A Mirror Cannot Reflect Itself - A Message from the Reflection

By Stephen T. McClard - Complete Article List

Have you ever thought about the fact that a mirror cannot reflect itself?  A mirror can only reflect other images within itself.  In this respect, we are like mirrors as we travel through life.  Important implications can be drawn from this simple idea if we consider our reflection in the mirror of reality.

For instance, you may assume that birds fly, but I assume they are flown.  You possibly assume that fish swim, but I say they are swum.  As I reflect on my own choices in life, I see that God is continually there pointing me in the correct direction.  I think I am walking.  In reality, I am being walked.  I think that I have a choice.  In reality, I only choose how easy or difficult the path will be as I follow God’s lead.  My only act of free will is the choice to believe God is capable of leading.

As I ponder this truth, I see that God seems to reveal Himself by allowing me to discover Him as I move through this fixed story.  This is revealed by the fact that the Bible accurately foretells the events of history before they happen.  We can easily reflect on this idea by examining a simple example:

Imagine the sun explodes and God tells us about it.  Assuming that the event has already happened, God has eight minutes to reveal the event before we notice.  Since light takes eight minutes to travel to the Earth, announcing this event before it happens to our perspective would be an easy assumption when considering basic physics.  Since all reality emanates from God as a primary cause, this unimaginable sequence of choreographed movement is only limited by my inability to comprehend.  For the one it emanates from, it’s a walk in the park of reality; a mere thought on a lazy day.

I arrogantly imagine that I have even the slightest impact on the sequence of these events.  In reality, I am merely riding the wave as a witness; a cog in the wheel of life.  My meager choices have little impact on the overall story God tells through reality.  Despite this fact, God paradoxically grants each soul walking the path of life a chance to add something of value to each life it touches.  This is amazing when the awareness of what has been offered is fully realized.  I am reminded of something Confucius said:

“I hear I forget.  I see I learn.  I do and I understand.”

The point of life is not the passing dream of reality I think I own, or what I perceive as gained or lost by me.  The point is my education along the way and the effects of my choices on others.  All that is written in the Bible is commentary on this understanding.  We could worry about the future, but the future is not in our hands.  We could worry about what is past, but God forgives our past by request.  We can obsess about our options, but God offers to lead us toward the best results if we only trust.  In reality, I am only a witness to His image within my own.  I have the ability to draw my past into the future as lessons learned.  God assists me each step of the way.

Assumptions of pride are a common mistake that many people make.  We often assume we are the judge of events in life when we are merely the witness of events, which are ultimately ordained by a higher power.  As a mirror of the story God tells, I may think that I reflect myself, but in reality, I reflect Him only.  My choices seem to be my own, but common sense would indicate otherwise.  How capable could I really be apart from consciousness, which is actually only on loan from God?

Can I choose to live forever?  Can I choose more talent?  Am I able to escape destiny?  When reality is narrowed down, the only real choice I possess is reduced to this:  I can choose to walk with God for my education and find the struggles of life rewarding, or I can walk alone as I travel through this life in toil and hardship.  Either way, God continues to walk with me.  He is faithful, even if I am not.  He offers His unmerited favor in the form of the grace, even when I am undeserving.

A mirror cannot reflect itself.  This is true for God and it is true for us.  God provides a way for our consciousness to see His reflection within the illusion of a created reality.  Apart from the two observers, no image would be seen.  If we are truly created in God’s image, then we are but a poor reflection of His ultimate Glory.  The point is to keep the mirror clean and aimed toward God in faith and adoration, appreciating this gift of vision.  

The Physics of God - Perspective on Reality from Science and Religion

Each of us possesses a vision of the reality around us.  Yours will differ from mine.  For myself, reality must be defined by both science and religion.  As man continues to learn more about each, our vision of God will continue to come into focus.  I hope you enjoy my perspective.  Feel free to share your own in the comment section.  This article represents my continuing search for understanding.  Enjoy!


