We believe that electricity exists, because the electric company keeps sending us bills for it,  but we cannot figure out how it travels inside wires.

—Dave Barry, American humorist

Benjamin Franklin ran out in the electrical storm with a kite and a key in 1746.  Can you imagine his wife running after him saying “Come back in here, you crazy guy, you’ll catch your death out there!”

Franklin was a busy and intensely curious individual.  His natural interests led him to question whether lightning was a natural occurring electrical current.  Franklin is considered to be the first American physicist because he characterized two kinds of electric charge, which he named positive and negative.

Other inventors, Michael Faraday with the electric motor and generator, and Thomas Edison who of course invented the electric light bulb, were also interested in electric phenomena.  Edison invented the first light bulb in 1879 utilizing a carbon filament which burned for only 40 hours.   Just two years later, Edison used a bamboo filament and it the bulb burned for 1400 hours.

Franklin, Faraday and Edison were men who were curious about this amorphous element, light, and they studied light as did Einstein, Planck, Bohr, and Shockley.

The study of light has not just given us more time to stay up at night, but most recent inventions can be traced to this series of critical discoveries.   Fundamentally, light has changed humanity and our living conditions within and without.  The understanding of light, electrons and related physics has taken us from the dark ages into a whole new era.  Maybe even toward the famous Age of Aquarius.

It was only 100 years ago when we first got electric generation for industrial and home use.  Before that, water wheels were used as a primitive power source.  If you wanted electricity in your home in the early days, you had to have your own generator.

Before electricity heated and lit our homes we used kerosene lamps or candles, ice boxes or no refrigeration for our food, rooms (or caves) were warmed by coal or wood…  There was reading by candlelight or stories from the elders, singing and the study of the stars.  Time moved more slowly.  We were closer to nature, to the food we ate, the land.

But still, we understood plenty and invented more.  We had silence.  So, with that pressing silence we gazed at the stars, wondered at the sky, watched animals and horticulture.   We invented music, art, mythology.

We invented agriculture, astronomy, writing, navigation, mathematics, architecture, and science.  We searched deeply for the mysteries of the universe, of God and the origin of life.  The study of human existence led us to analyze morals and invent codes, religions and belief systems.

People watched the stars diligently and calculated the precession of the equinox and understood its mathematical precision.   They invented calendars and clocks to measure infinitesimally small increments of time because they felt it was deeply important.

There were mysteries to be solved and mystery schools for the initiates of deeper wisdom.  The wise ones thought it best to keep their universal secrets to themselves until they feel that mankind was ready for it.

There are still artifacts of ancient civilizations who call out to us that they were here.  Some believe that there were very advanced civilizations before the biblical flood who may have had much of the same or even better technologies than we have today.   It is hard to say, and even harder to prove when there are few traces left.

It is clear that even this antediluvian generation of mankind is older than the 5000 years of recorded history.  The cave paintings widespread in Eurasia date to 20,000 BC.  Agriculture in the fertile crescent dates to before 10,000 BC.  By 8700 BC they were metalworking in Mesopotamia.  And at 7000 BC we have discovered that people used cloth woven from flax.  In 5000 BC beer and bread were a mainstay of the diet in Egypt.  Archaeologists uncovered a stone paved street dating to 4000 BC.

The earliest use of clay bullae in Sumeria date to 3500 BC where we have found envelopes bearing marks corresponding to clay tokens inside. This is thought to be the precursor of the Sumerian writing system.  The earliest cuneiform markings representing words are traced to 3100 BC in Sumer, giving us the first language-based writing system. Sharpened reeds are used to mark clay tablets, which are then dried in ovens. While cumbersome, many survive today.  In Egypt, the earliest instances of hieroglyphic writing appear on slabs of slate in chapels and tombs dating to 3000 BC the same time rice was first cultivated in India.

In 2800 BC the Egyptians introduced the lunar calendar of 365 days.  The earliest known pyramid was built in 2640 BC, a step pyramid.   Ink is in use for writing in both Egypt and China by 2500 BC.  A shipyard in India was in use by 2400 BC.  Currency is used for trading by 2000 BC.

