Intended as a brief introduction to the Neural Paradigm, “Neurality for (Us) Kids” portraits interesting episodes of Zarko's life, a fictitious Croatian eight years-old boy that moves to Denver, United States, along with his family and become best friends with his schoolmate Alex, from standard American background. With each of Alex's family members, Zarko, with natural obviousness, have small mind-blowing dialogues which will address a different set of issues concerning to Neurality – smoothly leading the reader to a deep comprehension of the subject without the usual philosophical unsolved conundrums present to similar stories.
In this small excerpt from the text, Zarko chats with Susan, Alex's nineteen years-old sister, with whom most of religious, ontological and epistemological conversations are carried.
(Susan, sitting in the Lotus Pose... eyes closed. Zarko, waiting for his friend Alex, stares at her...)
– What are you doing?
– Med-i-tat-ing – Susan syllabically replies, clearly showing she expects not to be disturbed again.
– What is “meditating”?
– Oh, dear, it means sitting in silence, with your eyes closed and trying to get rid of your thoughts, ok? – Susan tries to sound patient with the kid.
– Why do you do that?
– Look! Go play, will you?
– I am playing... with you!
– I am not playing, Zarko, I am meditating! And I need silence!
– Why?
– Because all this noise takes away my concentration! You take away my concentration!
– Ok – he pauses – What are you concentrating on?
– Oh, my goodness! I am concentrating on not thinking, Zarko.
– Why would you do that?
– Because I want... because I need to find my “Inner Self”! So I need to get rid of my thoughts... noises... images... from the outside! The outside of me! Get it?
– Ah... and how do you know I am not your “Inner Self”?
– Because you are outside... there!
– Outside what?
– Me... of course! Outside me!
– And what is “inside”? Your stomach? Your “Inner Self” lives in your stomach?
– No, Zarko, it is not like that. My “Inner Self” lives in some other dimension.
– What dimension?
– Something like "another way of looking to the things"!
– And in “this way here”, am I not your “Inner Self”?
– No, Zarko, you are you and I am me.
– I don't understand that!
– How come you don't understand that, kid? That is so obvious!
– I think I am your “Inner Self”!
– What?!? What a stupid conclusion!
– If you are outside me, where are you?
– In the world, Zarko. In the world!
– And the world. Where is it?
– In the Universe – She decides to make him give it up by playing his own game...
– And the Universe?
– I don't know! It is simply there!
– There where?
– There, here, everywhere! It is always there when I look at it!
– And if you stop looking?
– It would still be there!
– How would you know?
– Hmmm... because someone would tell me! – She assumes that was indeed a smart answer.
– Who?
– Anybody, Zarko!
– Even if you don't look at this person?
– Yes!
– Even if you don't listen to this person?
– Oh, my... where is it going to end up, hmm?
– I think you'd probably tell me later that this person would tell you the Universe is there even if you didn't come to know about him!
– You mean: him, the person?
– Yes.
– No, Zarko, surely I would need to know about the person.
– And where do this person come from?
– What difference does it make?
– This person comes from the world, hmm?
– Yes.
– Which is in the Universe, hmm?
– Yes.
– That would be there even if you didn't know about it, hmm?
– Yes.
– Because someone would tell you it (the Universe) is there, hmm?
– Yes.
– But you would need to know about this person, hmm?
– Yes.
– So what comes first?
– I didn't get it!
– The person that tells you the Universe is there or the Universe to contain the person who is going to tell you that?
– Well, that is something I would have to think about... I think the Universe comes first. With the “Big Bang", I suppose.
– Who told you that?
– Scientists use to say it – she pauses and thinks about what she just said.
– Where are these scientists?
– I think I got your point! These scientists are in the Universe, that will only come to exist when I am aware of it.
– Oh... so you got it?
– Do you believe – you and your folks –, then, that nobody exists in the world?
– Somebody surely exists! But... as long as make it exist!
– So, for you, I only exist when you look at me, Zarko... or something like that?
– Yes.
– So, before you arrived, I wasn't truly here?
– No. Even if you were I wouldn't know. So, for me, you really didn't exist. And if somebody had told me you existed, also this person would only have come to existence when I “knew” about it.
– So, what do I see when I close my eyes?
– I think you see the inner part of your eyelids.
– And if I open my eyes... ?
– You see what you are creating, what happens inside you... in my home, we call it “a projection from the Self”, but people using words like “Creation” and “God” should use them to describe it the same way... because when you “know” about something, what you do, in fact, is creating this thing... it is the moment of “Creation”, my father says. I am being this God who “creates”, all the time. And everything is inside me. So you are my “Inner Self”. Even in "other ways of looking to the things" you would still be...
– In other dimensions, you mean...
– These dimensions only come to happen the moment you “know” about them as well.
– So, Zarko, you are my “Inner Self”... because you couldn't be anywhere else but inside me, even in some other dimension, still inside me – She thoughtfully nods showing her conclusion – That is weird, even spooky... but makes a sort of uncomfortable sense... difficult to refuse...
– Yes, because you are meditating... – Zarko replies after some silence.
– Yes, and I didn't even started meditating, hmm?
– I think you've just begun.
– Maybe. In your home, do you meditate, Zarko?
– We?
(this is an excerpt from the book "Neurality for (Us) Kids", by Fr. Jack Feliciano. All rights reserved)
