World Explorations

How is exploration related to ‘feeling intensely alive’?

Frank Dirks — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 08:58:00 GMT

Yangon Myanmar, Bangkok Thailand, October 2008 by Frank Dirks for worldexplorations.com

During daily life we search for things, people and events to make us ‘feel alive'. The search for this ‘feeling' is an essential ‘drive' found deep within every human being. If we do not occasionally perceive this, we become like 'robots' and go about our daily activities as though on autopilot. When we live like this our actions lack the magic fragrance of ‘love and beauty'. In lacking this sparkling, alive flavour, we become mechanical and follow the old and familiar patterns of thought and action over and over again. This constant repetition of the same patterns is called routine. In a way we feel secure in this because it allows us, to a certain extent, to predict what will and what will not happen tomorrow. At least we believe that it provides us with an idea for a ‘safe and prosperous future without trouble'. And we cling to this, although it's really just an idea, nothing more and nothing less. But an idea does not guarantee future reality. Proof of this is found in the magical and dramatic moments that we all experience in life. These moments, in a fraction of a second, completely alter the way we feel and the way in which we perceive our lives. These moments take place without ideas, thoughts or actions from us. We may catch the eye of someone with whom we instantly fall in love. We may experience the extraordinary beauty of an awe-inspiring mountain range or a dazzling sunset somewhere on earth. We may experience the intense pain felt when a loved one passes away or when a disaster strikes somewhere on the planet. We may be overjoyed and amazed by the birth of a child or be thrilled when listening or dancing to a harmonious piece of music. Even a truthful smile may change our experience of a moment instantly. Each of us experiences moments during our lives that touch us to our core and leave us deeply moved. However, the feelings that accompany these experiences aren't necessarily pleasant or unpleasant. During these moments we simply feel privileged to be part of what is happening (to us). Without these moments, our existence feels like a meaningless, troublesome, repetitive journey with the final destination being death. Only by experiencing special moments do we perceive that we exist fundamentally and that our lives do have meaning.

Because of the impact of these moments on our lives, it is worthwhile taking a closer look at what actually happens. Let's focus on what these experiences do to us. Let's find out how we deal with them and how they transform our daily lives completely. Let's discover together how exploration relates to the wonderful experiences of ‘being deeply moved' and ‘being intensely touched' resulting in our ‘feeling so intensely alive' at times.

As mentioned earlier, ‘an idea does not guarantee future reality'. Although most of us to some extent agree with this statement, much of the time we act completely differently. During our daily lives we constantly anticipate and come up with personal and collective ideas as to what will happen, what must happen or what may absolutely not happen in the future. We plan every action according to ‘extrapolation of old knowledge'. We hope and believe that by planning our lives according to past experiences, we are guaranteed future happiness. Subsequently, we develop scenarios on the basis of all we qualify as important in our lives: relationships, families, companies, religions and countries. We even attempt to control the future development of the entire world. This we do by monitoring with whom, with what, where, when and how we would like to become involved or not. This exclusive perception has resulted in the present divided and forcefully controlled world. In this world, billions of personal promises and contracts are agreed upon and signed and we cling for dear life to these commitments and obligations. We do this in the hope of gaining some kind of stability and security. However, it is clear that any form of relationship based on promises or contracts (personal or business) is based on our fear of this constantly changing, evolving world. More precisely, we fear change. The world changes constantly, so we live in constant fear. As a reaction to this fear, we produce and cling to a variety of ‘things' that might end our fear. Those ‘things, people and events' that we cling to are defined as ‘mine and not mine' and together they form our ‘static, exclusive, separated, small world'. You could say that we are desperately ‘building an exclusive, static world or society' because we are afraid to face a ‘fresh, dynamic, ever-changing, complete world'. In our ‘small world' we live our daily lives and perceive a temporary peacefulness as long as our feelings of loneliness and separation that result from being separated from the ‘complete world' don't become evident. If we were to look closely and critically, we would notice that material things (buildings, infrastructure, equipment, etc.) come and go. Babies are born every day and people die every day. Our ideas, ideals and desires change constantly. It's not difficult to see that life cannot be controlled or cultivated, nor does it have to be! We as humans are part of life and are, therefore, not excluded from its dynamics. As individuals, we are changing and evolving on a daily basis without the ability to cultivate, preserve or control anything that is important to us. We cannot cultivate or preserve the world we live in or cultivate our dreams, desires, emotions, bodies, thoughts or minds. We are alive and continuously evolving. That is a simple fact.

Another incredible fact is, the harder we try to control all facets of our daily lives, the more ‘dangerously attracted' we become towards situations less easy to control. We feel attraction to new people, new events, new countries, new cultures, new jobs and so forth. In short: The harder we try to cultivate or preserve all aspects of our lives, the more we yearn for something ‘new', unpreserved and uncultivated. This ‘new form' comes into existence instantly when we stop repeating the old vicious cycle. The difficulty though, is our ambivalent relationship with reality. Reality is, per definition, always new and non-repetitive. The ambivalence surrounding our ‘desire for the new' and the related perception of ‘feeling alive' results in a need to feel ‘securely alive', so we try to fulfil our ‘desire for the new' in a controlled way. And we fail. We cannot ‘feel alive' and ‘feel secure' at the same time. This is, once again, the concept in our minds based on the old idea that ‘security can be found' and that ‘aliveness can be cultivated or preserved'. This is not true.