By Stephen T. McClard - Complete Article List

The Universe and Heaven

As stated by Paul Dirac's relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation, our universe is parallel to another universe in opposite.  Our matter is anti-matter to this mirrored universe.  The event horizon between these two universes represents the projection point of both.  The BBC did a thought-provoking documentary on this subject.  

BBC Video  |  Article |  Article

Einstein made the observation that reality is seen as TIME, SPACE, MATTER and ENERGY.  Oddly enough, God said this several thousands years earlier in the first verse of the Bible.  The odds of this being an accident are staggering.  This alone should give us pause when considering the accuracy of God's word.    

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Genesis 1:1  

In the Beginning (Time), God created the heavens (Space) and the earth (Matter). Let there be light (Energy).

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Light is where it starts.  Light illuminates.  It brings enlightenment to the mind of man.  Light is fundamental to understanding God's plan and purpose for mankind.  In the field of physics, light can be seen as energy at high frequency.  As science tells us, the early universe was in a high state of order and low entropy.  From this understanding, we see God developing all other aspects of creation from this starting point.  Some say that God is an inadequate way to describe science.  I say that science is an inadequate way to describe God.  As you read, see if I am correct.


Reality is seen from many perspectives.  We see the defined elegance and synchronization of mathematics used to create the geometry of form.  Related to the mathematics of form, we can also understand that there are fixed laws governing the physics of our precisely tuned universe, allowing for the existence of life.  Additionally, we can easily see the inter-connectivity of all these processes bringing an unimaginable ballet of irreducible complexity and regularity.  If this were not enough to consider, we also see bio-mechanical life in a myriad of diverse forms and functions, each contributing to the benefit of the whole.  Our attempts to describe God's creation will be minimal to say the least.  Related Video  


The rest of this article will attempt to tie the ideas above into meaning and perspective according to the Bible.  I will attempt to keep to the point, saving the detail for the provided links.  Use the various links and videos to expand your view of my perspective. 


If our reality is designer made, then what process was used? 

Logos is a word that has many meanings related to creation.  The Logos of the Bible put reality into form as a story (John 1).  Logos is the master story teller according to one aspect of its definition, revealing the hidden God.  Read the Wiki for a complete understanding.  The Word (Logos) that was used to put the universe into motion permeates the universe as the laws that govern and bind it together.  God spoke and the universe was created.  Compare this to a programmer continuously programming as the software engages in the computer's back end processes.  

1 Colossians 1: 

¹⁵ The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 

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Matthew 18:18 
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 

According to the Bible, Heaven contains many dwelling places made specifically for us.  God prepares a new heavens and a new earth for us.  Could the parallel universe of Dirac's equation suggest that Heaven is a twin to our own reality?

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 

2 Peter 3:12  as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.

As I consider Dirac's equation, it is interesting to ponder the significance of matter and anti-matter.  The verses above seem to suggest a connection.  It is also interesting to consider the fact that we must be more than flesh and blood to survive in Heaven.  God says in the Bible that we cannot look upon Him without being consumed.  

1 Corinthians 15:  

50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 

Take a moment to consider this:  Think of your version of the laws that govern the universe.  Where do they originate?  How do we explain the irreducible complexity of it all in support of living matter?  How do we explain living matter?  How do we explain complex information in matter?  Is a designer necessary for this to exist?  Can evolution explain the complexity of creation?

As you ponder the governing laws of God in the universe, review the first few verses in Genesis again. 

In the Beginning (Time), God created the heavens (Space) and the earth (Matter). Let there be light (Energy). 

The spirit hovered over the waters.  The darkness was divided from the light.  These words in Genesis are just what we would expect as the universe cooled and the high state of order and low entropy begins to take shape for a new universe.

Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

We follow along in the creation story and see that God finishes His work on the universe and earth, then begins to focus His efforts on man.  As I ponder what this suggests, I realize something interesting about the word image in v. 27.  God created us in His image and 'in' the the image of Himself.  What should this suggest to us?  Have we overlooked something important and obvious here with these words in Genesis?

