About project...

( ...or what is the Matrix? :)

This life of separateness may be compared to a dream, a phantasm, a bubble, a shadow,
a drop of dew, a flash of lightning and you should see it as such.  Buddha

Project “Life”, as almost everything in this world, consists of three layers: external, internal and secret. Which layer you choose to explore is entirely up to you.

External Layer

Don’t be afraid that your life will end some day
Be afraid that it will never begin. D. Newman

The external layer consists of six separate sections. Each section describes certain mental or inner states (you can call them whatever you like, it is just a matter of terminology). Each state one experiences has at it’s root a cause, and if the cause changes so does the state. In the end all states will pass, or more precisely, transform into new states (which have their own causes in turn).

Despite the fact that what one is experiencing is simply a state of mind, most people totally associate themselves with one of below mentioned six states and as a consequence never experience anything more than the external layer of life.

  1. Life as “Creativity” - The state in which a person fully expresses themselves and gives their life over to the creative process.

  2. Life as Mundane - (no comment)

  3. Life as Stress - Stress is a relatively new term, it only came into use in 1936. The section entitled "Overcoming Stress" is dedicated to this state, you can find some stress reduction techniques there.

  4. Life as Depression - Mass media refers to this state as the plague of the 21st century. Comparing depression to the plague (the most dreadful and virulent medieval disease) is not a figure of speech. At the moment you are reading these words millions of people around the world are suffering from depression. The section called "Overcoming Depression" discusses concrete methods of fighting depression.

  5. Death - In Western cultures this state is traditionally seen as opposed to Life. Here we view death not as the ultimate end of life but as one of the most important events in a person’s life. One day a state people call Life, simply transforms into a state people call Death.

6. lossofsoul – A state of inner self-destruction, which some cultures define as a loss of soul.

After reading this short summary you may think that this project is focused on the dark side of life and you would be right. Only people experiencing life as creativity can say that they are actually living, everybody else merely exists, or are even slowly dying. Project “Life” mirrors the reality of modern society, in which many people permanently live in states of depression and despair. Did you know that according to official statistics 1 million people kill themselves each year? Unofficially that number is closer to 4 million. You can easily find all sorts of data published by government institutions, but the suicide statistics are not as readily available or as accurate, perhaps because it spoils the image depicted by official institutional reports of a successful society.

Here are some of the layers of life visitors of this site are experiencing:

Internal layer

Look with your heart. There is much that can’t be seen with the eyes. A. Exupery

The internal layer doesn’t involve words. Words are mostly used to dissect life into isolated dualistic events and to label them with preconceived notions. And yet, you will find nothing but words on this site. That is because technology doesn’t yet exist that would allow for the direct sharing of feelings, emotions and perceptions. Perceptions and emotions are more fundamental than words. So don’t trust any words if they don’t resonate with your heart.

Children experience the internal layer of life, the layer of feelings and emotions, but as they grow up adults teach them to replace those feelings and emotions with judgement. Step by step our perception of and engagement with life shifts from the heart to the brain, but if you preserve connections with your inner child you can continue to experience both the internal and external layers of life. Your heart and mind will guide you equally.

It is a good idea to start exploring this site with the section that corresponds to your “layer” of life. If you see life positively then information found on the “lossofsoul” page won’t make much sense to you and if you start reading about depression you risk starting to feel some of its symptoms. I receive letters from site visitors confirming that this sometimes happens. On the other hand, mentioning to somebody in a state of deep depression that life can be perceived as creativity may be in vain and cause nothing but a bitter smile.

Internal = externa, so if you want to find something relevant to you, please choose the proper section which corresponds to your layer of life. This site is not just an informational portal, but a project about life and as such we are trying to follow life’s structure.

Secret layer

How to explain the beauty of the ocean to fish living in an aquarium? And how beautiful the ocean is!

When you reach this layer you realize that “Depression”, “Stress”, “Life”, “Death” are just words people agree to use to label different inner states. The meaning of these labels is determined by culture, religion and language among other causes, and is constantly changing. When you find yourself in one of these states you experience feelings and emotions that are rooted in certain causes, but others may experience that what is labelled as the same state differently, experiencing different feelings and emotions with different causes at their root.

On this layer causality and determinism simply disappear. You know that “Depression”, “Stress”, “Life”, “Death” are nothing but passing mental states and you can move through them without letting them consume you. You see actual life, not your mental models of life. But what is actual life? The answer to this question can’t be expressed in words (for they are of the external layer). Words will create another model. You can not feel the answer either, because this is not a layer of sensual perception (like the internal layer). The answer is simple - either you know it or you don’t, there are no other options.

The purpose

This project was created for the benefit of all sentient beings

Development

Initially, when this project was released in 2002 it was called “If you feel bad”. The project was focused on depression and methods to overcome it.

It was more of a compilation of diverse facts than original content. My mind was full of different preconceived notions and, what is even worse, I was unhappy and tense. You can still see traces of tension and unhappiness on some pages. It was more a “Proof of life” project than Project “Life” at the time.

But one day the most wonderful and important thing in my life happened. I came across the methods to become happy. A few years and hundreds of hours of meditation later a shining space opened to me and I learned what unconditional happiness is. It can’t be described in words but I will try nevertheless.

My wish to share this experience with you led to a second release of the project, so in 2006 the current version of Project “Life” appeared on the Internet. It is difficult to call what I am doing today “work”. There is not enough space for books or computers in the small room where I live, but my internal “Internet” is much bigger and much more interesting than the www. I just meditate, and everything that appears in my mind, later appears on the pages of this project expressed in words. Simple, right? When life and meditation had merged, this project turned into meditation as well. Many articles were re-written and there are still a lot of things to do, but this project is evolving and step by step comes closer to be worthy of its name - Project “Life”.

Responsibility

I take full responsibility for each and every word on these pages (including the ones with grammatical errors), but I can’t take any responsibility for the changes in your life (or lack thereof) triggered by this project. So, if you are not prepared to take responsibility for your own life, then project “Life” probably does not relate to your life, and is not for you.

Trust

Here you can be yourself. It doesn’t matter what people call you in real life. They can call you a rascal or a saint, good or bad, kind or angry – let them use these funny labels. There is no place for labels or judgements here. You will be accepted as you are, fully and completely. We will trust you and our trust is unconditional, it simply exists that way. But we do not expect trust from you. Trust is not something that you can demand, either it exists or it doesn’t. Ask yourself if you trust the words you are reading right now. Words by themselves are not very important, but feeling that you trust them is. So if you feel trust let’s continue, but if you don’t, then close this page because you are probably just wasting your time and neither of us wants that.

Music

After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. Aldous Huxley

You can find a “music note” symbol linked to a music file on every page of this project. This is not just background music. These pages are composed of words, but words are just that and as such are limited as to how much they can express. In actual conversations only 7% of messages are conveyed by words, 30% by tone and intonation and 60% by body language. So, how can you share your perception of life with somebody with just words? Life is not a word, but a feeling, and since technology that would allow for the direct sharing of feelings doesn’t yet exist, the next best option is music, which will guide you through all the diverse sections of this project.

The whole Music of the Project

Map

This project has a rather simple and logical structure but you will need some time to get used to it.
Using the map will facilitate your navigation of the site.

Thanks

I would like to thank Nataly Zhorova, Konstantin Cherkasov, Alexey Odegov, Alexander Arlancev, hedgehog Saveliy, Raven, Kate Mishina, Lion Tosha, Anna Vasenina, Valeriy Holodkov, Alexander Mintz. I’m very grateful to Tara and my parents. Special thanks to my lama Ole Nidal and all Buddhas.