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SOLO
The New World Order
By: Ali Shams
Printed Edition Publisher:
Copywrite 2011 Platinum Books - Kuwait
www.platinum-book.com
Smashwords edition
Published by Ali Shams at Smashwords, authorized by Platinum Books
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgment
Special thanks to Mr. Abdulla Al-Baajari for his efforts in making this work a beautiful piece of art and opening the doors for adding new dimensions into it.
Many thanks to my dear wife who has been and still is a source of boundless inspiration
Thanks to Mr. Ahmed Al-Haidar and Platinum books for putting their trust in this work.
Thanks to my family and friends who have influenced my writing.
Finally thanks to all those that have been part of my journey in life, whether you had a negative or positive effect on my life, a piece of you is in this book.
Introduction
Before taking this journey unchain yourself from all sources of disturbance in your life. Read this book with a clear mind and without default judgments that are based on your own perceptions. Detach yourself for once from all these noises around you and take this journey with an open mind.
Many of the things we take for granted in life, merely because it is easier to do so. We take certain paths because we are not sure where else to go, or we may create a path of our own, yet we get lost in our loneliness. In all cases, we create a set of beliefs that we get more fanatical about as we get older. Yet this book is not for fanatics, nor for those who see life from a narrow perspective.
Forget the name of the author, forget the conflict with your own beliefs, and just try to enjoy the journey as it comes. If you do so the juggling of thoughts in this book may inspire you. Keep in mind, we are not trying to tell you what is right or wrong, we are not trying to pass judgment, so do not judge, just enjoy.
Bon Voyage..
In the name of God we start…
Prologue
After an exhausting day, Yusuf laid on his bed trying to find a position to relax his muscles. After a couple of flips he finally settled on his side with his left hand under his head. He repeated verses from Quran, which his mother had taught him to read from the age of five. He felt protected when reciting these verses, and the nights he forgot to do so, he'd awaken wracked with anxiety. With jangled nerves, he'd repeat them rapidly before closing his eyes again to drift into a peaceful slumber. That night however, was not like any other night. This night brought with it an unexpected visitor who would place on Yusuf’s shoulders the burden of a message that needed to be shared with all of its intricate details.
Yusuf always dreamed, a night that passed without a dream was rare and it felt as if he never slept. He could not understand how some people could not dream, or what it felt like to surrender to eight hours or more of blankness. He once heard from a friend that only intelligent people dream as often. He was delighted to hear that, but he didn’t believe that he was that smart, he saw himself as an average person compared to others. At one stage of his life he was convinced that everyone dreams, but most people forgot their dreams when they wake, however, he did not.
Some of the dreams he thought to be more serious than others. Whenever he thought that his dream has a meaning or a revelation, he would go back to his mother and ask her what the dreams meant. She would open her old Book of Dreams and would ask him to carefully recall what he saw and she would try to understand it. If he saw a horse, then she would ask about the color, as every color possessed different meanings. She would ask what the horse was doing, and whether someone was riding it, and in what direction. Every detail mattered in the Book of Dreams. She would tell him to not reveal his dreams to anyone and to remember to pray to God the moment he would awake, so he would revel in joy and wipe away all the sorrows. Deep down he knew when a dream held good or detrimental news. He could feel it during the dream. If he had a sense of comfort, then the dream had a favorable meaning. If he felt restless or apprehensive, then the dream had a sense of foreboding.
Yusuf did not relate all his dreams to his mother, as some were clear to him and he knew what they meant. Eventually he became an expert at deciphering dreams and developing his own interpretations for them. He enjoyed this new skill, as his friends started to call him to interpret their dreams. Sometimes he dreamt of actual events, a friend getting married or somebody he knows dying, and they all occurred shortly after his dream. He once knew a girl, and the night before she dumped him, he had dreamt that he held a colorful sparrow in his hand whilst he was riding a bike. However it flew away and he could not find it again. He was not surprised when the girl called him on the following day and said that she wanted to end their relationship.
That night was different, what he saw was not anything like his earlier dreams. It was so vividly real that it continued every time he closed his eyes for rest.
Two men who held him from his elbows guarded him. Their hands gripped him so tight that he did not even think of breaking free. They led him to a room and gestured to him to enter alone. The room was immaculate and there were only two chairs in the centre, but there were no windows or light fixtures to be seen. The walls shimmered and seemed to be radiating light that illuminated the room. A man was sitting on one of the chairs and beckoned Yusuf to sit beside him. The mysterious man's brown hair matched his eyes, and a small beard adorned his glowing tanned face.
“Where am I” asked Yusuf.
“We are in your brain, in your imagination, and what an imagination I must admit!” replied the man.
“What do you mean? Who are you?”
“I’m a guest in your mind- I come from a world different than yours, and I’m here because I need your help.”
“I don’t understand? How can I help you?” Yusuf replied, stunned at the request.
“We want you to write a book, a book that is to be published in your world”, the man answered.
