Inception

* SPOILER ALERT!! Read ahead if you have watched the movie, or don't intend to (but you should!) *

Everyone has an opinion about what happened at the end of the movie: Is Cobb (Leo DiCaprio) back in reality or is he still dreaming?

Perhaps the director Chris Nolan intentionally left it open, but I have a different way of thinking about the end which I find satisfying. So Cobb starts the top spinning but before he finds out if it would topple, he sees his kids and is overcome with joy. Notice that before, when he was in limbo, he refused to even look at the kids when Mal tells them to turn around. What changed?

I believe the crux lies in what he said to Mal right after that scene. He told the projection Mal that she is a faint shadow compared to the real Mal with her complexities and imperfections, a person he can never completely comprehend but he loves her with all his heart. In true love, he could tell the projections from the real persons. In true love, he would rather live with a broken heart, than be happy in a false imagined world. Happiness is just an emotion; joy that comes from acceptance is deeper.

Cobb has learned that reality is rooted in true love.

Because he loved his children more than he loves their projections, he was able to tell if his children are real. He does not need to depend on the totem anymore. If the movie ended with the totem falling, it completely denies the message that perhaps Chris Nolan was trying to send: that instruments cannot determine reality for us, for we will always find reasons to doubt them, but true love can.

There have been many movies that question the notion of reality: the Matrix, Momento, a Beautiful Mind, etc. I remember watching 'a Beautiful Mind' and feeling a deep chilling fear. I have often questioned if my world is real, because I dream a lot and my dreams feel very real to me. Sometimes, I even wake up from a dream to find myself in another. How do I know that at the end of the day, I'm not a brain in a jar in some laboratory? How do I know if the people around me are real and not my hallucinations?

I looked for a sense of reality within Mathematics, because it is objective. But my quest further confused me, because there are many abstract notions like imaginary numbers which have no 'physical' parallel. How do I know if everything else is just an abstract notion? What then is reality? What do I mean when I say there are 3 apples in front of me? What does it mean to add 2 apples to 3 apples? How can I trust the laws of arithmetic, or even if I accept it as an axiom, how can I trust the laws of logic? Later, I learned about Godel's Incompleteness Theorem, which says we can never know if the laws of logic are trustworthy. It demolished my world. There is nothing else to hold on to. Mathematics was my 'totem' and I could not even trust that any longer.

I remember the moment I met God in worship. Though I was singing songs on the outside, I felt the world fade away. I was alone with Him, and He held me in His arms. I couldn't sing anymore and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. He washed over me and completely filled my inner-most being. I felt full and completely myself. I knew He understood me, every aspect of who I am. I did not have to pretend to be anything else. The world was but a shadow, but Him, He was so real. He became to me, more real than anything I have ever experienced. He is the center of my reality, and He gave meaning and solidity to everything else around me. In Him is the definition of what is True and what is not. There are no contradictions within Him, He makes total sense.

He is Love, and reality is rooted in True Love.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." @Heb4:12-13

Oh My Dear

Oh My Dear (Tenth Avenue North)

I called you up, you were in bed
Could barely make out the words that you said
But you wanted to see me instead
So I got dressed
And I stepped out into the snow
And walked for a mile or so
Felt the rush of blood come from the cold, in my chest

Well you finally came to the door
And we talked for an hour or more
Until I asked if you would stay up till four
You said “that’s fine”
But you said “there’s something I have to say
And I can’t because I’m just so afraid”
And so I held you as you started to shake, that night

Oh my dear
I will wait for you
Grace tonight, will pull us through
Until the tears have left your eyes
Until the fear can sleep at night
Until the demons that you’re scared of, disappear inside
Until this guilt begins to crack
And the weight falls from your back
Oh my dear
I’ll keep you in my arms tonight

You slowly lifted your head from your hands
You said “I just don’t think that you’ll understand
You’ll never look at me that way again, if you knew what I did”
And so your tears fell and melted the snow
You told me secrets nobody had known
Oh, but I never loved you more even though now I knew what you did

Oh my dear
I will wait for you
And grace tonight, will pull us through
Yeah, oh my dear, I will wait for you
And grace tonight will pull us through
Until the tears have left your eyes
Until the fears can sleep at night
Until the demons that you’re scared of, disappear inside
Until this guilt begins to crack
And the weight falls from your back
Oh my dear
I’ll keep you in my arms...