1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. 

If we face the truth given to us in the Bible, we realize that the universe is an artificial reality and we are artificial lifeforms to God's perspective.  To our perspective, this reality is real.  As the Bible suggests, we are inside His created image on the other side of His reality.  We are also made in His likeness.  Today is the only age in history when man possesses a metaphor for this type of Created reality.  Consider the screen that you are using to read these words.  It is an image.  I am in this image represented by something physical, with words that tell a story, and consciousness connecting me to you.  Save this thought away for later in the article. 


According to accepted science, we have particle and wave making up our substance, and we also have consciousness.  Let me explain this from the Bible's perspective of the image of God.  Before I get there, reread the verse above and notice how God carefully words this image idea from two perspectives. 

The Trinity

There are various schools of thought concerning the Trinity, but most people understand three persons make up one God.  I will add my own perspective as definitions to assist the rest of the article.  Realize one important fact:  What I show here is only one perspective of the many aspects of the three persons making up the Trinity of God.  Entire volumes of information could be written.  I present only a glimmer off the edge. 

Father - God / Light, both particle and wave (Matter from the Prima Materia). 

Son - Jesus/Word/Logos / Programming laws of creation. Light and Wave moving to form.  Revealing the hidden God.  Bringing salvation from the image.

Holy Spirit (Consciousness) 

If you are unfamiliar with the duality of light, do a small amount of research on how consciousness changes this duality of light from the standpoint of the observer.  Research the double slit experiment.  Here are two related links.  LINK | LINK 


Birth of Consciousness

We begin life with the spirit given by God in an unrefined state.  As we grow and understand, we have the opportunity to move closer toward God's ideal Holy Spirit.  This is God's plan for the development of sentience, as we are artificial to Him in our created state of flesh.  We are one person with the trinity making up our three parts.  We are particle and we are wave.  This is the matter that makes our bodies from God's Light (Prima Materia).  We are additionally seen as living matter since we also have the spirit that animates our matter and gives us consciousness.  


As we look at God, He is the same to us.  He is one person expressed in the three persons of the trinity, as represented in us and the material world.  God reflects to us and we reflect to God, as in a mirror.  


Seeing the Trinity in this light allows us to fix the problem created by Modalism and the Trinitarian viewpoint.  Various theologies have argued that there is a paradox between the two views.  As seen by my perspective, the paradox is resolved.  When we see clearly that one God, outside the material realm, creates by His three persons, we get the picture.  Both Modalism and the Trinitarian views are the same.  Not only is God in three persons, so are we. 

Why did God create a reality with conscious beings?

The simple answer is sentience.  To develop sentience, the LOGOS creates a story that we live in.  This gives us the opportunity to learn by doing.  We are placed in an environment with an adversary to overcome.  We fight for our education in many ways.  This develops our senses and emotions, refining us by the trials of necessity and ethics.

Confucius:  "I hear and I forget.  I see and I learn.  I do and I understand."

God doesn't just tell us the story, He allows us to live the story, as characters in the story.  We see the story through God's image.  He sees us through our manifest image as it reflects back to Him.  (Related Link)  He sees our every move and hears our every thought.  This is the work of the Holy Spirit (consciousness of God) and the LOGOS (Programmer of reality).  The programming is the Word of God, represented to us in our own Human form as Jesus (God in person).  His work on earth was an example of God's law, fulfilled in every aspect of creation.  This work allows man to experience the same by example and as a demonstration of love in action.  God has the benefit of seeing our own unique creations.  

John 1:  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

The Bible


The Word (Son of God) writes the story for us in three ways.  The Bible is the Word to men in written form.  It is also the blueprint for creation along with the law that governs it.  It is written in both allegory and literal verse so that we can understand as we learn.  The literal story matches the allegory since the characters of the story are us.  We are not so much walking on this earth as we are walked.  