“What book? How can I write a book...?” Yusuf trying to make sense of the man’s words, but he continued without giving any attention to Yusuf’s questions.
“I need you to put a pen and a notebook near to your bed, as you are going to write everything I tell you starting from tomorrow.”
He jumped from his bed soaked with sweat that night. He couldn’t go back to sleep no matter how hard he tried. He took a pen and a notebook and started writing everything down, he could remember all the precise details of his dream. Usually he could not fully recall his previous dreams with clarity, and his memory would degrade as the day wore on. This dream however, was burned vividly into his mind’s eye. Unlike other dreams, the memory remained all day long; the man’s words were swirling in his thoughts when he went to work the following day. He eventually tried to ignore what happened as the hours passed by and the events of the day accumulated. He forgot to put the pen and notebook the next night, he remembered only when he was already in bed and too exhausted to get up.
Out of the darkness the dream sprang into his mind and frightened him. This time the guards held Yusuf by the neck. They sneered at him and made it clear that their master does not like to repeat himself and that Yusuf should obey immediately. He lurched from his bed sweating profusely, breathing hard clutching his throat as if they were still gripping it tightly. He could not fall asleep again, the worry of the dream repeating itself hung menacingly on his overwrought mind.
He went to work the next day barely awake and everything seemed a blur around him. Nothing seemed to be real or tangible, and he felt this whenever he woke up from a vivid or captivating dream although in the past, the feeling quickly disappeared. Moments passed, he felt as if he was still dreaming - he was told once that a person never knows that he is dreaming until he wakes up. Yusuf was struggling to be alert and maintain focus, yet an inexplicable force was driving him into unconsciousness. He took extra sips from the sludgy coffee in front of him; the steamy vapor that rose from the mug could barely cut through the haze of sleepiness.
He could hear a distant noise calling his name, he tried to reply but the words seemed to circle in his mind but never reach his tongue. He felt a touch on his shoulder and spun around… it was Nadeen, the beautiful and angelic Nadeen.
“Yusuf” she said, “Are you all right? You don’t seem to be yourself today.”
Yusuf didn’t raise his head from the chart in front of him.
“Am fine, I’m just a little tired I guess… could not sleep well yesterday.”
Nadeen trying to see into his eyes suggested:
“Maybe you should take the rest of the day off and sleep at home? I’ve never seen you this way.”
“No!” He snapped involuntarily.
“Ok...! As you wish…!” She retreated with a surprised look.
Yusuf’s day was far from a productive one. He couldn’t remember how he had reached home that day; all he remembered was that he was standing around with a piece of paper in his hand, which he had carried home with him. He placed it beside his bed before collapsing into a deep slumber.
The scene this time was in a boundless garden bursting with flowers. The man had a peaceful smile on his face. “I am still amazed by your imagination, everyday something new. I’m actually enjoying my time in your dreams.”
Yusuf could not speak, as if something was forcing his mouth shut. The man continued:
“I know that you are confused, but I’m sure you will eventually understand what I want from you is simple. I want you to write down everything I say when you wake up, we will make sure that your memory will serve you to do that. Once we are done I want you to publish it as a book, a novel if you wish to call that. That piece of paper beside you is not enough you will need to have more than one piece of paper. I don’t have a lot of time so we need to start immediately.”
Yusuf appeared to have no option other than to comply with the man’s wishes. He opened his eyes; he didn’t sleep much but had regained his consciousness. Realizing that he is still wearing his suit, he went out to the nearest stationary store, and stood by a variety of notebooks. He finally picked up one with a grey cover and made his way back home, changed his clothes and kept the notebook on the right side table beside his bed.
He didn’t speak a word for the rest of the day; a mixed feeling of excitement and anxiety prevented his mind from functioning well. He went back to bed early that day but couldn’t sleep. Lying on his back with a remote look, a sudden sense of despair clouded over him. ‘Am I going to die?’ he thought. The question made his heart tremble, and the rapid beats seemed to echo throughout the darkness of the room, rising to a crescendo. He felt the heaviness of the air as it went through his lungs. He felt the mass of captive emotions inside of him, all of the sudden, he wept loudly – the tears streaming rapidly down his flushed cheeks. The heavy feeling on his chest started to go away with the sound of his cries, but the room seemed to contract around him as he inhaled his last sobs. His eyes closed, as his cries transferred his mind to a more relaxed but unconscious state. The dream started;
“You are back and you are all set I can see,” the man intoned. “It is time to begin.”
A magician is a person who knows what cards we are holding, but makes us think that he doesn’t know.
Night 1
Here I am...in my 70s, ready to leave this world full of pride with my achievements...All set, all in place...as if the whole universe was thanking me for what I’ve done...
I’m free to go and be ready to face my next journey.... only one question keeps disturbing my contentment...
Should I keep the secret and die with it? Or should I reveal it....? If I do decide to divulge it... than to whom?