Till the tears have left your eyes
Until the fears can sleep at night
Until the demons that you’re scared of, have disappeared inside
Until this guilt begins to crack
And the weight falls from your back
Well, oh my dear
I’ll keep you in my arms tonight
I'll keep you in my arms tonight

Proactive vs Reactive

From "Boundaries'' (Cloud and Townsend), Pg 95:

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Many of us have known people who, after years of being passive and compliant, suddenly go ballistic, and we wonder what happened. We blame it on the counselor they are seeing or the company they've been keeping.

In reality, they have been complying for years, and their pent-up rage explodes. This reactive phase of boundary creation is helpful, especially for victims. They need to get out of the powerless, victimized place in which they may have been forced by physical and sexual abuse, or by emotional blackmail and manipulation. We should herald their emancipation.

But when is enough enough? Reaction phases are necessary but not sufficient for the establishment of boundaries. It is crucial for the two-year-old to throw peas at Mommy, but to continue that until forty-three is too much. It is crucial for victims of abuse to feel the rage and hatred of being powerless, but to be screaming "victim rights'' for the rest of their lives is being stuck in a "victim mentality.''

Emotionally, the reactive stance brings diminishing returns. You must react to find your boundaries, but having found them, you must "not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature... . If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other'' (Gal5:13,15). Eventually, you must rejoin the human race you have reacted to, and establish connections as equals, loving your neighbor as yourself.

This is the beginning of the establishment of proactive, instead of reactive, boundaries. This is where you are able to use the freedom you gained through reacting to love, enjoy, and serve one another. Proactive people show you what they love, what they want, what they purpose, and what they stand for. These people are very different from those who are known by what they hate, what they don't like, what they stand against, and what they will not do.

While reactive people are primarily known by their "against'' stances, proactice people do not demand rights, they live them. Power is not something you demand or deserve, it is something you express. The ultimate expression of power is love; it is the ability not to express power, but to restrain it. Proactive people are able to "die to self'' and not "return evil for evil.'' They have gotten past the reactive stance of the law and are able to love and not react.

Listen to Jesus compare the reactive person who is still controlled by the law and others with the free person: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also'' (Matt5:38-39).

Do not try to get to freedom without owning your reactive period and feelings. You do not need to act this out, but you do need to express the feelings. You need to practice and gain assertiveness. You need to get far enough away from abusive people to be able to fence your property against further invasion. And then you need to own the treasures you find in your soul.

But, do not stay there. Spiritual adulthood has higher goals than "finding yourself.'' A reactive stage is a stage, not an identity. It is necessary, but not sufficient.

=====

SR5: Miracles

How do we observe God? It depends on our definition of Him. I like to think of Him as a Person who exists outside the framework of this universe, that is interested in interacting with us. If He is not interested in interacting with us, what is the point of observing Him?

The word 'miracle' is synonymous with observing God. Wikipedia defines it as "an unexpected event attributed to divine intervention.'' We can break down this definition into two parts. Firstly, miracles are improbable events. Secondly, they occur seemingly with purpose. This second part is important. For instance, if we flip a fair coin a thousand times and it always lands on its edge, that's amazing but it says nothing about God. However, the story changes if we were doing it to save our lives.

I used to think that God had to break the laws of physics to create a miracle. I was troubled because it seemed to contradict His nature. For instance, even with the Law of Moses, Jesus said that he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matt 5:17). How then can miracles happen?

One day, while on a ski lift, it suddenly occurred to me. Quantum mechanics provides the answer. How did Philip teleport from one place to another (Acts 8:39)? I've heard a similar phenomenon described in science textbooks: a particle can tunnel from one place to another through high energy barriers because of wave-particle duality. Thus, teleportation occurs when every particle in the object tunnels to another exact same place at the exact same moment. The improbability of such an event grows exponentially with the number of particles, but it is certainly not impossible! So God creates miracles without breaking the laws of physics. And through these improbable events, God hopes to get our attention. If only we were listening (Mark 4:12).

If God wanted to us to observe Him, why didn't He just speak out of the clouds, or reveal Himself in person? I believe He already has! (John 12:29, John 14:11) God continues to do many miracles today (my testimony is one example), but the single most amazing miracle in history is Jesus' resurrection from the cross.

