The New Paradigm
vol. I, Number Four

Dear Friends,

As you can see, the New Paradigm List continues to grow on virtually a daily basis; and most of your requests for inclusion on the List have been accompanied by some positive, friendly or supportive comment. I have so far not received one negative comment about this project from any source. This moves me deeply, for it tells me that we are genuinely creating a "new paradigm" community of globe-girdling proportions; and that we are tapping into issues of universal interest which know no borders and recognize no barriers. Our thoughts, if not our bodies, are exercising the freedom of the Arctic Tern, who migrates for tens of thousands of miles over the seasonal cycle of a year.

For a large fraction of the human population this season is dominated by Christmas; and so as a "Christmas Message" I am going to make bold to share with you a mind-boggling insight that came to me just one year ago - as I was awakening on Christmas Morning, 1996, to be precise - and have been, and continue, endeavoring to assimilate ever since.

We are arranging our discussions around what we are calling a "new paradigm," and I hope it is becoming clear that a "new paradigm" is something at least some orders of magnitude removed from a mere "new opinion." A "new paradigm" is an entirely "other" way of viewing reality, of seeing the world, of interpreting sensory and informational input. In order to make a "paradigm shift" we must be willing to part company, at least provisionally at first, with the familiar referents that demarcate our conventional "old paradigm" perceptions - which may appear tantamount to descending into the abyss of utter madness. Which is why a paradigm shift is not an easy thing, and is altogether remarkable when and if it occurs. It may be able to occur only in the last extremity of failure of the "old paradigm," such as we see lying about us in the wreckage we have made of the world in which we presumably "live" today.

What I am going to share with you now may seem to some of you to be very "far out." It should be, if it has anything to do with a paradigm shift; yet I believe (hope) we are sufficiently attuned to one another and to our mutual interest to be able to contemplate such things without losing our bearings. And anyway, the mere statement of an idea is not the same at all as assimilating it and putting it into practice. That, of course, is irrevocably up to you. Without further preamble, then, here is the insight I wish to share....

The primal source of fear is Death, is it not? Every living thing, we may presume, loves Life and abhors Death - even if Life appears to be an unending misery. This applies also to "minor fears" which are not themselves life-threatening, but are undesirable, and if prolonged or intensified, might be. Fear of Old Age, Disease, Accident, Fire, Assault, Insolvency, Criticism, Embarrassment, and on and on, are examples of such fears. Given full scope, and indefinite magnification, the conditions we fear might lead ultimately to our demise, our death, our ceasing to exist. Or so we fear.

Now in our "old paradigm" perception we have a semantic convention of paired opposites, such as male / female, in / out, positive / negative, right / left, north / south, good / evil, life / death, hot / cold ... etc. / so forth; which is so natural and seemingly self-evident as to warrant no further remark. But it does warrant particularly focused consideration: because it leads to the endless paradoxes and self-contradictions evident in a world gone mad. In particular, the so-called "opposites," life / death, or more precisely, existence / non-existence, should come under our scrutiny, for they contain hidden implications that lead to self-destructive absurdities.

Existence is an inherently mysterious condition. There is no rational accounting for it; yet it is an undeniable fact that you (and I) exist. For each of us this is certain, without the slightest possibility of error. We may "explain" the fact with various terms, such as "God," "Nature," "Natural Selection," "the Big Bang," etc., but in the final analysis it develops that these are after all nothing more than labels we apply to the fundamental mystery we are vainly trying to explain. They explain nothing, for the cosmic fact of existence is at once inexplicable and irrefutable. That which exists simply is. Full stop.

But what of the supposed "opposite" of existence, so-called "non-existence?" Is there really such a "thing" as "non-existence?" I leave it to you, but for me this looks like an inherently self-contradictory concept with neither meaning nor validity in reality. How can "non-existence" exist? Conversely, how can something - anything - that exists possibly "non-exist?" I conclude, from the deep center of illumination within me that knows, that existence has no opposite. ( ! ) This is the core of my insight of Christmas Morning a year ago. It bears pondering, I suggest, because the implications that spin off from it are endless, and combine to weave the fabric of a "new paradigm" - an entirely "other" way of interpreting ... everything.