We have changed the path of human kind… changed the principle of living… and made this life a blessing as it was made to be. We led the movement of humanization… a change from the animal form of smart creatures, derived by greed and selfishness to humans who live in justice and harmony. Changed the path of civilization to develop a heaven on earth and remove all the sources of pain and disorder to a clear course of life.
How worthless is this body, it is a shame that we realize that only at an old age. No matter how much you give on this earth, you will end up forgotten one day. Surely the appreciation of humans was never my aspiration. We did what we did not to get recognition from others but because we believed it is the right thing to be done. I did it to reach this exact moment of rest and satisfaction, this peaceful feeling that I have done my part in this world. Life here is not the end, it is the start.
I’m getting a strange feeling, as I’m writing these words. As if I have written this before, or read it somewhere…
Oh my God it is that book…
It is I, could it be…?
How is this so…?!
After Night 1
Yusuf woke up early and fresh. He rose from his bed and from his front porch; he could see the darkness of the night slipping away as the early morning rays began to shine through. The morning breeze hushed past the palm fronds in front of the house, and the birds tweeted and bounced around the branches. He was not afraid and could remember everything in his dream as he started writing it down in his notebook.
He kissed his mother’s forehead before he found his way to the door. He opened the door, and pulled in the air until his lungs were full. “It’s a beautiful day,” he said to himself. At work he made an extra effort to compensate for the day before. He also made sure to buy angelic Nadeen a chocolate bar as an apology for his attitude.
This new experience all of sudden seemed to bring joy to his life… a change or a hope that he was waiting for.
With this enthusiasm Yusuf continued writing in the coming nights.
Night 2
It all started with me at a very young age, I was in a favorable social position I believe. My father was rich and he made it clear to me “Son, you don’t need to worry about money; I’ve made sure there’s plenty for you. You have a privilege that I didn’t have, the chance to explore life to its fullest and to be able to go forth and gain knowledge without financial worries.”
Whenever I picture him now, I see him sitting in an armchair in his small library with his eyeglasses sliding on his sharp nose as he flipped through his newly bought book. He immediately would be alerted to my presence and would turn towards me, and fix his eyeglasses to their original position. He would give me a solemn look, then a smile and a wave me in with his hand. “Son come here, let me tell you about what I’m reading, it is interesting” and he would go on talking and explaining to me in a very simple and engaging way what the book was about. When I was a boy I was eager to read the books in his library. It was a modest collection that seemed to me that they held the secrets of the world. I was only six years old when he gave his permission to read my first book. He advised me to “...start with these simple stories my son, and I will only give you this advice. Don’t take anything for granted! These books are written by people like you and me, and there is nothing perfect...” ‘At that age I did not understand what he meant, but eventually as I grew, the meaning of his words began to become clear.’
Unlike other rich people, my father made sure I grew up with a clear awareness of the world and people around me. He had a tough life, and what he accomplished was through years of hard work and patience. Once he told me, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life, but these mistakes shaped the man I am today. Everyone makes mistakes, but only a few learn from their mistakes and evolve into a better person”.
He tried to teach me everything he knew about living and dealing with people, but he believed that teaching life is not enough for a person to learn, he wanted me to experience living in different setups and places to learn as much as possible. He used to say, “To learn you need to live in everybody’s shoes, you need to be rich, you need to be poor, you need to be sad, you need to be cool.” He used to put these words in a rhythm that still echoed in my head whenever I remember him.
In my studies abroad he never gave me more than I needed, unless he knew that I learnt the lesson. At the age of eighteen he made me work in fast food restaurants and cafes to earn my living, and when I learned from the experience he would put a new challenge ahead. One time he sent me a credit card with twenty thousand dollars limit while I was doing my studies abroad. He said that the card is valid for 1 month only, so spend it, but you are not allowed to withdraw cash from it. He had his crazy way of thinking, but at the end this is what made me who I am.
I must admit, I never completely understood many of my father’s decisions, but at the age of thirty, I was a person with a broad range of abilities and experience. I have worked in ten different places, from a waiter to a manager in one of my father’s companies. I have even worked as a taxi driver for three months, a job that has opened a whole new learning experience about peoples’ attitudes and patterns of thinking. When I was a taxi driver my father imparted to me “…choose a simple subject that you think you understand very well and ask each passenger their opinion of it”. At the beginning I didn’t understand the reason for his advice, but when I did it I started to realize what he was aiming at. Every passenger gave me a different opinion with thorough justification that seemed to be logical. Some had a very persuasive style, even though they were mistaken concerning the truth. I started to have fun and every day I used to have a new subject, one day about relationships, next day about politics and so on. I started to realize that there was no clear answer or common understanding among people for many of the things that are going around them. They seemed to be very confused and distracted to me. I actually started repeating the same questions to some of my regular passengers, and I found that most of them give a different opinion on the same subject each time you ask them.
