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The Space Between Us
As you read about yet another hate-inspired act of violence or click on yet another image of some stranger in a position of power ranting about the imagined crimes of some minority group or religion, or hear about yet another growing threat to your personal safety, sanity and way of life, here’s something to bear in mind: there’s less to this than meets the eye.
I will explain by bringing everything and everyone down to the absolute basic: the atom.
An atom is mainly space.
Imagine an atom the size of a cathedral. The actual mass of it, the nucleus, would be about the size of a fly in that cathedral—but that fly would weigh several billion times as much as the entire rest of the cathedral, which, except for a few electrons and other particles zipping around, is 99.99999% stark naked empty space.
What does this mean? It means that as you read this sentence, sitting on your comfy chair, you’re actually sitting on mainly nothing—just empty space, with some gluey nuclei and your own faith that you won’t fall on the floor saving you from an embarrassing SPLAT.
The universe is the biggest mass of mainly nothing there is—just space and distance.
So if you feel “distant” from another person, you are absolutely right. Space between people can do that.
That space between us is literally nothing. It makes discrimination, separation and exclusion virtually impossible concepts.
But in this universe of seemingly infinite solidity, there is only flimsiness—the illusion of firm, but the reality of wobble. Space is everywhere. Mass almost nowhere. What we see as steel is closer to gossamer. What we think is rock is more like cotton candy. All those shouts and threats, all the towering “strength” of madmen and their dupes and henchmen are really pillow feathers.
And all that space, all that distance between things and people is merely someone’s dog and pony show IF you feel close enough to someone.
In Scientology we have a concept: Affinity. It means “the desire to share the same space as another.” Someone you feel “close” to is someone you have affinity for. Magically, the space between the two of you—the distance if you will—melts, and you are right there, together, even if you’re in New York and your loved one is in Madagascar.
Moreover, that space between us is literally nothing. It makes discrimination, separation and exclusion virtually impossible concepts. Small wonder these things must be weaponized and forced into the world with lies and attacks. They are unnatural, enforced mutations that don’t fit.
But wait, there’s more!
In 1925 physicist Wolfgang Pauli theorized that two particles, even when separated by a considerable distance can each “know” what the other is doing. So if you “spin” one in one direction, the other one will instantly “spin” as well, in the opposite direction. The theory was proven 72 years later when physicists at the University of Geneva did precisely that. Photons were sent 7 miles in opposite directions, and when one was interfered with, the other was instantly “bothered” and reacted.
So you were right all along. All that “no man is an island” stuff is true, after all. You bother me or yell at me or snub me and the world changes for the worse. I do something bad to you and we all get irked on some level.
Better not to “succumb to invitations to hate,” as Mr. Hubbard expresses so well in his landmark essay, “What Is Greatness.”
Better to use Affinity.
With Affinity there is no space between us after all. No distance.
Not that there ever really was. Our natural state is to be together, not sifted apart by hate and suspicion.
We are All. Right. Here. Now.
Let’s get used to it.
Or would you rather be a lonely ol’ fly in that cathedral?
