There’s a major scientific problem that is harder to figure out then Einstein’s theory of relativity.
The problem question is, “What makes us conscious?”
Scientist have looked into every area of the brain they know all about the different parts of it. But they cant seem to find the power source for the mind and body. The idea of the how the mind really works is still murky and elusive.
The eastern traditions of Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism did rigorous meditation to investigate the mind. By doing so they unveiled how our minds connect to the universe, and how this universe runs through out our entire body.
This universal energy also became the foundation of the Healthcare systems of India, Tibet, and China.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb calls these types of events in science, history and the arts the “black swan theory.”
According Taleb before the discovery of Australia, we had no reason to believe swans could be any other color then white. Then one person witnessed a black swan, and all the sudden everyone believed in black swans. Taleb would classify things like the Theory of Relativity and the Internet as black swans. They come out of nowhere.
Albert Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Western Physicists are starting to form a scientific model around what these eastern traditions figured out thousands of years ago.
The world renowned physicist Neil deGrasse Tyson said, “When I look up at the night sky, and I know that, yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts, is that the Universe is in us.”
In the eastern traditions Consciousness is believed to be energy that is in union with the outside energy. In Hinduism the word “Yoga” means to “Yoke.” It a means to yoke with the outside energy source that runs the universe.
In Taoism, they use the word Tao to describe an outside energy field. The word “Te” means a piece of that outside energy trapped inside us.
The goal of a Taoist is to unite these two energy fields together to form a union. The Buddha described this energy field as emptiness; this emptiness field is believed to unite all living beings together.
In the Taoist traditions, they say that the root of life begins in the Navel also known as the “Dan Tien. In Hinduism, they call the energy in the abdomen the Manipura.
Here is a post from someone who has done well by reanidg The Black Swan. I am a newbie still learning and open to new strategies from others on this site, even from those who don’t agree with the premise. I sold all my shares after a desire to protect my 27% total portfolio gain (mostly luck) in 2007, but mainly after reanidg the Black Swan, which convinced me of the risk in the market using past history as a guide. I have been sitting 90% on government secured debt since, and escaped the recent downturn. Of the remaining 10%, half was put into biotech stocks over a 4 month period starting in January 2008. I purchased a flat equal amount of any listed non-penny stock that billed itself as using biotech to seriously pursue major cures (cancer, obesity, heart disease, etc.). That portfolio of over 100 stocks that was purchased mostly before the market crashed is down less than 5% (as of April 14, 2009). My goal here was to increase my exposure to positive black swans. There is no way of knowing which 2, 5, or 10 of theses companies will make major discoveries in the coming decade. But when they do, my assumption is they will swallow up a multiple of their number of similar companies from the same universe in order to keep the engine of research humming.I am gradually bleeding the other half (5% of my total portfolio) into way out-of-money options.These are small $300 bets on a huge up or downswing to a particular stock/industry/ or the total market. Most of these lottery tickets or insurance payments are destined to expire worthless. It has been fun watching some of these come close to breaking even, some even tripling in value before they break back down. My hope is to eventually make $5 to $50 per share on something that cost me 10 or 20 cents, thereby turning a $300 investment into something much larger. I didn’t get options and start trading them until late 2008, so I didn’t take advantage of the downturn in financials over the past year (rats!).Some examples of my $300 lottery tickets which expired worthless: Betting that oil would dramatically come back up or the economy would quickly improve by buying out of money calls on oil companies out 6 months.Betting that the market would drop further by buying puts on Disney out three months. I like using Disney to bet against the market, I think canceling a Disney cruise vacation is an easy thing to do when you lose your job. On the other hand, Disney makes lots of money on cheap entertainment (videos, etc) so I am looking for better ideas here as well.Current Bets, repeats of the above, plus:Jan 2011 Calls on prudent (non-toxic) mostly regional banks – I am betting that they will benefit from the coming inflation (once confidence returns). Banks earn much higher spreads during periods of high inflation.Jan 2010 Calls on Interoil, largest discovery of natural gas in many years in Papua New Guinea close to far-east markets (Australia, China, etc.). This is a unique story stock that may also play well into a general market recovery.I am posting here because I hope to get more ideas. You may not agree with the Black Swan/barbell approach. But if you have ideas like those above for lottery tickets , or insurance premiums to hedge against risk in a stock portfolio, I would be interested in discussing!Do you have any good tips/rules of thumb for purchasing way out-of-money options in order to protect or increase your portfolio?(Sorry for the long post, love your photograph!!!)