The earliest known samples of Chinese writing date to 1800 BC.  The Babylonians were using an early form of the abacus to count and keep track of numbers in 1800 BC.   By 1500 BC the water clock was used in Egypt, cementing the idea of consistent and linear time into human affairs.  In 1500 BC we find the earliest organization of the Vedas, an orally transmitted collection of sacred literature, chants and hymns in Asia and India.  The Chinese were using primitive books made of wood or bamboo strips bound together with cords by 1800 BC.  The earliest surviving Phoenician inscriptions, an early alphabet, probably the ancestor of the Greek alphabet date to 1800 BC.

1000 BC brings us the first pen used by Chinese calligraphers. In 750 BC. Brahmin, the ancestor of modern Indian writing systems springs up.  The first examples of Greek writing are found around 750 BC.  In 710 BC. the Egyptians invent the sundial as a means to keep time. A library was organized in Ninevah in 660 BC. marking the first systematically organized repository of written works anywhere, born in the Middle East. By 500 BC. the pre-Columbian civilizations are using paper, and have developed simple mathematical notations.

360 B.C.- Aristotle’s school, the Lyceum, becomes a center of philosophy but he ends up executed by the State for a sort of heresy.  Early Hebrew dates to 300 BC.  In 280 BC. the museum in Alexandria was founded by Ptolemy. The Library of Alexandria gradually became the most important center of gathered knowledge until the Renaissance.  The Julian calendar was perfected in 50 BC by lengthening the Egyptian solar calendar of 365 days to 365 1/2.

In 105 AD the Chinese developed a process for making paper which reaches Central Asia by 751 and Baghdad in 793. Paper is not introduced to Europe for another 1000 years. Parchment is developed in Asia Minor in 160 as a response to an embargo on exported papyrus from Egypt. The Mayans invent a system of hieroglyphics in 300.  The earliest “illustrated” Chinese scroll, the forerunner to the narrative type, are used to depict moral lessons in 350.  The Chinese develop block book printing by 500, carving the proofs for pages in wood.  The astrolab is developed in 550, reaching Europe from the Islamic world, and proves among the most versatile and important instruments. By 700 wood engraving is widespread in China.  Musical notation was first developed in Europe about 750.  830 sees the foundation of the Bayt al-Hikmah (House of Wisdom) in Baghdad, an academy which contains a library with a large collection of materials on a wide range of subjects. In China, the first printed book came out in 868, the Buddhist Diamond Sutra, and is produced using carved blocks of wood. Talmudic academies in Babylon and Palestine complete an authentic text of the Old Testament that synthesizes oral tradition.

In the next millenium, 1000, the French introduce a type of abacus, in which numbers are represented by stones bearing Arabic numerals.  By 1050, Europe introduces the system of Arabic numerals, which greatly facilitate mathematics and started the first University at Bologna, the oldest in Europe. The magnetic compass is in use in China and the Mediterranean by 1190.  The Inca are using the quipu, an elaborate accounting apparatus by 1200.  THe quipu consists of a long rope that carries a number of knotted cords representing units, tens, and hundreds.  Cartography begins with the Portolan chart in 1296 which plots coastlines in a way that will allow navigational distances to be measured by means of rhumb lines. The first recorded patent for an industrial invention is granted in 1421. Guttenberg produces the first printed bibles in 1455. The Mercator projection allows cartographers to plot navigational bearings as straight lines in 1569. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced in 1578 maintaining the coincidence of calendar and seasons

1600 -Galileo performed fundamental observations, experiments, and mathematical analyses in astronomy and physics; discovered mountains and craters on the moon, the phases of Venus, and the four largest satellites of Jupiter: Io, Europa, Callisto, and Ganymede 1608- A Dutch lens grinder Lippershey applies for a patent on the telescope. 1614- Scotland publishes the first table of logarithms, based on the principle that addition and subtraction are easier to compute than division and multiplication. 1627- Kepler establishes a schema of planetary positions later used for the tables calculating planetary orbits. 1675- The Greenwich Observatory is founded for navigational purposes to establish longitude by star positions. It is the first scientific institution established in England. 1687- Newton developed theories of gravitation and mechanics, and invented differential calculus

1710- John Locke publishes a Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge. 1765-  Semaphore towers, set ten miles apart, carry messages from Lille to Paris in two minutes using telescopes and flagbars. 1783–Flight in a hot air balloon. 1795- France adopts the metric system. 1798- Noah Webster undertakes the compilation of a book to be called A Dictionary of the American Language. It appears in 1828 in its final form as An American Dictionary of the English Language.