Other than the working experience I had earned a degree in psychiatry, a Bachelor in Chemistry, and took many extensive courses in business and finance. I have loved and have been loved… some relations had a profound effect on my life and lasted for a long time, while others failed to even begin. I have volunteered in charity works more than any person can do in a lifetime. I had friends from all social classes and cultures. I have visited most of the countries of the world, not for the purpose of tourism, but rather for exploration. I did so because I believed my father’s words: “If you want to understand life, you need to see it from every angle, from the eyes of every person”. I was determined to understand it, and it became my goal.
He died when I was twenty eight. His last words were “We meet again my son, and when we meet I want you to tell me all the things that you have done when I was away, make me proud”. Even after his death I didn’t have the worry of doing his work, he made sure that nothing was changed for me and I could pursue my future dreams without restraints.
Night 3
Why are we here? Is there a bigger picture that we are missing? Why is life not fair?” Many questions that pop in peoples’ minds, especially those whom have a broader pattern of thinking. Some just took things for granted and were convinced with the answers given by different ideologies in the world. Some even tried to create new ideologies and convince people to follow them, while others just felt lost.
Although the questions about human existence crossed my mind, I accepted the fact that these questions were not meant to be answered. All answers given were based on assumptions, which I had no intention to argue with.
Being raised in a religious family in the Middle East I believed in God, but not with all the human fabrications related to it. I believed that God brought us to this world and blessed us with all the needs to live happily. For me this explanation was enough to live and interact positively with others, no matter what background they had.
My positive outlook however, was not enough. Negativity and misery were all around. First I thought it was poverty, but then I realized that many of those who were rich were not as happy as they should be, while others that were poor still seemed to be living a happy existence. Was it love I thought? Was that what was missing? Even love seemed far too complicated and it only existed in movies, while living examples didn’t seem to last or succeed. Examples were full of broken hearts, wrong choices and misery.
I realized that our societies were nothing but an aberration, which distorted the purpose of our existence. Poisoned brains with misconceptions and a perception that made them unhappy. Ironically this system was made with humans’ own hands. Humans built a system that made them miserable then they blamed God for being unjust.
I believed that change was needed, but on a larger scale. People did not have control over their lives. They were lost in the complexities of systems that drowned them into a ceaseless cycle of needs. They were passengers in a train that was hurtling human kind to an unknown destiny, adulterated by fantasies and fiction. They were slaves of the so-called modern civilization.
The failure of the system was evident in the unsettled nature of individuals. They were like energy cells, which have been utilized in creating rewards for others. I believed that the overall economic and social system was praising the wrong people, the ones whom were more selfish than caring and who had worsened the situation.
Many may agree or disagree with these observations that I’ve assessed about the world, but armed with these beliefs; my journey of changing began and altered the landscape of the Earth.
Before Night 4
Yusuf was sitting on his bed, reading through what he had written in the previous nights. Trying to understand what the man in his dreams was trying to say, and what he had actually meant. ‘Was he human? Was he from this world? Where was this going and how would it end?’ So many questions that he wanted to ask, but he could not. When the dream starts, he was unable to speak, as if his mouth was forced to stay closed. He decided to try harder that night and speak. He has the right to understand what is going on, after all if he is going to transfer this message he needed to believe in it.
The scene was on a mountain crest this time. He was alone sitting on top of something very similar to a cliff. When he looked down all that he could see were clouds. It was dark and the moon and the twinkling stars glowed faintly in the velvet sky. The view was astonishing, with a cold breeze that seemed to enter his lungs that felt like it was cleansing his chest. The voice of the man preceded his appearance.
“You will have the chance to ask, when the time comes,” he said, “but now it is time to listen and write.”
Night 4
In my travels, I have noticed that people who have been living in a somewhat conservative environment that was less affected by modernization tended to be happier and more content than those who have been integrated into the so-called civilized world. My observation was not logical back then. How is it that technology that was made to help humans somehow makes them unsettled? How is it that a society that is developed to satisfy people’s needs would make them miserable? My interest in human psychology had pushed me to explore, and to try to find an alternative system that would guarantee both happiness as well as the development of the human species.
I decided to dedicate my life in finding this alternative way of living. Deep inside me, I believed that it existed somewhere. I believed that this system of living is nothing that I should invent, but something I should search for. Most of all, I believed I could find it.
I started putting the bits and pieces together by analyzing the behavioral patterns of how people are being affected. I have started developing an ideology through reading and research, creating notes and performing experiments in my clinic. I was not alone, I managed to gather reinforcements throughout my journey, and eventually an organization that started by one person’s patience became a one of the strongest controlling bodies in the world.
It was almost at the age of 35 when we established the first version of what we believed to be a perfect system back then, a version that was continually modified as the days passed by.
We believed in our work so much that I decided to bring it to life, not through publishing, but through application. But the question was how to implement, how to make this system come to life? The existing system was too strong to demolish, its roots were too deep and entangled, proving very difficult to break. How can a small group change the life of billions? We had no idea back then, but we knew that we had to start from somewhere.