In terms of improbability, it is the first time death was defeated, and Jesus received a new body (i.e. a new kind of matter) that can never be destroyed. Other people like Enoch, Elijah and Lazarus had either avoided death or been brought back from death, but they did not receive a new body. Jesus is called the first-born from the dead (Rev 1:5), because all of creation will be remade like his body (Rev 21:3-5). I believe the laws of physics governing this new creation does not include the law of entropy. In terms of purpose, Jesus' resurrection fulfilled all the purposes of God. He paid for our sins, bought us our blessings and proved God's love for us to us. Most of all, the veil was torn and our relationship with God was restored. Anyone serious about investigating the reality of God will have to examine the validity of this one controversial historical event.

Next up, Godel's Incompleteness Theorem!

[To be continued...]


UPDATE:

I decided to keep a list of miracles that are happening today. Of course, there have been many, too numerous to count! But not all of them were recorded online. Here are a few. If you have seen any, or have any stories of your own, do post them as comments!

1. My own testimony
2. Mathematical miracles
3. The Heavenly Man, by Brother Yun (miracles of a christian under persecution)
4. Visions Beyond The Veil, by H. A. Baker (poor orphan kids in china getting supernatural visions)
5. Remarkable Miracles, by G. C. Bevington (an autobiography, one of my favorite books)
6. There is Always Enough, by Rolland and Heidi Baker (food multiplication!)
7. Healed of cancer, met Jesus in person
8. Healed of mental illness and of lung disease
9. African blind man healed 
10. Healing testimonies from Bethel Church
11. Miracles and angels (check out the entry 'scott's angel')
12. Angel singing recorded (listen at 2:00 and 5:00, but first check out the story)

Simplicity in Relationships

I want to share an entry in my journal where God touched me deeply. It happened during a very difficult time in my relationship with a friend and brother of mine. I decided not to share this entry until now to protect the identity of my friend. Since then, we've become even closer than ever, and I'm sure he is okay with me sharing this. To my friends: in case you're wondering if it is you, it's not. If it is you, you would know, because I've shared the stuff below with you before. In any case, this blog is really more about the nature of people and the nature of relationships.

I was having a difficult time with my brother because through the friendship, I realized that we were very different. Even some of our core beliefs were different. I knew that he loved God deeply, and so did I, and I knew God called us to be brothers for a reason. But I felt like God made a wrong choice here. Perhaps we were only meant to be acquaintances. Here are some of the things God said in response:

"maybe he just needs someone to believe in him. he is like all of us, and like you."

"people are not one dimensional. there are the issues, and there are the deeper revelations, and then there is the person, the seed."

"we call out the person. so that the person can access the revelation and use it to overcome the issues. but the issues and the revelation do not define the person."

From this, I understood that there are people we dislike or even pity because of the problems in their lives. And likewise, there are people we revere because of the incredible revelation that they hold. But neither the issues or the revelation make up who the person really is.

How do we comfort, encourage and strengthen others? It is not just about giving revelation. Often, God has already given the person the revelation. We come along side, and see him as the overcomer. We believe in him. This empowers him to take hold of what God has already given.

"when we honor the person, we don't judge them by their issues, and we don't value them by their revelations. we go deeper. we find the person, created and chosen and destined by God. we see them for who they are, glorious, wonderful, fearfully and wonderfully made."

The issues and revelations exist only on the surface. The person, his identity, his seed, lies deeper still. It is this person that I hope to encounter. It is this person that I hope to enjoy. God enjoys us, beyond our issues, beyond our revelations. We enjoy God, from our seed, from our core. And He created us to enjoy each other too.

"you know deep inside, he loves Me and he loves you. and deep inside, he knows that you love Me and you love him. sometimes, that's all we need."

This is the simplicity in relationship. Two people can be extremely different, but yet the best of friends. Unity is diversity and codependence.

Strength to the weary

"I have a choice to be angry with God for what I don't have,
or be thankful for what I do have."

"There is no point being complete on the outside when you're broken on the inside;
God can heal you without changing your circumstances."

"The question was, why did You make me this way;
the answer was, do you trust Me?
And when you say yes to that question, nothing.. else.. matters."

"This is not about Nick, or Nick's capacity
or capability to become this conqueror...
I am NOTHING!
God though, lives in me, and I now live in His strength;
And whatever Jesus conquered, I conquered."

"Maybe you've compared your suffering to my suffering,
but that's not where hope is.
... Hope is in the name of God.
Hope is when you compare your suffering to
the infinite immeasurable love and grace of God."

"But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint."
Isa 40:31