1804- France devises an automatic loom in which the woven pattern is controlled by punched cards. The locomotive becomes a phenomena creating cities out of nowhere. 1814- The Times of London is the first newspaper to begin printing newspapers on a steam powered flatbed press, which permits production of 5,000 copies an hour. 1820- The first commercial calculator, the arithmometer, is produced in France. 1822- Charles Babbage builds his difference engine, a computing machine based on finite differences. 1825- Joseph Henry performed extensive fundamental studies of electromagnetic phenomena and devised the first practical electric motor1826- Niepce produces the first permanent photograph from nature and Morey invents the internal combustion engine. In 1834 we got the early refrigerators. In 1837 Morse gave us the telegraph. 1830- English mathematician invents the first slide rule.  In 1849 we get the telephone.  And in 1873 Levi Strauss give us jeans.

Now about here comes electric generation and light in 1880.  After this, look at the explosion into the industrial age.  It is as if time itself has sped up.  We make more progress now than ever.  People’s lives are forever changed, hopefully for the better.  By 1888, Max Planck had formulated quantum theory and explained wavelength distribution of black body radiation.  In 1889 Daimler and Benz invented the automobile with a 1.5 horsepower gasoline powered internal combustion engine.

The 20th century was filled with drama, violence, change and progress. Just about the beginning of the century was when Albert Einstein explained Brownian motion and the photoelectric effect, then later he contributed to theory of atomic spectra and formulated theories of special and general relativity.  In 1903 the Wright Brothers took the first manned powered heavier than air flight.  Niels Bohr was given a Nobel prize for his contributions to understanding the nature of atoms, their nuclei and their physical and chemical structure in 1922.  His concept of complementarity shows how deeply the changes in the field of physics have fundamentally affected our scientific outlook.  The consequences of this change of attitude reach far beyond the scope of atomic physics and touch the whole spectrum of human knowledge. In 1928, we get antibiotics. In the 1930s were new materials like nylon and rayon. By 1940 William Shockley co-discovered the transistor.  From here we get the semiconductor and it produces radio, television, computers, high speed networking and instrumentation. 1953 starts the human biology explosion affecting medicine and pharmaceuticals when Francis Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA forever changing cell biology.  And the laser comes along in 1960, another derivative of the use of light.  Packet switching fuels the growth of communications in 1971 with the amazing Arpanet which later then becomes the commercial Internet by 1990.

And now we have all this stuff.  Miniature devices.  Cellular.  Microwave.  Xray.  Spectrometry.  Television captivates some. Social networks replace personal relationships.

Time speeds up.  We are so busy with our lives.  We can’t keep track of all of the inventions.  And we have practically destroyed our earth with pollution, greed and disregard for nature.  The world is still at war and poverty and suffering is all around us.  We are in some ways farther away from our natural roots than ever.  Are we advanced, or more primitive?  It is hard to say.

Now it is all rock and roll.   And it was all because of light.

People are like stained-glass windows. 
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, 
but when the darkness sets in, 
their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.
…

—Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, M.D. 1926-2004

Life is a precious gift.

Not a minute of our time can be wasted with useless activities or negative habits.  When we are lost in our youth, time seems endless and many squander time away in endless circles of unproductive action.   Then, one day, we are older…time seems more precious.  The days do not seem so endless anymore.  Where did the time go?

Life is complicated.

People come and go, stages of life are thrust in front of us, new challenges await us to be digested and conquered. Every situation and person we meet teaches us more about life and our self.

