Venture me out of the Matrix

Venture me out of the Matrix

Venture me out of the Matrix

VR & Storytelling seen through a filmmaker’s eyes.

Two of the silicon Valley’s moguls latest project is to break us out of the Matrix, which they strongly believe exists and has the humanity enslaved. This is a perfect opportunity to look at the intersection of Technology and Spirituality and identify why these tech-billionaires have come to such a conclusion and what lies behind all of this, according to several ancient spiritual traditions.

This article appeared originally on my blog focusing on Narratives in Technology and Spirituality shaping our future:  Storygeist.

 

“If you assume any rate of improvement at all then games will become indistinguishable from reality. Even if that rate of advancement drops by a thousand from what it is now, let’s just imagine it’s 10,000 years in the future, which is nothing on the evolutionary scale.” Given that we’re on that trajectory and that these games are increasingly playable on any device,  the odds that we are living our lives in base reality — that is, “real” reality — is one in billions.” 

– Elon Musk

Venture me, by way of tech, out of the Matrix

A tech-story has been making the rounds lately on the net, even reaching Poland and Norway, by way of translations. A lot of commotion and surprise has been created because of project set in motion by of two tech-moguls from the Silicon Valley. The project’s goal, to break us out of the Matrix, which they strongly believe exists and has the humanity enslaved. No one is naming names, but the media immediately pinpointed Elon Musk and Peter Thiel as the main suspects.

This doesn’t come as a shocker since Musk has been quoted countless times referring to our reality as a simulated one.  What would seem as some kind of DMT induced semi-spiritual-psychedelic trip straight from the Wachowski’s trilogy, is now even being hailed by the Bank of America as being a 50% chance of being real.

All of this is quite fascinating to observe and I felt a strong urge to write about this because this is such a perfect opportunity to look at the intersection of  Technology and Spirituality. Something which this blog is all about.

First of all, let’s get one thing out of the way. The reasons for the movie’s Matrix popularity. Many have claimed it was because of the special effects, or because of the dynamic storytelling, hell yeah, maybe even because of Keanu Reeves (??). And there were those who identified, more to the point, that it was because of the message behind this story. And this was getting closer the truth.  But we need to go deeper than that. Because not all messages are created equal.

In my opinion, it wasn’t the flashy visuals, or the brilliant storytelling which lifted up the first movie into a cult classic. It was because the Wachowski brothers touched upon a theme which was a Universal Truth.

Whether this was a wholly conscious act or an unciounscious momentary enlighentment/madness, remains for another discussion. But the idea of our world  being a prison which we have to escape from, resonnated deeply in the masses.

And apparently this idea’s Universal Truth just keeps infecting its way deeper into the collective counsciousness. Finally materializing itself into the present actions being undertaken by the tech-billionaires.

Now, I have two reasons to touch upon what is happening right now. First, it is to look at the source of the Matrix idea, which for many on the spiritual path is quite evident. Second, I want to look at what potential chances, the likes of Elon Musk have to break out of the Illusion, which is our world – with the technological means which he proposes.

And if not, are there any other means to escape?

 

If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” – Nikola Tesla

The world as a penal colony

It’s no huge revelation that the ideas proposed by Matrix stem from an ancient Christian tradition of Gnostics. Parallell to the Orthodox christianity, it was a spiritual movement which evolved during the beginning of the Common Era. The Gnostics perceived the world they lived in as a prison made by a false God, named Yaldabaoth, who enslaved the humanity in a material world, named the Dialectical world, think The Matrix. This world served also as a penal colony for every being,

In order to free themselves from the shackles of this God, and the reincarnation wheel, which they saw as a never ending imprisonment, the Gnostics saw Gnosis as the escape. Gnosis being the insight, which was gained during a conciouss and mindful inner experience of the mind and spirit. In more relatable terms, think of gaining Gnosis as reaching Enlightenment. (For more on the Gnostic myths, please see below in this story).

There are quite a lot of parallells between this world view and the Buddhistic philosophy. Although the Buddhists perceive our world as one filled with suffering, their goal is the same, to break out of the Matrix, in other words, out of the Samsara cycle (the reincarnation wheel)

So with this in mind, let’s get back to Elon Musk.

 

“Every man has to react to the Gnosis. However, the way he does so is closely linked to his state of consciousness. The Gnosis will only be able to lift him above his state of being when, on the basis of true insight, he can say: ‘Thy will be done’..” 

Jan van Rijckenborgh

The venture capital to break us free – the Elon Musk way

I think there are a couple of very admirable, and positive things about what Elon Musk is trying to do. First off, when he reasons our reality is not the base reality, it is the echo of Gnosis, the intuitive knowledge which whispers to him, something is not right. It is the world draped over our eyes – a fatamorgana begging to be revealed.

And just as Neo, it is Gnosis which pushes him towards a path of seeking for the answers.

But here it ends.

The Gnostics were very clear on one matter. There were no Dialectical means, meaning of this material world, which were able to break anyone out of the Matrix.  If Musk hopes to find, by technological means, answers on how to escape the Matrix, he is interpreting this a bit too literally. Yes, we might be in a hyper realistic Virtual Reality created by some ancient civilization (the Absolute?), a huge experiment. It is also quite possible that when the Gnostics talk about their heaven or Buddhists mention their Nirvana, or even Matrix’s the Source, it is the same ultra high-vibratory state of pure Energy which Elon Musk points to as “The Base Reality” – the true reality.

But I would rather think of the Matrix as something entirely else and way less literal. I would rather perceive it as a state of conciousness.

And only by lifting ourselves up into a higher state of conciousness, in other words a deeper inner insight, are we able to realise that we are imprisoned. But the prison is again not literal. It is within us, it is self-constructed, self-ordained by our ego.

We are shackled by our own instinctive drives, desires, longings and other earthly attachments. And by attaining the kind of insight which culminates the first Matrix movie, Neo’s Enlightenment or Gnosis, we free ourselves from this world.

Not literaly. But within our heart.

We attain Universal Love.

The schackles of our ego, the artificial construct which has us imprisoned, in order to hinder us from the Absolute truth as taught by Dalai Lama and countless other spiritual traditions – Universal Love. (Image: Shutterstock)

The Gnostic myths

(excerpt taken from an article by Frances Flannery-Dailey, Hendrix CollegeandRachel Wagner, The University of Iowa)

In the Gnostic myth, the supreme god is completely perfect, a being of “immeasurable light which is pure, holy and immaculate”. In addition to this god there are others lesser divine beings in the Pleroma (akin to heaven, a division of the universe that is not earth).

A problem arises when one being named Sophia, a female, decides “to bring forth a likeness out of herself without the consent of the Spirit,” Sophia’s action produces an offspring that is imperfect, and she casts it away from the other divine beings in the Pleroma into a separate region of the cosmos.

This malformed, ignorant deity, named Yaldaboath, mistakenly believes himself to be the only god.

Gnostics identify Yaldabaoth as the Creator who decides to create the material world (earth) and human beings. Yaldabaoth is tricked into breathing the divine spark or spirit of his mother Sophia, that formerly resided in him, into the human being.

Therein lies the human dilemma. We are pearls in the mud, a divine spirit (good) trapped in a material body (bad) and a material realm (bad). Heaven is our true home, but we are in exile from our Divine state.

The Gnostic saw salvation in the form of Gnosis. which involves an understanding of our true nature and origin, the metaphysical reality hitherto unknown to us, resulting in the Gnostic’s escape from the enslaving material prison of the world and the body, into the upper regions of Spirit.

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