After Night 4
It was four o’clock in the morning when Yusuf woke up the next day. He stayed paralyzed in bed gazing at the ceiling for half an hour before he finally moved on to write his dream.
Normally it took a few minutes for him to record his thoughts on paper, but the flow was not as smooth as the previous night. An absurd thought came to him “What if he was the devil?” he thought. “These are certainly not divine words, humans could not enter and alter one’s dreams…it must be the devil then! Should I fight it?! Should I stop writing?”
He finally finished what he wrote, but didn’t go through it again as he was used to do. He could hear the distant sound of morning prayers. He jumped from his bed and washed to pray. After completing, he knelt and raised his palms before his face and pleaded;
“Oh God,
It is you whom I seek in the moments of despair, and you never let me down whenever I pray, so here I’m again confused and I’ve lost my way, blind from the signs set before…
Oh Lord,
I seek refuge from the evil that you created, you know what comes to my dreams, if it is the work of the devil then I plead to end it…
Oh Lord,
It is you the knower of all things, the doer of all things, with you lies the ultimate power… and me… the weak… the fragile… the ignorant… without your support I’m lost...
There is nothing that I know for sure in this life but you, so here I’m again before you on my knees, raising my hands with my prayers, and trusting your response.”
He wiped his face with his palms as he stood up. He went to the porch and caught a glimpse of the sun’s rays slowly breaking through the back of a scattered cloud. Realizing that it was time to go to work, he put his suit on, slipped his cell phone in his pocket and just before he left, his eyes caught the date on the calendar. It was Friday – how could he forget it was the weekend?
He took his clothes off and went back to bed to catch a few more hours of sleep. A couple of hours remained before the weekly family gathering. ‘A nap always help in settling the mind’, he thought.
… he was in a zoo, full of animals, but mostly birds… colorful sparrows, macaws, white pelicans … he could see them as he was walking through … there was a giant white owl sitting between them … at the back he could see cages with lions and bears… as he walked through he passed by two pink leopards with black spots… they were not in a cage but were blocking his way, he was worried that they would attack him if he would pass by them, but he didn’t stop… one of them made a move.. Yusuf kicked him away by his foot and the leopard went back to his original position…
… The zoo was not large and Yusuf reached the end of the path… he walked back the same path to go out… as he passed by the birds a sudden flow of music came to the air, and the birds started dancing… the white pelicans where moving their giant peaks left and right with the rhythm, the owl was moving his head in a circular move, the macaws where jumping up and down, at the back he could see the wild animals looking at him and dancing with the music… Yusuf took out his camera to snap the beautiful imagery… as he was trying to do so the colorful sparrows flew into his direction… one of them was not like the other sparrows... a strange colorful little bird… the colorful bird attacked his left eye, he grabbed the bird and tried to detach it…and managed so with difficulty…he did so but injured its right leg… he had the bird in his hands… he kept it on one side…but the bird reached around with its elastic neck and aggressively attacked Yusuf’s eyes with its beak… Yusuf avoided the attack and held the bird in his hands as he continued walking out of the zoo… he was worried about the bird and wanted to heal the poor aggressive creature… he was so close to reaching the door, when he felt his legs becoming light… a swarm of birds were holding Yusuf and were carrying him upwards, to the roof…
Yusuf leapt from his bed and exclaimed,
“…A man can’t even sleep peacefully nowadays!”
Before Night 5
Despite the internal conflict Yusuf had in the beginning of the day, he was not sure if he really wanted his dream to end. The contradiction within left him confused. “What if the man didn’t come tonight and everything stopped? Can I go back to my normal life as if nothing happened?’ he thought. Suddenly, Nadeen came into his mind. Although she had started working in his section only recently it seemed as if he knew her for ages. For some reason he could recall the color of her eyes, she had the most beautiful eyes, a never ending maze. Once he remembered she was talking to him and he was completely lost in her eyes, he didn’t have a clue what to answer when she asked him for his opinion about what she said.
‘It must be green’ he thought. ‘No its grey, I must tell her that she has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.’ He went on thinking about how he could tell her that, and what would be her response. He never was much an expert at flirting. He was always brave when he set plans on what he should do in his mind, but when it came to implementation his heartbeats would raise, his tongue would tremble and the words halted at the tip of his tongue. But he needed to be brave… he must be if he wants to express to Nadeen his feelings. He pictured her embarrassed after imparting his thoughts, smiling with her beautiful dimples, as if her cheeks were not pretty enough. With that image Yusuf fell asleep.
The man was in Yusuf’s room, sitting on his bed - Yusuf leapt as if he just sat on a pin and was propped up against the headboard.
“What are you doing here?” Yusuf was clearly shocked.
“Don’t worry, you are not awake, you are dreaming”, the man replied. “You seem to be distressed, and I thought that you would be more relaxed in your own room.”
“I did not expect to see you again to be honest. Oh that dream…! The zoo… what was that about?” Yusuf asked.