See Hillel's Seven Rules for Rightly Dividing Truth.

Think about it.  What do we actually do apart from animated observation of the story from our consciousness?  If you look closely, you see that we are on autopilot.  Do you make your hair grow?  Do you activate the cones and rods in your eyes for sight?  Do you digest your food?  Do you make the sun shine or the earth warm?  Look close.  All functions of the human and his reality are produced by God.  Nothing is our choice apart from moving our vehicle (Body).  This allows us to create and to express our free will with words and actions.  All actions and words affect us and others.  All other actions to support this process are done by God, apart from our conscious effort. 

Think of it a different way.  God composes the symphony from beginning to end. We are the performers, able to produce our unique performance of the score that God provides. Like musicians, we can play out of tune at times, rush and play two loudly or softly. We can even choose disbelief, arrogantly refusing to play. The only way to achieve purpose, however, is to follow the notes God provides to our perspectives, with our own unique musicianship.

We also have the ability to create things that God could not anticipate. Mozart, Bach, the Movie Avatar and so on.  It's all a reflection of the story God tells.  Have you ever wondered why every movie seems to tell the same story of the good guy winning in the end by trials and struggles?  Isn't it obvious?  We are God's mirror.  The question is, what do we reflect back to Him about who we are becoming?  We know what God's story tells us.  What does our story tell God?  We are in His image.  We can create, just like Him. 



The Human Body and Consciousness


The body is the bio-mechanical suit that we wear to sense the story that the Logos tells as we develop.  The point of the story is to learn and discover how God accomplished this work of love.  We come to see the process through science and discovery.  This day and age is the first time in history that man has developed his own virtual realities within the image of the computer.  This metaphor of computer generated reality gives us a basic understanding of God's creation of an enormous universe of subtly perfected matter.  There are obvious differences by scale, but this comparison serves to illuminate our perspective enough to expand our awareness toward understanding. 


As I said earlier, God develops our sentience.  For sentience to fully develop, we must learn to value others and God in love.  Love is the key to unlocking the flaming sword that protects the next step, the tree of life.  The tree of life is protected as long as we show hatred to others.  Remember that God is one of the others.  We must come to value all life equally, as well as honor and protect it in truth.  Related Video

Genesis 3:24  After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Love is the point of it all.  For verification of this, read Luke 10.  As you read Luke 10, realize that the good Samaritan was an enemy of the Jew.  Jesus was telling the expert in the law that He must love his neighbors (even enemies).  God demonstrates this to us as His grace.  We do not merit His favor in any way.  His gift is the work that Jesus accomplished on earth to set us free from the story of this reality. 

Conclusion

This all sounds a bit crazy until you suddenly realize something:  The story we live every day is mirrored three ways.  Our consciousness is reflected in material form and in written word.  This is the trinity that provides us with daily proof that God is real and loves us deeply.  See yourself for what you are.  Look at your body closely.  You are a bio-mechanically engineered life which is loved by a Holy Creator.  You are not your body.  You are the consciousness that reside in the vehicle of the body.  God created you in love.

2 Corinthians 5 ¹For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
 ²For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
 ³If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
 ⁴For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
 ⁵Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
 ⁶Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
 ⁷(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Honor Him and His Word in the Spirit of Truth. 

We are now closer to being face to face with the God who created us in His mirror. The point of it all is LOVE. 

1 Corinthians 13  

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 

Remember this last bit of the story.  The oak tree is enfolded into the acorn.  If it gains union with the soil around it, it unfolds by design to become the mighty oak.  At our essence, we are the information of our designer.  We express this body by this essence to form.  The essence can be saved or lost.  As you look out across the ocean of reality, realize that you are only seeing the surface and the waves.  You must dive deep to see what is hidden in the depths.  


Feel free to comment.  Correct me if you see something that can be added or needs to be taken away.  God bless.


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