The fact remains that we cannot search for this aliveness. When we search for it, we embark on a quest for a concept which is based on old thoughts, not new. We will only feel alive when we stop destroying ourselves before we experience life. We will feel instant alive as soon as we stop destroying the most precious inside of us. The questions arises: What exactly do we destroy? Why do we destroy? And,...how do we destroy?

We destroy the impulse of life that moves us in the same direction and in harmony with all things that live. In order to recognise this impulse deep within ourselves, we need to become sensitive. This impulse touches us profoundly when we sense our surroundings undistorted and uncontaminated by ‘old conclusions'. Any distortion or contamination, of which we may be aware or unaware, destroys this subtle impulse by converting it into something which it is not! We destroy this ‘subtle virgin impulse of life by ‘numbing' our sensory perceptions when they become too intense, painful or overwhelming. These intense emotions are perceived as strong feelings of insecurity. This insecurity, which is essentially ‘fear of the new or unknown', is halted through conclusion. The original meaning of the word ‘conclusion' is: To shut up or to end. We simply conclude our sensory perceptions and relegate an experience to a predetermined partition of the brain. Through this action, life's impulse is destroyed, misunderstood and transformed into something which it is not! It's really very simple. We, through the act of conclusion, prematurely destroy the impulse of life that directs us towards harmony with all living things. As previously mentioned, we do this out of fear of things new and unknown. It could be said that we abort life's impulse before it reveals its truth. This truth is the ‘new' which moves us so profoundly because of the intensity of its touch within us. In order to feel secure, we conclude and destroy the new and unknown, which should have been born. Once it is destroyed, we lose our ‘feeling of aliveness' and we wonder in despair what happened. Then we begin to search for it again and cling to anything that reflects our ‘feeling of aliveness' in some way. We do not succeed until, when our guard is down, life reminds us in a split second that we are still alive by presenting one of its astonishing manifestations. So now we may either destroy our sensory perceptions or see what takes place when we don't ruin the experience. This process will repeat itself until we all become aware of our role in this destructive process. As soon as we become aware of what we are doing, the ‘destruction will stop', ‘the new will be brought into immediate existence' and ‘aliveness' will impregnate our lives. In short: The ‘end of the destruction is the aliveness' we all desperately search for.

The relationship between exploration and the ‘end of the destruction' is a very simple one. As long as we are able to vigilantly explore what takes place during every moment, we will not destroy. However, the moment we cease to explore, we begin concluding and the destruction of the subtle impulse of life commences immediately. It's very easy to perceive exactly when this happens. At the moment when exploration ends, conclusion starts and our ‘feelings of aliveness' vanish into thin air. As long as we are able to explore the world we live in (always moving and constantly changing from one moment to the next) we will feel intensely alive. We are in it, a part of it and exist in harmony with it. We are constantly guided by it, moved by it and deeply touched by it. This aliveness brings with it the end of all feelings of insecurity felt in daily life and an end to the constant struggle for some form of artificial stability or security. It's this aliveness that gives birth to us and to everything that exists around us. We are, in essence, this aliveness. We are born because of it and by it. In this aliveness there's no desire, fear, conflict or separation. In this aliveness you explore life simply because you exist. This process of constant exploration will reveal ‘truth' to you at any given moment. This truth doesn't have to be cultivated because it reaches beyond all that exists on earth and will reveal itself time and time again until our existence is a crystal clear reflection of it. This truth is the guidance you receive for living your life, and life requires no more and no less of us than living it and being it. When we live like this, we exist fundamentally, with meaning and, as mentioned earlier, ‘we feel intensely alive'.

How is exploration related to problems in daily life?

Frank Dirks — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 04:12:00 GMT

Nijmegen The Netherlands, Phuket Thailand, October 2008 by Frank Dirks for worldexplorations.com

In daily life we define a situation as problematic if we feel uncomfortable, in pain, tense, sad, angry, afraid, etc. during the situation. A problem is an event that in some way has a negative effect on our own, someone else's or everybody's wellbeing. As a reaction to this situation we conclude that what is happening is bad for us, physically or psychologically, now or in the future, and we act upon this conclusion. Mostly, this action will be focussed on manipulating external events in a way that they may become less disturbing for us or our environment. When we are able to manipulate circumstances according to our preferences, we feel successful, satisfied, peaceful and happy in our daily lives. At least for the moment, until the next problem arises. This begs the question: Is this daily activity really ‘resolving problems'?