“I’m not sure what you are referring to, if you had a different dream than this one I have nothing to do with it.” The man continued...
“Yusuf, I need you to focus, your distraction is worrying me. We are only in the beginning of our journey.”
The man moved towards the porch and gazed to the swirling, starry sky and continued, “You may not like what I say, and it may not coincide with your thoughts and beliefs, but it doesn’t matter. I am not asking you to believe in what I say, but I just want you to transfer the message truthfully as you hear it from me. I am not asking too much, am I?”
“No, you are not, but the problem is that I have to believe in something to do it.”
“If you do so, then you will be transferring your thoughts not mine, correct?”
Yusuf paused for a moment, “I guess you are right.”
“It is going to be a long night tonight, we have to start.”
Night 5
As we are building blocks of events that changed the world, it is very important to note how we understood the human behavior when we started and then utilized this knowledge to change the world.
Back in 1996 Robert Birge a professor at Syracuse University estimated that the human brain capacity is between one to ten terabytes. His claim was based on calculating the number of neurons in the human brain. To have an idea of what this figure means, imagine that in the year 2010, if you wanted to record a high quality movie on a computer hard disk, it would take up around 0.7GB. Considering that 1 terabyte is equal to 1000GB, we could say that human brain can hold up to 14,000 movies. Although mathematically the calculation is correct, logically we know that human brain cannot be limited to 14,000 movies.
We have actually discovered that a human brain has the ability to record every moment in an individual’s life. Surprisingly it also has the ability to recall every event we have been through. Through a process that we called ‘reciting’, an individual could rebuild any event in his conscious even with details that he could not imagine he would remember. Going back to the movies example, if we want to measure the number of movies a human brain can hold, we can say for a 70 years old individual, and a brain activity of only 16 hours a day, an estimation of around 200,000 movies will be closer.
Nobody can ignore that there is a limit and Birge’s findings maybe very accurate in terms of computation of memory cells. However To make a complex notion simpler, we can say that the art of encoding and data compression makes storing huge amounts of information in a small space of memory possible, and this what makes our brains such an amazing storage machine. ‘Encoding’ is simply the process of transferring the information from one format to another and decoding is the process of retrieving the information to its original format. Our brains encode and decode data in an extraordinarily intelligent method, and it ensures that it converts huge volumes of data to a format that utilizes a small amount of the brain’s memory.
In proceeding years we could store those 700MB sized movies into 100MB of space with the same quality. However to watch these movies one should have the correct decoder. Although this is very close to the human brain storage capability of 200,000 movies assumed earlier, our studies revealed that the human brain capacity is even more, and the figure of 200,000 is an underestimation of the human brains capability.
Our research laboratories spent years trying to recover memories from human brains. The achievement and discoveries of our scientists during this process were amazing. Eventually they had managed to reconstruct the complete memories of an individual with images and sounds. However this was a tedious process and it took us years of operating with the subject. To achieve that, we had to guide the subject through remembering and reliving every moment of his life repeatedly. We could do that only through retrieving all the data into his conscious part of the brain, sometimes by directly triggering the events through words and sounds while other times we had to go through complicated hypnotism processes. This experiment has revealed some information and discoveries about humans that was beyond our explanation at that time, but it was the basis of building a new understanding of humans. Instead of answering questions and clearing doubts, we ended with a longer list of questions rather than answers. We realized that we had got it all wrong from the beginning.
Our scientists’ intentions were to build a device, very similar to a recording machine that can decode the information from brains storage areas in the brain directly, so that it will be a matter of an automated download process from the brain to the machine, but they could not. This machine could have saved a lot of time and effort, but it seemed almost impossible to decode data from the brains storage areas. The only workable method to record memories was through bringing them to the conscious layer of the brain through psychotherapy sessions.
Although the described process of recalling individuals’ memories seems to be easy, unfortunately it was not. The complexity comes from the way these memories are connected together. The data in our brains are stored and transmitted in units called neurons, and our brain contains around 100billion of these units. Each neuron can connect to 50,000 other neurons to create connections and links between data stored in them, so summing up to 100Billion multiplied by 50,000 connections. Imagine how complex that is? This makes isolating events in human brain a chaotic task.
The mystery in our brains goes beyond the capacity of data that it can hold and amount of memories it can save, to how these data and experiences are connected and analyzed. This helps us in making sound decisions and developing our life and eventually the society and world around us. However this sophisticated engine we have in our heads can either make us become smart creatures and live in harmony and happiness and help us develop Earth or make us confused, lost and living in chaos, which could eventually result in destroying our planet.
