Zimmermann

On This Day, November 18, the Bills will win.

We hope.

Taking a weekend walk with your dog is a no brainer time of rest. But it's sometimes an occassion for all sorts of thoughts to pop into your head-- stuff there's no time for at other sphere's of a week's focus. Your mind's allowed to, well, ramble. Just watch the wind, 'cause that's where you'll go.

Today's musings come from my waterfront walk with my Ensminger dog Lilly, ---it started out just to be a walk, but as the waterfront winds dipped about, some random thoughts started piecing, highlighting fascinations of similarities between religion, science, Buffalo and football-- sprinkled with a few comments on Buddhism and recent Harvard Physics news about possible dual universes.Well, let's see where this will go. If you like to dream and ponder, come join Lilly and me as we retrace our morning's hike.

This being Sunday, we'll start with a comment or two on Buddhism and how folks in this fast paced world are taking a new kinship to it. You know you can be a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew or a Muslim, even an Atheist, and still be a Buddhist human spiritual follower. Buddhism isn't a religion, not even a philosophy or doctrine, but it is a teaching to guide one to experience reality. It's truly a particularly faith-welcome joint way of looking at things in life. The great Trappist Monk from nearby St Bonaventure University, Father Thomas Merton (Seven Story Mountain), who TIME Magazine said was the greatest Catholic writer in the 20th Century, was both a Catholic monk and also a devout Buddhist.

So it's even more interesting to try to attempt the study of Buddhist thought from the perspective of being a busy Buffalonian where concentrations all to often focus on work, survival, family, friends, and the balance of the Bills or Sabres' successes. Any win anywhere anytime is to our tribute; and a loss is such abetted by our patient sense of Buffalo karma.

Buffalo is likely the largest small town in America with as much bursting heritage wanting and historically deserving a more hopeful future for our community. Consider then, the news from the world of physics, that allows that there just may be dual universes out there. Consider the potential dual universes Buffalo might project in our imaginations-- where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going-- and, most critically, where each of us see us at presently--now.

Our first stop today: Alice in Wonderland:

One side will make you larger; the other side will make you smaller. - Lewis Carrol

It was rather fascinating in recently discovering and listening to Dr Lisa Randall, a physics professor from Harvard, as she talked about her groundbreaking studies in cross dimensional systems. She discusses concepts of dual universes, criss-crossing adventures of mind and soul, spirit and energy, influences treading between another. This is not a spiritualist, mind you, but a fully accredited physics scientist from Harvard. Wow.

Professor Lisa Randall's Harvard bio reads more like a physicist than a spiritualist considering she is a professor of theoretical physics where she studies particle physics and cosmology. Her research concerns elementary particles and fundamental forces, and has involved the study of a wide variety of models, the most recent involving extra dimensions of space.

Dr.Randall has also worked on some super neat areas such as "supersymmetry, Standard Model observables, cosmological inflation, baryogenesis, grand unified theories, general relativity, and string theory. She recently completed a book entitled Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions."

Then there's my old hero who studied dimensions, time and space theory, who's now passed, Professor R. Buckminster Fuller, who designed the geodesic dome, the dymaxion auto car, was a dear friend of sculptor Nogucchi, and more or less invented the idea of synergy (before it became a nasty advertisers' term).

My mind guns back 30 years ago when I first read that Fuller spoke of human intellgence that transcended brains on a subconscious level, suggesting we're essentially already fully operating at a 99 percent subconscious level, trailing mental radio waves back and forth to induce our spoken communication. Fuller said normal human conversation wasn't even capable unless released from a transcendant upper valve of release of the subconscious. He likened the mystery to that of our always ever present radio waves that we only recently discovered. We tap into those radio waves now...and someday we'll tap the mental waves later, as was his suggestion. And ...He was speaking as a scientist.

We could have a lot of fun with these ideas. Mental telepathy-- astral projection, dual universes--mind-reading and all...But let's be serious. We rely on best efforts at life, and a little good luck here and there, pumped up and spruced with a bit of prayer now and again. But the fact that physics is merging thoughts with concepts of dual universes-- that is wild-- that is cool-- and a little scary too.

Even so, there's a lot to be said for believing in religion and science together as one swirl of a great wondering and wandering faith cycle, blessed by an evolving kaliedescope of time and space-- and maybe some unique blending of dimensions, and who knows?

Maybe there is a mirror to jump into. Maybe we do so subconsciously every day, and not realise it. Maybe there's our guardian angels on the other side dealing with our desires, needs and moves.

Maybe. Just maybe. But tomorrow we have to go to work, come home, and readdress another day, unto life. So-- this is neat stuff fellow BRO readers-- and let's look into this, think about it, and then, in the meantime, let us also keep on cheering the Bills, and paying the bills, and chopping wood and carrying water, as Buddhist thought recommends.

And by the way, today's date also marks the official birthday of cartoons. Wikipedia reports that On This Day November 18, 1928, "the first-ever animated cartoon with its own synchronized soundtrack debuted at the Colony Theater in New York City. Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" starring Mickey Mouse, stunned audiences when he spoke up in a squeaky voice provided by none other than Walt Disney himself."

Consider the world of Toonville-- a virtual dual universe to ours-- it is ours, but do we own it or does it own us? --we're growing closer to a new virtual relied upon reality every Nintendo day...surely something to think about.

Until our next walkabout, here's wishing Buffalo's World goodness in all its dual universes.