A Day in the Life

Part of the "Quantum Shift" series.

"The multiverse (or meta-universe [metaverse]) is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them. The different universes within the multiverse are sometimes called parallel universes. The structure of the multiverse, the nature of each universe within it and the relationship between the various constituent universes, depend on the specific multiverse hypothesis considered."



"Trans-world identity
A metaphysical issue that crops up in multiverse schema that posit infinite identical copies of any given universe is that of the notion that there can be identical objects in different possible worlds. According to thecounterpart theory of David Lewis, the objects should be regarded as similar rather than identical."



A Day in the Life

The thunderheads, growling down
from the mountains,
put wings to his heels.
The alpine meadow was flat,
with no shelter, no haven.
Deafened by the roar,
he never saw the raw energy
that was his epitaph.

...wings to his heels.
He stopped, relieved to see the storm
pass to the south,
giving his valley a wide birth.
He stopped to drink at the stream,
then paused, puzzled by the rumble
of the flash flood that was his executioner.

...wings to his hooves,
as the slavering beast
halved the distance between them.
The cliffs loomed before him,
and he launched himself into the air,
embraced, and destroyed, by the red breakers
of an angry sea.

...wings to her fins,
as the sheer joy of her passage,
sped her home, through crystal depths,
to her family, pod, and students.
She was old, but others of her kind
lived long and productive years,
after their genetic duties were done.

...wings in his mind,
haunting him, and driving him to heights
of thought, of speculation,
of despair.
Thousands of feathers pounding
their insistence that he break,
and finally rest, covered with their down.

...wings of the rampaging god,
ravenous and eager to accept
the sacrifice of his body.
His tentacles writhed on the black stone alter,
as the fire god screamed acknowledgment.
Fear overcame pride, near the end,
but he did not flinch.

...wings of the seagulls,
gliding on updrafts above his hill.
The wind, from a bay bejewelled by autumn sun,
swept through his pines,
and moved the frost-stiffened grasses.
He sipped his coffee, smiled at the patient dog,
and thought of other realities,
        and peace.

The Observer Effect

“In physics, the term observer effect refers to changes that the act of observation will make on the phenomenon being observed. This is often the result of instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner. This effect can be observed in many domains of physics....
A common layman misuse of the term refers to quantum mechanics, where, if the outcome of an event has not been observed, it exists in a state of 'superposition', which is akin to being in all possible states at once. In the famous thought experiment known as Schrödinger's cat, the cat, in a closed box, is supposedly neither alive nor dead until observed. However, most quantum physicists, in resolving Schrödinger's seeming paradox, now understand that the acts of 'observation' and 'measurement' must also be defined in quantum terms before the question makes sense. From this point of view, there is no 'observer effect', only one vastly entangled quantum system.” –Wikipedia

The Observer Effect

We are taught,
from birth, to be aware
of our surroundings;
to be careful before crossing streets;
to beware of strangers bearing candy.

We are conditioned
to set our sights
on a distant horizon
where dawns success,
comfort, and satisfaction.

Our religions demand
we obey the Higher Voice,
made audible by those
who purport to speak for It:
the promise of eternity.

Yet as we age, our linear lives
seek direction;
our focus turns inward,
and our introspection changes us
in ways we could not have imagined.

By virtue of observing ourselves
we transform...
and finally began to understand
that Schrödinger's cat is not important:
it is the nature of the Box
that determines
who we are.

Bubbles in the Quantum Foam

"Quantum foam, also referred to as spacetime foam, is a concept in quantum mechanics, devised by John Wheeler in 1955. The foam is supposedly the foundations of the fabric of the universe, but it can also be used as a qualitative description of subatomic spacetime turbulence at extremely small distances of the order of the Planck length. At such small scales of time and space the uncertainty principle allows particles and energy to briefly come into existence, and then annihilate, without violating conservation laws. As the scale of time and space being discussed shrinks, the energy of the virtual particles increases. Since energy curves spacetime according to Einstein's theory of general relativity, this suggests that at sufficiently small scales the energy of the fluctuations would be large enough to cause significant departures from the smooth spacetime seen at larger scales, giving spacetime a "foamy" character. However, without a theory of quantum gravity it is impossible to be certain what spacetime would look like at these scales, since it is thought that existing theories do not give accurate predictions in this domain. However, observations of radiation from nearby quasars by Floyd Stecker of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., have placed strong limits on the possible violations of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity implied by the existence of quantum foam." – Wikipedia.

Bubbles in the Quantum Foam

Poverty. Borrowed tin plates
serving sparse meals.
Three stark rooms
sparingly furnished.

Explosion. No work.
Relocation,
youthful confusion,
resentment.

A new reality,
of alcoholics, and the mildly deranged:
fellow students in a new school
with a very different curriculum.

Mining camp fights,
where freedom
carries its own route
to oblivion.

Repeated relocation,
and imposed regimentation:
new skills, and travel thrills
in my own personal globe.

Planes, capital cities,
acquired graces
and horrid gaffes:
progression through confusion.

Discovery, in Sri Lanka,
of alternatives,
of freedoms linked
to grave responsibility.

Cobbled streets of Bucharest,
no hope, no direction,
no love. Lost,
then brilliant redemption.

High Commissioner’s table
in Delhi, with conversation
to soothe philosophical soul:
intellectual signposts to Dharma.

Tranquillity, on a hill
above the Atlantic,
with Cosmic wind in the pines,
enhancing Brahman’s Spark.

All slices of Being:
bubbles in the Quantum Foam,
unexpected, unexplained.
When is happening Now.