If existence - that which you experience every moment of every day, waking or sleeping, whether you are conscious of it or not - if existence has no opposite, then for one thing among many, so-called "death" is an illusion. Now we see "death" around us every day. You cannot so much as eat a salad without bringing "death and destruction" to other living things, such as lettuce leaves, tomatoes and other organisms. As Ambrose Bierce has remarked, the word "Edible" means:

"Good to eat, and wholesome to digest, as a worm to a toad, a toad to a snake, a snake to a pig, a pig to a man, and a man to a worm." [The Devil's Dictionary]

In that sense everything that changes cycles among endlessly repeating "births" and "deaths," and the "you" of yesterday are "dead and buried;" and the place "you" occupied yesterday has been taken by the "you" that was born today, just a moment ago. Yet you who exist remain undisturbed and serene through it all.

Looked at in this way, so-called "death" loses much of its terror, does it not? The fearsome meaning of "death" is simply translated into the benign and commonplace "change;" and the concept of "non-existence" or "oblivion" is disclosed as the self-contradictory absurdity it most certainly is. "Non-existence" is a concept that applies only to itself: i.e. "non-existence" "non-exists," but nothing that exists does, or ever can.

Well, if this much may be said, then a great deal more may be said as well. If "death" is the foundation of fear, then fear must have no foundation at all. And so, upon further examination, it has not. As noted above, everything we fear, if amplified and magnified, leads to "death" or "oblivion;" which is why it is fearful. One might say, everything fearful is a "miniature death." But if "death" is an illusion, or a benign commonplace, then all its miniature copies must be so too. If we fear anything it is because we have threatened ourselves with mental fabrications; and not because we actually face threatening realities. This may sound absurd to the "common sense" mind steeped in "old paradigm" thought; but think it through again. What terror do you face right now? None: otherwise you would not be reading this now. So if you fear anything right now you fear a future eventuality. But the only place future eventualities can possibly "exist" right now is in your mind. Thus if you feel fear it is because of something you yourself have created within your own mind; and if you would like to be relieved of your fear, you have only to dismiss your fearful thought. Simple, eh?

More easily said than done, perhaps; but more easily done, maybe, than you think. My guess is that you probably have no appreciation of the awesome power of your own mind; and consequently of the stupendous power that would be yours to command at will were you to gain mastery of your mind. For a graphic hint of the power of your mind, look around you at all the things you fear. Do they seem real? Substantial? Rich in detail? Intricately interwoven with the fabric of "reality?" They are illusions, every one; put in place and meticulously maintained, embroidered upon, polished and enriched with layers of detail by none other than your very own mind. What a mighty work you have wrought with your mind! And without even thinking about it. What if you were to take charge of your mind for a change, and direct it to the task of creating peace, beauty, harmony, love, wealth, abundance, liberty ... instead? ( ! )

Or another slant on all this: everything that denies reality is false. Reality consists of that which exists. Existence has no opposite. Therefore, anything which denies existence, such as "death" and all its subsidiary derivatives, is false. That is to say: only the positive, i.e. that which affirms existence is true; and anything negative, meaning anything with the slightest hint of denying existence, is false; untrue; a lie; and may be dismissed out of hand without a doubt or second thought. As applied to you in particular, any thought that denies your sublime virtue, beauty, love, perfection, genius, infinite creativity, divine character ... any such negative thought about you is categorically false. Conversely, any positive thought that affirms these virtues and sublime qualities is relatively true - relatively because you are doubtless out of the habit, and are thus not able to think of yourself in high enough terms to be quite appropriate. Maybe for starters you should think of yourself in the highest terms you can imagine, and then multiply by a thousand. You'll still fall short in your estimate, but it's at least a start in gaining the appreciation for yourself you deserve.

I told you this would be "far out." It's been "far out" for me too, and not at all easy to comprehend; for I too, like you, have spent my life steeped in the "old paradigm." But I am learning, and gaining confidence, that illusions, no mater how vivid and frightening they may appear, have no substance, and may be blown away like smoke in a breeze. In fact that is an image I use for dealing with negative thoughts that attempt entry into my mind: I just puff out my cheeks and blow them away, dismissing them as the insubstantial specters they are. The mind is a fundamentally powerful instrument; and like any powerful instrument, requires care, attention and persistent practice in order to attain mastery of its use.

In conclusion, all that I have said so far are just so many words. You may read them, and decide for yourself whether or to what extent they are true for you; but whether you "agree" or "disagree," they will have no substance unless and until you put them into practice in your mind and in your life; and that nobody in Heaven or Earth besides yourself can either cause or prevent. The "new paradigm" is not a collection of words, but a way of experiencing Life. (However, if you relish more words on this topic, you may find them in a document titled You.)

Love & Light,

-- Harmon
J. Harmon Grahn