John Parker

“In both the mystical and the paranormal there seems to be a kind of direct knowing, not mediated by the usual routines of the intellect. In both a kind of shift of consciousness occurs, a kind of turning inward that reveals another world. In”
― Gary Lachman, Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of Colin Wilson

“I thought about Wheeler’s four questions and how we might answer them after everything we’d learned. It from bit? Yes, but each observer creates different its from the same bits, bits that are themselves observer-dependent and arise from the asymmetry wrought by a finite reference frame. A participatory universe? Participatory, yes; a universe, no. It was one participatory universe per reference frame, and you can only talk about one at a time. Why the quantum? Because reality is radically observer-dependent. Because observers are creating bits of information out of nothingness. Because there’s no way things “really are,” and you can’t employ descriptions that cross horizons. How come existence? Because existence is what nothing looks like from the inside.”
― Amanda Gefter, Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn: A Father, a Daughter, the Meaning of Nothing, and the Beginning of Everything

“Husserl—he’s one of the greats. His term noema refers to the thing as we experience it, the thing as structured by us.”
― Irvin D. Yalom, The Spinoza Problem

“In Laozi’s original, this verse begins: From one comes two, and this makes three, and thus ten thousand come to be. What do these numbers refer to? How should one interpret them? I base my interpretation on a line from the Great Commentary on the Yijing and another from Richard Wilhelm’s commentary to his 1910 translation of the Dao De Jing. One yin, one yang: this is Dao. (Great Commentary on the Yijing) By the coming forth of the One the Two is created; by the two joining the One the Three comes about. (Richard Wilhelm, p 73) These are the three terms: Dao, yin and yang. One is Dao, the single presence. Two are yin and yang, the complementary aspects of Dao. Three is the sum, the whole. Laozi goes on to locate yin and yang in our direct experience. Just what is the Dao? It is yin on my shoulders And yang in my arms. The three terms Dao, yin and yang are not metaphysical terms. They are not mere words or names. They are concrete, physical, and visible. You can literally point to them with a finger. To look in at the yin, point your finger to your own faceless awareness. To look out at the yang, point your finger to the world of appearances directly in front of you. See that nothing separates this yin and yang. They are two views of your presence, you life in the moment, two views of Dao. Can you see both ways and harmonize and balance the two views? It’s the Way to wholeness. 43.”
― Jim Clatfelter, Headless Tao