To understand this one must realize how the brain deals with data. Our brains are highly dependent on the way data are stored in them. Let us take a simple example, and assume that we can build a fresh brain. The brain belongs to an individual but we are able to control the data it receives. Assuming that the fresh brain is empty, the first piece of information put in the neurons was in a simple text format as follows: “Red is bad”. To simplify let’s assume that the brain would save the word ‘Red’ and the word ‘Bad’ and connect them together. Now if only these two pieces of data are stored in the brain then whenever the individual reads the word ‘Red’, unconsciously the brain will bring the word ‘Bad’ in the active memory, which is called the ‘cortex’. The word ‘Red’ and ‘Bad’ are not meant to mean anything by themselves if they were not linked to something visual or a feeling. Let us add one more piece of information; let’s say linking ‘Red’ to a visual color, a plain red ball. Now it will get a little more complicated. ‘Red’ will be associated with the color and a shape of a ball. Whenever the individual sees the color or the ball the brain would unconsciously bring the word ‘Red’ forward, but not necessarily the word ‘Bad’, since the neuron of the visual image is only connected to the word ‘Red’. The word ‘Bad’ would not be triggered unless we read the word Red. Note that I said read and not pronounce, as text is saved in a different way than sounds, and the word ‘Red’ was saved in a text format in the brain.
Now imagine the vast amounts of data and links in our brains, and how much information would be popped in our active brain just by walking through a familiar neighborhood. Of course we are not always aware of this data, or the feelings associated with it. Some feelings are intense, and many are too weak to be sensed; yet our body is conscious and reactive for all the inputs around us. Have you ever felt bad about something, or somebody, but don’t know why? It is just because that something had triggered the bad feeling hormones. This something can be an image, a sound, a scent, a taste or even a touch.
Let us do a small test to check the way the data in your brain is sorted and linked. Try answering these questions before proceeding to the next paragraph. What picture comes in your mind when you read “Einstein”? What is the first word that comes into your mind when you read the word “Einstein”? If you are familiar with this word then for sure you had an image of the famous scientist Einstein in your imagination, and probably the first word that pops up in your mind was clever, genius or probably messy hair. On the other hand if you are not familiar with this word, then nothing pops in your mind, instead you try to think about the meaning of this word and try to link it to other words that are close to it. Maybe Frankenstein!
The fact is that Einstein could be anybody, and it is only a word. However, this word managed to create an image and description in your mind didn’t it? If you have bad experiences associated with the word Einstein, then you would be feeling sad, bothered or uncomfortable by now.
It is your unconsciousness that holds all your memories and connections that triggered and brought up the information associated with the word Einstein. But the fact remains that it is this unconsciousness that makes the best artists and inventors. Do you really believe that the guitarist would be conscious to each string he strums, not at all, most of the time he will hear the music flow and his hands would follow the play unconsciously.
We have implemented a test for a group of talented guitarists. We have selected a song that they know how to play, and asked them to write down the chords in a piece of paper. Most of the musicians found difficulty in remembering the chords, and in many cases they had to imagine playing the song or start humming the melody to remember the chords. However when we gave them a guitar to play the song, they didn’t have difficulty in remembering the chords while playing.
The active part of the brain that brings data to our conscious mind is limited only to serial flow of data. For example you can either think or eat using your active brain, but if you are doing both activities, then one of them is using your unconsciousness; in other words you can focus only on one thing at a time.
Did you ever wonder why it is so hard to rub your tummy and pat your head, or draw a circle and a square simultaneously? That is because our active brain is limited to a certain flow of data only. Even if you can do the two activities simultaneously, then they are either cut into small samples of time, where each movement is done at a different time frame, or the movements are aligned so that a single command is sent to both hands. Or you can reach a level where the movements are fully controlled by your unconscious part of the brain.
Our unconscious brain can have unlimited access to the stream of information and data interlinks and give accurate analysis of these data in a glimpse. If this information have been saved and linked in a proper way, the unconscious part of the brain can make very accurate judgments and decisions in a record time. This explains the reason that sometimes our feelings are more accurate than our explanations or analysis for things. But the fact remains that this unconscious engine still remains a mystery to us.
Most people knowingly or unknowingly tend to ignore things that trigger bad or negative feelings in a process that is called selective memory. However selective memory although it helps ignore negative emotions, also blocks a lot of data that helps in taking proper decisions.
You may read the above and say it doesn’t make sense, that it is not the way you think, well that is because we are talking about something that you are not aware of most of the time. You are not aware most of the time of what was triggered in your brain as it appears in your behavior unconsciously.
Now let us go back to the example of the fresh brain, and save two images in the brain, the first image is a circle with the word “circle” written under it, and the second image is a rectangle with the word “circle” written under it.
Circle
Circle
Now what do you think would be the response of the person if you give him a pen and told him draw a circle (assume that he knows what the word draw means). He will be confused, on whether he should draw a circle or a rectangle. Wrong information and contradicting links in the brain become a source of confusion and would make the person fail in taking the correct decision. If the person is put under the pressure of force to draw a shape, he would breakdown, unless he is taught to try his luck and guess.
The simplified example of the circle and rectangle shows how an unhealthy environment can lead to confusion in humans’ brains. This explains why a person in a conservative society with a simple life and simple believes could be much happier than sophisticated people who live in modern societies with a lot of choices and data flowing into their brains.
