1 result for (book:tsm AND heading:"chapter ten" AND stemmed:new)
[... 1 paragraph ...]
Some people think that we are stuck in physical reality like flies in flypaper or victims in quicksand, so that each motion we make only worsens our predicament and hastens our extinction. Others see the universe as a sort of theater into which we are thrust at birth and from which we depart forever at death. In the backs of their minds people with either attitude will see a built-in threat in each new day; even joy will be suspect because it, too, must end in the body’s eventual death.
[... 1 paragraph ...]
Many people, of course, feel that death is a new beginning, but most of us still think that we are formed and bound by our physical bodies and environment. Many who believe in an afterlife think that current events are thrust upon us indiscriminately. Still others believe that good or bad events are sent to us as rewards or punishments. But most people take it for granted that we are pretty much at the mercy of events over which we have little control.
[... 11 paragraphs ...]
“No particular object “exists long enough” as an indivisible, rigid, or identical thing to change with age. The energy behind it weakens. The physical pattern therefore blurs. After a certain point each re-creation becomes less perfect from your standpoint. After many such re-creations that have been unperceived by you, then you notice a difference and assume that a change … has occurred. The actual material that seems to make up the object has completely disappeared many times, and the pattern has been completely filled again with new matter. …
[... 48 paragraphs ...]
At our request, Jane remained standing where she was. There was no doubt about what we saw. The effect lasted for perhaps a minute or two. The room was well lighted. The change in Jane’s features seemed to take place on a plane an inch or so in front of Jane’s actual physical features. The new set of features might have been suspended on a clear screen of some kind. As I watched them I saw or sensed behind them—or through them—Jane’s real features as I knew them.
[... 30 paragraphs ...]