In order to find the answer, let's take a closer look at what problems actually are. Let's explore to find out what a problematic situation, in essence, is. Let's not find out how to merely avoid or change the situation, let's find out what the core of a problem actually is. The thing we do in daily life is call something disturbing, problematic, or undesirable when, in reality, it simply differs from a personal or collective preference. It boils down to ‘the moment being different to what I or we want' or ‘a situation taking place that I or we would prefer didn't take place'. So, we might say there is something called preference which is actively involved in experiencing current situations. The more the preference deviates from what is taking place during the moment, the more disturbing emotions, feelings or thoughts are perceived. It seems worthwhile to identify this preference that interferes with our perception of daily reality, because as long as the preference exists it's impossible to peacefully experience reality. As long as we have preferences we will perceive disturbances in ourselves which we will qualify as good or bad, wanted or unwanted, liked or disliked. All of this simply because reality will always be different from our preferences. A preference, though, is nothing more than a ‘projected reference'. It is something we experienced or it could even be a cultural habit which conditioned our forefathers for centuries and is now active inside us. These experiences are stored in our memories labelled preferable or non-preferable and now we use them to ‘grasp' the present. We project this reference onto the current situation and measure, qualify or judge the moment according to it. In doing such we judge the current situation as problematic or desirable and, as a result, we feel either good or bad experiencing it. Another way to describe this is as follows: We ‘pollute' our experience of the moment with ‘old experiences and related conclusions'. This pollution diffuses our clear perception of the moment. Dictionaries state: Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment. These containments cause instability, disorder, harm and discomfort in this environment. This is exactly what we as humans experience when we contaminate our perception with ‘old knowledge'. We contaminate our perception with our preferences and thus disturb current reality. We are simply not seeing clearly because we have contaminated our perception and this creates disorder in our daily lives. This isn't a problem in ‘static situations', like driving a car or operating a computer, where the same actions are repeated. It doesn't work although in a new situation (which every situation actually is) which requires a new kind of action. So when a situation requires us to act in an unfamiliar manner, it's absolutely futile to keep repeating the same old action and think the same old thoughts over and over based on our (p)references. The situation differs from our ‘memory references' and requires that we ‘watchfully explore and learn in the most fundamental way by noticing how our preferences contaminate our perception'. When we are able to see clearly without conclusion and contamination, we'll gain insight into current reality and discover new methods of guiding our related actions. This insight and discovery will spell the end of the problem and these guided actions are our truthful contribution toward it.

Let's summarise. That what takes place is not the source of the problem. What takes place is due to our reaction to what we perceive as being problematic. As mentioned before, we as human beings struggle to simply see reality as it is without contamination. When we human beings are not ‘fit to cope' with reality at any given moment, we blame other people, institutions, the environment, religion, god, our health and so forth. We are behaving incompatible with reality, reality is not incompatible with us. How much sense is there in rejecting or disqualifying reality? This is happening right now! So why not explore, see what happens and discover what reality asks of you at this moment in time. Your truthful action is the only answer to this question, and it's yours to give.

How is exploration related to you, me and helping each other ?

host — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 04:33:00 GMT

Mandalay Myanmar, October 2008 by Frank Dirks for worldexplorations.com

We very often say to someone: ‘Please let me help you'. When a tragic disaster like a tsunami, earthquake, cyclone or war, strikes anywhere on the planet, millions of people are instantly motivated into helping the victims of the disaster. We also like to interfere and help when, actually, people sometimes need to learn the hard way through their own experiences. We want to help each other in many different ways. Why is this? How do things that we do for each other shape our relationships? How do the relationships between us define what we can do for each other? What, in essence, is ‘helping each other'? What kind of action is required to help someone? Let's explore these questions together and discover how exploration is related to ‘helping each other'. More precisely, let's find out how exploration is related to ‘an action with the intention of helping a person, a group or an entire country'.

It is often the case that when an ‘action with the intention to help others' is performed, certain persons are defined as ‘the ones who give help' and other persons as ‘the ones who receive help'. In other words, certain persons lack or need something (food, shelter, security, skills, knowledge, entertainment, etc.) and other persons can provide what is ‘needed or lacking'. Through this concept of ‘lack and provision' the relationship between these two is defined. The provider is a person, group, country, etc. and the recipient is another person, group, country, etc. In a different situation, the roles may be reversed. Many situations in the world are governed by this kind of relationship, including: teacher-student, relief worker-victim, psychologist-client, doctor-patient, political party-voters, boss-employee and, furthermore, the relationship between lovers or between husband and wife. These kinds of relationships exist as a result of the intention of both parties to profit from it, even though this may not be clear from the onset. For example, it's not really romantic to discuss mutual profit when you've just fallen in love. In business a lot of money is spent on ‘me helping you' or ‘we helping you'. The person or company which successfully communicates the best or most suitable help in a problem situation, profits the most (material or immaterial). Of course, these forms of relationships work perfectly fine in a certain way. As long as we are able to clearly define ‘what is me and what is you' and ‘what is your intention and what is mine' then, in this kind of relationship, we are quite comfortable with transferring money, goods, food, skills and ideas. Even kindness, affection and intimacy are exchanged. It works when ‘things' are transferred between clearly defined entities, such as people, countries, religions, lovers, political parties, business associates, organisations and other institutions. This kind of relationship is common between these entities. The relationship is governed by concepts like: ‘What I own belongs to me and, therefore, doesn't belong to you, you and I are different and divided'. This gives rise to the feeling that ‘what affects you does not affect me'. These presuppositions lead to actions like: "I'll give to you if you'll give to me, I'll help you if you'll help me, I'll enrich you if you'll enrich me", and so forth. They also lead to actions such as: "I'll hurt you if you hurt me" or "I'll manipulate you if you do not give me what I want".