Now let’s go through the below interesting experiment that we have done. This experiment confirms that people are happier given simple and limited choices.
We have opened a small cafeteria in a company that has a large number of employees. The cafeteria sells beverages and sandwiches for breakfast. At first we have put two choices of sandwiches: egg or cheese. The sales of egg sandwiches and cheese sandwiches were almost equivalent. Now we decided to increase the range of cheese to ten different types of cheese sandwiches, each with a different name. One could assume that the number of cheese sandwiches sold will be more as people are given a wider choice to select from. However the experiment showed that the number of egg sandwiches sold exceeded the total of cheese sandwiches sold. Also the overall sales have reduced, as people preferred bringing their own cheese sandwich from home than being tortured by the confusion of the wide variety. Now imagine the confusion you could live in a society where you have an endless set of choices, without clear guidance on what is the best choice.
In 2006 Geraldine Bedell wrote an article about what makes women happy. The article put forward a strong argument supported with data that proves that women nowadays have too many choices and that it killed their contentment.
One of the things that we believed at the beginning was the progressive pattern of knowledge building in human brains. We believed in the fact that we are not creators, we are rather good analyzers, we can mix the data stored in our brains and bring it out in a different format which may look like a creation, but it is not. We can only build on the data that is stored in our brains, and if there is no data stored, then we cannot create it from nothing.
This explained the progression cycle in human kind development. Starting from machinery to arts, we have been developed over years, and we were in one way or another progression of previous developments. For example when talking about land transportation it started by realizing that a heavy object could be moved easier if something round was placed under it and the object rolled over it. This idea must have been realized through an observation in the environment that triggered this image, for instance through a rolling snowball or a falling tree log. Then eventually it developed to a wheel, then a wagon, after that a bicycle and eventually cars. But we had to go through the cycle of progression; we could never invent bicycles before wheels, or a car before bicycles.
At this stage you must realize that the images that are stored in our brains and the way they are linked shape who we are and the way we think. Not only that, negative emotions can block a complete array of data that could be very useful for us. You should also realize the importance of building a healthy database in our brains and feeding it with consistent information.
Our ideology was based on this very fact, that our brains are complex storage areas of memories and experiences, and those memories makes us who we are, and if who we are is not good enough then the data that was fed in our brains are not good enough.
The family, society, school, media and all our surroundings have an important role in making us who we are. It is the main source of data in our brains.
We believed that if a person is unhappy it is mainly because of the information dumped in their brains. In the old world the information was so chaotic that made people confused and unsettled. News, movies, computers, books, schools, family, society, economy and other information dumping tools were all adding up to the humans’ misery. The system was designed to make us lose our identities as smart and loving creatures.
...Yusuf closed his eyes and raised his hands to the man to stop, when he opened his eyes he could only see his hands raised, but the man was not there. He was awake; he slapped himself to make sure of it. He felt the mass of information weighing heavily on his brain. He sprang up and started writing furiously.
Before Night 6
Yusuf spent the whole day searching on the internet for the facts the old man had told him on the previous nights. He searched for Robert Birge and Geraldine Bedell; the information given about them was accurate. He could not have made this up since he never heard about those people before. There was a part of him that believed those dreams were completely his own creation, that it was a hidden part of him that only got awakened in his dreams. However, these names that he never heard of before could not be his own creation. That man was from another world, he was sure of it now.
He felt insecure, carrying a burden beyond what he could bear. What was this man aiming for? Is it a revolution, but he was never a revolutionary type of man, he never believed in blood shedding, killings or wars, he believed there is no reason that justifies killing a human. Peace was always his motto. He felt that all the world’s problems could be solved by kindness and peace.
The scene this time was in a downtown area of a crowded city. Most of the people were wearing masks to avoid the pollution hanging in the air. Yusuf was sitting in a café on the street, periodically coughing and wheezing from the toxins hanging heavily in the air. He tried to talk to someone from the bustling crowd in the street, but nobody seemed to be aware he existed. The man materialized in front of him and exclaimed, “Let’s clean up this mess!” At that moment, Yusuf felt anxious and frightened, as if something unpleasant was about to happen.
The man grabbed his hand and sprang up and flew to the top of the tallest building in the town. It was quieter and the air was clearer. ‘Do you believe in Art?’ the man asked. Yusuf shocked with the irrelevancy of the question, he took a deep breath trying to think of a smart reply: “It depends on what do you mean by art”.
“It is a human feeling that is described in a beautiful format” the man answered.
“I like reading poetry” Yusuf answered.
“Good then, to make my point, in the beginning of each dream I will recite words that have been written and praised by people in your world, starting from tonight”.
“You keep saying my world and your world! Are you from a different world?”
“It is an evolution of your world, years ahead of you, and enough questions for today, we shall proceed”.
Night 6
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
***
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
***
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed---and gazed---but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
***
For oft, when on my couch I lie