Solid Things Aren't Solid

Solid is an illusion. When you examine it up close, the concept has lots of holes in it.

 Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

John uploads these podcasts on a regular basis. So check back often to hear these podcasts heard around the world. Who wants to be the next person to change? 

Make sure to order a copy of John's new book: WISDOM OF THE GRASSHOPPER – 21 Days to Creativity. These mini-meditations take you inside where all your creative resources live. And you'll come out not only refreshed but recommitted to creating your future. 

It's only $16.95 and available at BLURB.COM at the link below. https://www.blurb.com/b/10239673-wisd...

Also, download John's FREE book INTER RUPTION: The Magic Key To Lasting Change. It's available at John's website  https://GrasshopperNotes.com

Transcript

Solid Things Aren’t Solid

“Solid as a rock” is an old expression. It’s also an old song. But the idea of solid itself? That might be more of an illusion—one that helps us sometimes and hurts us at others.

We get hurt when we bump into “solid” things. We get helped when we discover they may not be as solid as we think.

If scientists look at an object through a powerful electron microscope, its solidity pretty much disappears. A simpler version of this is what happens when you put a magnifying glass over an old newspaper photo. Up close, the image isn’t solid at all. It’s a bunch of dots . . . and space.

There’s even a theory that nothing is truly solid. I think Einstein flirted with that idea. It’s an assumption worth playing with—even if we can’t prove it yet.

Here’s my take: What if electrons, photons, quarks, and all the rest aren’t solid in any real sense? What if they’re more like shadows of energetic activity that only appear solid because of how we’re looking at them?

What if everything is really . . . nothing?

Now, everyone’s entitled to a wacky theory. Even Columbus's geography was once considered one.

So let’s pretend, just for a moment, that this idea is accurate. How would it help you?

Think about this: every man-made thing began as nothing more than an idea. There’s no microscope that can capture an idea—and my guess is there never will be. Yet out of that “nothing,” something shows up. It didn’t exist . . . and then it did.

The problem is, we treat the ideas in our heads as solid. We build useful things with them—but we also build walls. Walls of disconnection.

We decide that if something is this, it can’t be that. Our labels won’t allow it. But beneath those labels is a shared nothingness that makes “this” and “that” far more connected than we think.

Solid implies separation. If something is solid, it needs its own space. Two solid things can’t occupy the same space, so they stay isolated from one another.

And that’s exactly what we do as people.

We divide—and then we wonder why we feel conquered.

When we go looking for the solid things that make us different, we stop noticing the invisible things that make us the same. Our search criteria keep us apart.

Author Eckhart Tolle offers a blunt reminder. When someone says they have nothing in common with another person, he points out that in a matter of years . . . they’ll both be corpses.

Maybe it’s useful to arrive at that realization before you die.

That you came from nothing—and you’re returning to nothing.

When nothing is the only thing there is, connection becomes easier. There’s room for everything when we’re not so solid.

Solid ideas and rigid beliefs develop rigor mortis long before the body does. That stiffness doesn’t allow for flexibility, curiosity, or connection.

Solid is the Monroe Doctrine. Nothing is infinite law.

So here’s a little scientific homework that might help us all: Take a look inward. Use your own microscope. Start noticing how your idea of “solid” is filled with holes.

And the more holes you find, the more connections you’ll make.

You may even discover that you can make nothing out of something.

All the best,

John