As mentioned earlier, a relationship is based upon mutual intention to profit from it. As long as we are able to balance what we give and get out of a relationship, we feel fine. We measure this balance according to actions or contributions in the form of money, words of thanks, affection, sex, idealism and other satisfying things. When we feel that we don't receive enough from the relationship we've created, we become jealous, frustrated, sad and, eventually, less motivated to interact with one another. We may even become angry and judge others as not being thankful-, helpful- or loving enough or accuse others of not being able to see the ‘good' we intend. We act in many different ways to ensure that others provide what we need or lack. Even complimenting and flattering are forms of manipulation if one looks at these actions critically, honestly and clearly. When desired or demanded items or actions stop being exchanged, this often means the end of a relationship and, therefore, the end of interaction. We stop helping each other, stop showing affection and stop feeling attracted to one another. We divorce, stop doing business, etc. When there is no more profit to be made, the relationship ends. This end may be regarded as a crisis by one or both parties because of all the related emotions and feelings of pain. Actually, it is nothing more than a wakeup call for us to once again explore the relationships between ‘ourselves and others'. It's a call for complete honesty and fearless investigation into what we try or tried to gain from the relationship. Look at what ‘desired or demanded items or actions' were transferred to or from yourself during this relationship. Only through this exploration will we gain insight into how ‘you and me' are, in essence, related and connected. Identifying this defines the new way in which you relate to others instantly.

As mentioned before, we must explore ‘what I am' and ‘what you are' in order to gain insight into how ‘you and I' are, in essence, related. A fundamental change in the perception of relationships will take place when, instead of the clearly defined ‘you and I', a more subtle ‘we' is perceived. This is not a ‘we' because we have the same ideas, interests, religion, friends, parents or hobbies; or because we live in the same country, state or city or have the same problems or successes. This is also not a ‘we' because we are married, lovers, friends, family or are involved in some other form of relationship. This ‘we' comes into being when one very clearly and honestly explores who one really is and how one relates to others and to the world. Through the critical and honest exploration of ‘you and I in daily life', one is able to perceive a sense of ‘we'. Only through exploration in practical situations does one gain insight into ‘how humans are connected in the most fundamental way'. This knowledge is not acquired from books, through religion or through tuition by famous experts. The acquisition of this knowledge requires that you plunge, with all your doubts and fears, deeply into any relationship you may experience with anyone or anything. Only by performing this ‘dive into the unknown' will new insight be gained. The old forms of relationships, like friendship, partnership, marriage, religion, etc. will be transformed. The new forms that emerge will incorporate the insight gained about yourself and others, as members of a union. Every new form of relationship will incorporate the idea of our being fundamentally responsible for all life on earth and, together, being the source of (global) wellbeing. These forms will define every action, including ‘helping each other', though it may cease to be called ‘help'.

When one perceives this subtle ‘we', one simply acts as the situation demands, without personal motives or intentions to help. A person who acts according to this insight is not especially motivated, nor does he or she need to be. This is because he or she does not see a ‘clearly defined other' who is divided from himself or requires help. He also not possesses a ‘clearly defined self' willing to offer help. This person simply acts truthfully without intention, desire, hope or fear regarding the results or consequences of his or her actions. He or she acts without emotions relating to success or failure, good or bad. Those who perceive this subtle ‘we' notice the ever-changing world they're in and do what needs to be done. He or she plays their role in the world knowing that, only in this way humanity and other life forms on our planet will be served. By doing this, he or she exists without constantly struggling to sustain the old forms ‘me, you, we and others'. When acting in the intense knowledge of ‘we', all division related problems like poverty, loneliness, boredom and feelings of purposeless existence cease instantly.

What is left to express and experience is pure, truthful action deeply embedded in love and beauty, guided by the perceived ‘we'. This action is simply ‘life transforming existence', brought about by you and I. Through this action, material and immaterial things flow freely from one place to the other without the flow being blocked by someone fearing ‘future poverty or personal need'. One takes what one needs and no more. One gives what one can and no less. Together, we are the unique persons on earth through which this world comes into being day by day, step by step, person by person. The effect is perceived in the new world which is realised today. It's up to us to open our eyes and take notice of this fact, so we may optimally make our unique contribution to it in daily life.

How are exploration, relationship and insight related to love, beauty and truth?