Some people play at life as if they are a victim of their emotions.  These emotions are below the surface, boiling and directing the unconscious actions of the individual.  Not thinking, these individuals hurt with their words, take without giving, act as if they are more important than everyone else and are selfish, needy and greedy.  They are not aware that anyone else exists. Or they live in constant pain and suffering which does not allow them the ability to look outside of themselves.

With a mindful state of consciousness we can snap the chains of the past that keep us imprisoned.  We can begin to see that we are in the state of wakeful dreaming.  That we have created our own prison.  That we are fighting invisible demons.

And from mindfulness we can move to a state of right actions, beginning to see outside of ourself to come to the aid of others.   The path of truth requires that you keep your word.  Impeccability.  Right action. Kindness to others. No lying or stealing or cheating.  Become a dream maker working on behalf of other people, never a dream breaker.

You can take the inner path.  This is the path of true riches and gold.

You must want to transform.  You must get acquainted with your true self.  We are living in a conscious universe where every element is aware of itself. Discover and live out of your true will.

We can become an Ippisimus; a person most in touch with his true self, free from limitations and living in perfect balance with the manifest universe.  Integrate your consciousness–unconscious, subconscious, conscious and superconscious minds into one.  The Buddha claimed that he had total recall of his many lives when he reached the state of enlightenment by integrating his consciousness.  By bringing out the divine spark  of light in us we can unite it with our conscious self for a deeper and richer human experience.

The levels of the human mind and consciousness are not distinct, separate and isolated….the superconscious mind is a product of the unification of the unconscious and conscious mind of the person.  The route is directly through the unconscious because that is the largest element and where the most energy remains for our use, dormant.  Transformation comes when everyday consciousness becomes aware of what lies below and is able to utilize the energy  and give it form, direction and meaning.

How to we get to the path of the transformed personality.  We have to look at the mask that we have created with our ego.  We have to see that that mask is not who we are.  We have to re-define our self image and values.  We have to define our SELF for ourself.   Who am I?   One way to do this is to write a personal constitution.  And then, become the person you aspire to be.

It is extremely common for people to wonder about the meaning of life when they reach middle age.  When people are young they are primarily concerned with finding victory over the basics of life–school, achieving success, finding a partner.  But once a level of success has been reached, then, sometimes we wonder about the value of it.  Hopefully, taking stock–who am I underneath this image, these possessions?  Today, many younger people are already on the path and asking these questions.  They want a sense of meaning and an inner essence.  And more and more people find that the way to answer these questions is to look inside, deep within our self.

The light of the unconscious mind beckons us to go within for the answers under the cover of the conscious mind.  By finding this center, we can slowly gain access to and release the light by following a process of self discovery and self awareness.

Every breath we take is filled with life, energy.  By understanding that every breath is a precious gift, we can begin to appreciate what this life is all about.  As I said earlier, there is not a minute to waste.

Every time you suppress some part of yourself or allow others to play you small, you are in essence ignoring the owner’s manual the creator gave you and destroying your design.

—Oprah Winfrey

Light is commonly used as a spiritual metaphor as many philosophical schools have developed theories that people are beings of light and that we are equipped with a tiny spark of light from a divine source.

Our inner light, or radiance, forms the core of our being. We seem to have an invisible relationship within our self that is a “quantum” relationship between matter and energy.  Between what we see and experience and a softer energy which we can describe as what we can feel.  “Vibes”.

All matter has its own vibrational frequency.  Everything.  Bacteria, sound, color, neurotransmitters, emotions.  Everything.   Einstein and other physicists clearly explain that matter and energy are synonymous.  Quantum theory is truly amazing.  Niels Bohr, the Danish physicist (1885-1962) was quoted to say that  “Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood it.

People are extremely sensitive transmitters and receivers and appear to be able to clearly feel the inner spirit or emotional state of other people.  And for that matter, one’s countenance is revealing of inner spirit.

Like the Beach Boys say, “Good, good good good vibrations”.   Or sometimes, not so good.

Love life. It is amazing. So deep, so rich. I am awestruck every day by the magnitude of what is on this earth. Do you know that they say that scientists have looked inward at the quantum world at the same level that we have perceived the cosmos? Everywhere we look is gorgeous grace. It is good.