Frank Dirks — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:21:00 GMT

Oslo Norway, September 2008 by Frank Dirks for worldexplorations.com

The purpose of our (human) existence is to explore the world in its entirety. Exploration alone enables us to gain insight into our relationships with other beings, with the world around us and with ourselves. Only those actions which result from this acquired insight will contribute to our collective quest. Actions based on insight are genuine actions and contribute directly to realising a new world. This constantly evolving new world is a small step in our global evolution towards the paradise we all know exists and have hoped for since the beginning of humankind. Complete exploration is accompanied by happiness, perceived beauty and true love. Complete exploration is paradise now.

Exploration is the process of continually perceiving the various ways, as subtle forms of tension, in which we are connected to other beings. We are used to qualify this subtle tension by concluding it to be pleasant or unpleasant, attractive or unattractive, good or bad. This qualification shapes the way we perceive the relationship and our actions regarding to it. We come closer or create distance. We help the other or hurt the other. We want the other or reject the other and so on. Exploration is that we start to see this process without judging it as good or bad. Just see it is enough and will do. Exploration demands that we engage in relationships with other beings and expose ourselves completely without reservations, hidden agendas or predefined goals. When we first completely expose ourselves to others in all honesty, we feel intense insecurity. Allowing this feeling to run its course, without trying to end it through acceptance, definition or qualification, will transform this actual sense of insecurity into insight. This insight is defined as knowledge of the unknown, knowledge of circumstances and related tension not experienced before. Insight alone is true knowledge, only gained through exploration and real discovery. Discoveries made are the only fundamental securities one can ever perceive. Personal acts to end the intense feeling of insecurity (conclusion, qualification, decision, division or exclusion) before it reveals its unique truth, will prevent discovery and the gaining of true knowledge. Instead of being transformed into security through discovery and insight, insecurity is then converted into fear and stored in our memory. This contributes to one's ‘old knowledge'. A world without true knowledge is therefore a world full of fear, suffering and old knowledge (opinions); a world devoid of beauty and love; a world without truth.

As long as we act according to artificial, old knowledge from external sources instead of according to insight, the world will be a troublesome place. This is as a result of insufficient action (action without insight) on our part under present circumstances. Any personal action not rooted in exploration and discovery is rooted in memory, which is, by definition, old knowledge. This old knowledge is partial knowledge because of the ever-changing state of the world around us; the ever-changing situations or events that we perceive as our daily lives. In other words, any action not rooted in exploration is incomplete and doesn't pertain to present reality because it is based on partial, old knowledge instead of complete and fresh insight. These actions may have satisfactory effects in the ‘artificial, semi-static' world that we as humans have created and spend our daily lives in. However, these actions will not satisfy the demands of the ‘non-artificial, dynamic' fundaments that form the basis of our existence and that of all life-forms on earth, at present and in the future.

As long as we cling to any aspects of ‘old knowledge' like culture, religion, addiction, conclusion, division, comparison and other automatic responses with roots in the unknown, there will be no fundamental change, no purpose to our existence, no truth, no beauty and no love. As long as we pursue personal feelings of security and wellbeing in external places, like in other people, in existing philosophies (including this one) and in various forms of entertainment, we will find only temporary relief from our fear and suffering. The only solution is to explore the relationship we have with every single element we've divided the world into, and to do it every moment. Every human being should become a little more quiet (still) and be alert to the all-inclusive totality of his or her relationship with all beings on earth. Only by perceiving this fundamental relationship, without exception, will one be able to fully contribute and play the unique role in one's existence together with other beings. Then this existence will be perceived as purposeful and magic. If one perceives one's unique relationship with all beings through exploration of the world in its entirety, a new world comes into being instantly. This ever-evolving world is always true and always present and is there to be explored by each one of us now, right at this moment, time and time again. In doing this one perceives love, beauty and truth.

Through exploration a new world will come into being

Frank Dirks — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 08:11:00 GMT

We as human beings have created a world, based on mechanical principles, on a non-mechanical planet named Earth. We live most of our lives in this mechanical environment which we like to call society. We feel safe and comfortable in our own piece of society because we think that it protects us from our fears, supplies our needs and fulfils our longings. Occasionally, we feel the need to escape the mechanical structure of daily life. To this end, we created holidays, resorts, drugs, sports, movies, parties and a myriad ways to entertain, enjoy and relax ourselves. Once our needs to escape have been satisfied, we return to our structured and formatted daily lives and wait for the next highlight of our existence.

At a certain point in our lives we do catch a glimpse of the ongoing, mechanical and structured process called daily life. Then we begin feeling lost, lonely, useless, angry, sad and frustrated. Finally we become ill, desperate or depressed. This is the result of us as individual human beings becoming aware that this way of living is not true what life asks of us. Subsequently, most of us go off in search of an external solution to this perceived problem (searching is by definition a mechanical action). In this search for new sources of true life we seek help from specialists, institutions, hospitals, partners, lovers, religion or any organization that claim to solve these types of problems or that define this as their ideal or mission. Upon closer inspection, this process of restoring personal wellbeing with help from external sources searched for, seems to be a product of the very same mechanical process that created the problem in the first place. The solution is part of the problem and is, therefore, not a solution at all. What happens when we attempt to solve this problem in a mechanical way? The answer is simple. There will be no solution. Through the mechanical action of seeking help from outside agencies, we compound the problem until we realize that nothing can really help. Meanwhile, we continue searching for more skilled specialists, stronger techniques, new religions, more extreme political parties, different lovers, more potent drugs and medicines and more intense therapy. The list goes on and grows longer every day. However, the root of the problem remains hidden because the true nature of the problem is unknown. The source of the problem is the ignorance of the fact that we are the one's creating the problem by not recognizing it.

The root of the human problem is the subtle conflict taking place inside us. This conflict takes place between the lively, dynamic, fresh life that we, in essence are, and the mechanical, structured, manipulated external lives that we have led throughout human and personal history. This subtle conflict manifests itself as restlessness, frustration, anger, grief and loneliness. We perceive the world, others and the environment in light of these feelings. As a result we expect and want the world to change because we judge it to be responsible for the conflict inside, with its frustration, anger, grief and loneliness. We try to forcefully change the world to rid ourselves of these feelings. These forceful attempts at change come in the form of discussion, manipulation, oppression, obsession, seduction, adoration, possessiveness, and a number of other techniques. We use these to mould the world according to our ideals and views in order to free ourselves from this unwanted state or situation. Our seemingly harmless individual actions multiplied by earth's population are the source of the global poverty, abuse, war and pollution evident worldwide. These individual actions have given rise to every war, fear and manipulative- and exploitive action found on this planet. We through these individual actions are responsible for all past, present and future conflicts on earth. Over time we have accepted this as the norm and we call it human nature. Human nature that is defined by the principle of ‘survival of the fittest'.

The source of the problem is ‘that we are incapable of accepting life as it is' because we do not see the true essence of it. Every day we spend on this planet we experience life, we contemplate it, we judge it, we fight it and we even end it. We live life in countless different ways but are unable to accept life for what it is. Instead, we try to change it into what we would like it to be, to change it based on our judgment of ‘good or bad'. That is, in essence, exactly the mechanical process we have discussed. We are living a non-mechanical life in a mechanical manner by judging everything in and around us as good or bad based on culture and past experience. This is what the human conflict is about and the result is a harmful situation to be in for every one of us, and a harmful situation for all life forms on Earth.

If all of us, as individual human beings, fail to recognize this process and therefore fail to resolve our deep inner conflict, we will keep contributing to a world in conflict. Every time we fail to see our individual inner conflict, we contribute to the global situation. In order for us to see this conflict we must stop searching. Exploration is only possible once we stop searching. Through exploration a new world will come into being.

Why do we exploit our natural, social and personal resources?

Frank Dirks — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 17:43:00 GMT

The culture of exploitation prevalent on our planet is a result of the thought, belief or feeling that, as humans, we can take what we want from nature, other beings and ourselves, for our own benefit without any real serious consequences. We ignore the need to co-exist with our environment. Instead we believe that, by exploiting the environment and focusing on personal gain (material and immaterial ), we might overcome our feelings of fear, frustration, desire, boredom and unhappiness. The greater the need for personal gratification, the more we exploit our environment.

This is how our world with its social problems, conflict, war, disease, environmental issues, etc. came to be. Human beings caused these problems over the past 2000 years by dividing the world into continents, countries, states, cities and infrastructures. And by dividing people into religions, nationalities, governments, institutions, organisations and groups with different beliefs, ideals and goals. We discovered energy sources, developed industries and invented technology to serve us in business, leisure and other aspects of modern life. The thought, belief or feeling was that humans would benefit from these achievements and, to a certain degree, we did. Primary human needs such as food and shelter were met for the majority of the world’s population. However, although we have the capability to feed, clothe and shelter every person on the planet and are able to distribute worldwide, we do not do this. Why not?

The answer is simple. We aren’t conscious of the consequences of our behaviour and motives. As individuals, we focus on our personal needs, desires and ideals and exploit everything and everyone around us in order to realise these. There will be no fundamental change unless we start to explore the bigger picture. If we do not begin asking fundamental questions about the source of our daily actions, the source of our relationships and the source of being human, life will remain...

What is exploration? - Part Two

Frank Dirks — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:03:00 GMT

You will learn about life only if you explore it. The quality of what you discover and the insight you gain is directly related to your ability to explore. If your act of exploration is limited, then what you discover will be limited. The quality of discovery is in proportion to the quality of exploration. The quality of discovery defines the quality of our daily existence. In other words, we must enhance the quality of our exploration in order to enhance the quality of the world we live in. The world is a reflection of human exploration. If we (individual or collective) enhance the quality of our exploration it will reflect in our daily existence or in the quality of the world we live in. Therefore, to realise a new world we must, as individuals, enhance the quality of exploration.