The depth and complexity of this earth cannot be described in any other way but awe. Beauty. Delight. Interest. So many forks in the road to take. So many people to meet, every one a teacher.

We have our life and our work.

We bring our gifts to others though our work. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you are making a contribution. Work is not who we are, but what we do. More on this later.

Each day is a new beginning. A chance to change and flower again. A chance to erase our personal history. A time to make someone happy. A time to love.

Our purpose here is not necessarily the fulfillment of our work, but to move forward to achieve our highest human potential. And the further you go in achieving it, the more that will be revealed about what lies ahead. Much has been written about this topic.

By concentrating your focus on the positive, on what you want to achieve, how you want to perceive, you will be able to bring your personal energy to a higher level. Tune in to nature. Turn off your cellphone. Spend time with people you love and who love you. Pay attention to your friends and family. Listen to them. Give your love to them. Be patient.

As you look with eyes wide open, you may be able to perceive more clearly what is being said, and what goes unsaid that you can hear. Your awareness will grow. Your understanding will become grounded in a clearer reality not tainted by your personal judgements and attachments. Clarity. Perhaps a little closer to truth.

“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does all the work.”

—Mark Twain, American humorist

Lightning is such an incredible mystery. So intense. Science still does not appear to understand what role lightning plays in our environment. It is a lesson in science. An unpredictable force of nature.

Indeed, regularly, electrons drain to earth from luminous clouds above sending shockwaves in all direction. Evidently the charge starts inside a cloud and connect with an opposite charged element from earth.

A single bolt can unleash over 1,000,000,000 volts and 100,000 amps per discharge.

These bolts are hotter than our own sun measured at 30,000 C.

And they strike 16,000,000 times per year.

Flashes of lightning are known not only to connect with the earth, but also sprites that are 10 miles wide go 50 miles up into the atmosphere.

So the power unleashed is unbelievably huge.

The ancients were naturally awed by this natural phenomenom and the God Zeus was named as the ruler of lightning. Lightning is highly prized, known for power and speed.

Lightning, a form of energy and light, has the power to create a natural disaster, but is also awesome in its raw beauty. Just the observation of a lightning show creates humility in mankind.

Another whole type of meaning is that of lightness or the state of having little weight or force.

But who doesn’t want to feel a little less mass or density? Without a massive appearance…airy.

It can mean freedom from worry and trouble…unencumbered.

Or even the lack of appropriate seriousness or levity.

We often make “light” of a serious situation.

It might be good to make our burden lighter. That is a good deal of what I really want to talk about… How do we get “lighter” or “lighten up?”

In this context, light has new meaning, as energy again.

But fire also causes material to give out both light and heat, as well as to make luminous.

This causes light and radiance.

But it also can mean to descend. Like a butterfly can light on a flower.

Welcome to Lightworks.

We are all in this together. This amazing, wacky, wonderful world.

After a very long, very amusing and bumpy journey through this part of my life, I have ended up here. Creating Lightworks.

Lightworks is a new website that we will build together. Under construction now, this website will continue to form over time. Initial features will include a blog, a community, a newsletter, and a question and answer section.

There is a blog that I plan to use to set down certain philosophies and methodologies that might be useful to others. It is for me to record certain ideas and thoughts before they slip by. It is my intention to spend the rest of my life in the service of others as I can.

It is for us to work together in the community that we will build. A community that will naturally attract light.

The purpose of Lightworks is to explore the ways that we create the fabric of our lives. We will use practical examples that life throws at all of us. These examples of experience are coming from that vast electrical sea of the universe.

Our lives are so full, so busy. Perhaps it is a blessing, perhaps it is an enormous cosmic joke. Life keeps us so busy doing minutia that it becomes a distraction from our primary purpose in being on this earth. Have you ever felt that you have a purpose, a mission? What is keeping you from executing that plan? Are you doing everything you can be doing and should be doing to be the best person that you know how to be?

As babies, we are born so pure, we are totally aware, conscious, perceiving beings. That moment might be taken away as soon as that hospital technician slaps us on the bottom and we cry for the first time. Then, the business of life starts….learning the human way that we all have been taught.