Before inquiring into the enhancement of exploration, we need to ask ‘What is exploration?' What is this ‘act' of exploration really? Many dictionaries define exploration as ‘the act of searching or traveling for the purpose of discovery'. As proven, exploration and discovery are closely related. But above is not an accurate definition of exploration. It's only suggesting that ‘if you travel, you'll discover something' or ‘if you want to discover, carry on searching'. Is this really true? In my opinion it's true to some extend, but it's not very accurate. A real discovery cannot be searched for. One can only search for something that is, to an extent, already familiar. One can only question something that is already perceived in some way. True exploration is not about traveling or searching. These ‘forms of exploration' may be useful, but they do not convey the core meaning of the word. In its purest form, the act of exploration is defined as a process of continuous observation of the world around you and your interaction with it. What you identify as ‘what's around you' depends on your senses, sensitivity and sensibility. Here are some factors which strongly influence our ability to explore: The ability to non-conclude or delay-conclude; the ability to endure pain, frustration, loneliness, anger, grief and purposelessness; the ability to ‘not be distracted'. One could argue that these abilities can be trained or specifically developed, but I would be careful. In my opinion, the use of methods and theories is not, in essence, exploration. Methods describe the steps to be taken based on discoveries made by some ‘other authority'. Of course this can be interesting, but be aware at all times that this is not exploration. Every human being is his own and only authority and needs to explore his or her unique view of life. Nobody was put on earth to accept another human's opinions, theories, ideals, laws or beliefs. Not even when the are organized in groups, organizations, companies, governments, religions or other institutions. Unfortunately, we have been trained to do so for centuries, but this is not the true meaning for our existence. Someone else's discovery may point you in a useful direction, but you cannot allow yourself to be forced, manipulated or seduced to move in that direction. The same is true for everything I've said about exploration. This article is the result of insight I gained during my own process of exploration. You're welcome to comment on it and add to it. I realize that what I've said is subject to changes, in time, due to new insight and discoveries. Please find out for yourself what exploration means to you. Find out what exploration means to your existence and take responsibility for the insight you gain during the process of observation and discovery. See yourself as a tool with the amazing potential to explore life. When you don't explore your existence fully, you limit essential insight and joy you may gain.

Remember this: ‘The world is, at any given moment, a reflection of the quality of your personal exploration. When you enhance the quality of your exploration it is reflected in the world around you.' Please explore and take responsibility for what you are. An essential being in the quest by humanity for truth on our planet.

It is the responsibility of every human being to explore

Frank Dirks — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 20:08:00 GMT

Everyone on this planet shares the same dream, the same fear and the same pain. Perhaps we express these feelings with different ideas, words or symbols, but sooner or later we realise that we perceive the same. Our differences are superficial. You may be a woman and I may be a man, but these are physical differences. I may have a lot of money and you may not, but that only means that I might have a bigger house and drive a faster car. Still, these differences are on the outside and inside we are very similar. Science has proven that, if we look through our fragile shells, we are connected. Also, on a more fundamental level, you and I are the latest form of human evolution. Being connected, we all share the effects of history on humanity and the responsibility for the future of mankind and all life forms. The world's history has been the source of fear and insecurity amongst its inhabitants for centuries. This is the result of brutal wars and conflicts that have taken place since the beginning of time. In much the same way, history is responsible for the lust for power and success so prevalent in modern life. We all have these fears, insecurities and feelings of lust deeply rooted within ourselves, and every so often we act upon them. What we share most of all is our history of being human and feeling lost and alone in this world, not knowing where we came from and not knowing where we go when we die. Our greatest fears and insecurities and unpleasant feelings and thoughts are based on this deep uncertainty about our existence. In this aspect we are most definitely not separate, but related in the most fundamental way. We were all moulded together throughout history and together we are creating the future of this planet.

The focus of our daily lives is on avoiding negative feelings. We succeed remarkably well in doing so by distracting ourselves with entertainment, work, sex, companionships, relationships and material goods. As long as it works it's okay, so why not? However, these natural human habits only serve their purpose temporarily, so we are constantly searching for new people, activities, events or things to satisfy our need for pleasure. This pleasure is the imaginary opposite to the insecurity we feel and are constantly trying to avoid. Again, as long as it works it's okay, so why not? Sometimes we cannot avoid the deep feelings of fear and insecurity anymore. But human beings are masters of disguise and even in the worst situations we are able to give the false impression that all is well. This is how many of us make our way through life. We are on our way to a death we don't like to think or speak about.

Driven by our likes and dislikes we daily perceive the consequences of ignorance as good or bad. We judge all that happens to us and all that relates to us. We fight or flight and perceive this existence as the survival of the fittest. As long as we live like this, we don't share, manipulate our circumstances, fight with other beings, exploit nature, feel dependant on others and cling to material things we call possessions. In doing so, we have created the world as we know it and we are all responsible. We like to lay the blame on governments, institutions, human nature, theories, religion, our ancestors or all kinds of Gods. But in truth, you and I are at fault. Realising this truth is our responsibility and the reason for our existence. Every day we perceive the circumstances of our lives as a mirror which reflects the search for this truth as a hidden quest inside us. Exploring the circumstances of our lives is exploring the life in us. The truth to the question of our existence lies in exploring our interaction with the world in our daily lives. This truth will bring insight into life to every human being. So please stop searching for escapes and start exploring. This is the way to a new world and it's up to you to become involved or not.

Realise a new world today !

Frank Dirks — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 15:52:00 GMT

We as human beings are beautiful and extremely intelligent creatures, living together on a wonderful planet. We are in fact exploiting our natural, social and personal resources. This can be seen all around us in the many environmental problems, health problems (physical and mental), social problems in the form of wars and other conflicts between humans, countries, religions, political parties, the many forms of poverty all over the planet and the undeniable amount of fear in every living human being.

If we do not start immediately to intelligently explore the essence of these immense problems, living beings as we know them will not survive. It is our responsibility to explore these facts and learn from them in order to end this process of human degeneration. In the end of this process is the rise of a new world everyone of us dreaming of sooner or later.

To realise a new world is to shift your attention from exploitation to exploration. When your seriously explore the exploitation of the natural environment, the social relationships and you personal resources, you realise a new world instantly.

To shift your attention from exploitation to exploration is to shift the source of your actions from personal and collective conclusions, to impersonal insight.

To shift your attention from exploitation to exploration is to shift your attention from ‘how to personally gain from your actions', to the ‘exploitation in this process of gaining'.

Clearly seeing the ‘exploitation in this process of gaining' is actually insight. This ends actions with a motive on a exclusively personal level. The ending of these kind of actions is ending the ‘old world'. The end of the old world through insight is the only way out of which the new world can arise. The ‘new' can not be known through the ‘old'. Ending the ‘old' is the birth of the ‘new' through the process of exploration and insight. To realise this is to realise a new world!

Welcome at worldexplorations.com

Frank Dirks — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:11:00 GMT

Nice to meet you here at worldexplorations.com. You are very welcome visiting this website, which is a place to explore subjects which concern everyone of us living on this planet. I hope we can explore various topics together. Not by judging, rejecting, accepting or analysing them, but to look at them freely as human beings aware of the inmense environmental, social, and personal problems we are facing.

The information on this website is not meant to be philosophy, science, religion, psychology or a political statement, but can merely been seen as invitations to share your own insights and discoveries regarding issues everyone of us concern in some way.

I realise that all what is written on this website is my or someone elses truth and is subject to change in time. Don't let this form a basis for discussion, argueing or holding on to old conclusions. See these differences inthe light of a complementary perspective of a fellow human being on the subject. Be aware that ‘new' can only be realised by completely seeing ‘old'. Let this be the way we explore this website and realise a new world together.

What is exploration? - Part One

Frank Dirks — Thu, 22 May 2008 01:47:00 GMT

The human race has explored since the beginning of its existence. Initially we explored our immediate surroundings for food, shelter and companions. Gradually we expanded our horizons by venturing beyond familiar territory. We crossed rivers by boat and land on the backs of domestic animals. Through these journeys we gained knowledge of food sources, fire-building, new cultures and different behavior. Over thousands of years we gathered information by exploring our planet.

The greatest period of exploration in human history was called the "Age of Discovery" or the "Age of Exploration". This took place between the early 15th century and the early 17th century. We plied the oceans in search of goods to trade and partners to trade with. As a result we met new tribes and peoples and mapped unknown territories and oceans. Mathematics was created as a language to define the laws of physics and other forces of nature. Eventually we invented electricity and learnt how to harness its power. During the late 20th century, mankind entered the space age. In 1969 Neil Armstrong spoke the famous words "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" as he set foot on the moon. Our focus had shifted from our own planet to what was "out there". By using theories on the structure of matter and quantum-mechanics, we invented technology which allowed us to explore in even finer detail. These technologies also enabled us to live comfortable, safe and healthy lives.

The word "explore" originates from two Latin words: "Ex" meaning "out" and "plorare", meaning "to cry". It was first used when mankind were hunters. The hunter made something known using a loud cry or shout. Another theory suggests that the second syllable of the word originates from "pluere" which means "to flow". Although the exact origin of the current meaning is vague, the intended meaning is clear. Exploration is an action initiated by discovery. This is demonstrated when one looks up the word in a dictionary. Results include: to investigate, to search, to examine, to travel, to inquire into. These results all point to a purposeful action performed by the person exploring.

Today, exploration is defined as "the act of searching or traveling for the purpose of discovery". The keywords are "search", "purpose" and "discovery". However, if the ultimate discovery we can make is life, and if all things we explore are forms or elements of life, then we could define exploration as "the act of searching for life and the forms or elements of life. And, honestly, isn't this what we've been doing since the birth of humanity? We've explored life in nature in order to feed, clothe and shelter ourselves and explored humankind to find partners with whom to procreate. We've explored our own bodies, explored different natural life forms, explored the core elements of life, even explored space in search of galactic beings. Human beings are constantly searching for "the meaning of life" and for ways to enhance the way of life. We use different methods of exploration to achieve this.

Humanity has discovered much more than what is mentioned in this article. I simply wished to illustrate how the drive to explore is rooted in our lives, and how the world we live in is a result of the way we express this drive.

Part Two...