Project Matthias

Basis: Project Matthias is an ambitious plan to remake oneself according to Matthias specifications which, although not yet explicitly defined nor even written, are the minimum criteria of Matthias’ character– a Standard Operating Procedure of sorts.

The ultimate goal of Project Matthias is perfection, although this goal will not truly be realized until the time comes when we can discard our mortal bodies and are transformed, body and soul, into pure Spirit, at which point we can truly co-exist with God

The name: Matthias was the name of the one selected by the remaining 11 disciples of Jesus to replace Judas, who had betrayed Jesus, and subsequently hung himself. The purpose of Project Matthias is to kill the old imperfect self (Ego Death), and replace that self with a new self, chosen to be perfect, just as God is perfect.

In the same way, we should all kill the Judas in all of us, that which is betraying us to “the patterns of this world” (Society). We should then be transformed (born again) by therenewal of our minds (Ego engineering).

Rationale: One universal principle of humanity that we must all inevitably abide by, is that we are all conditioned by the past to be who we are. This is a metaphysically-bound necessity, as without conditions, our existence would be utterly meaningless, as there would be no bounds by which to appreciate that existence.

Thus, because existence requires bounds, there is no such thing as literal “free” will, because “free” and “will are mutually exclusive by nature (To “will” requires wanting, and because what we want conditions who we are, we are in the end slaves to our desires, or as it is in the modern age, slaves to the desires of the Society we live in. Furthermore, we are all conditioned from birth to be who we are, by the ever-changing dynamics that make up our environment– be it parents, teachers, friends, the Internet, music, movies– even the raw natural world.

Everything in this world has a role, be it great or small, in “raising” all of us from birth into our present existence. We are essentially the products of our pasts. Everything that we all are is exactly what we are conditioned to be by the past. Because we are conditioned by the past, it would then seem that we are slaves to our past, inevitably bound to live out our lives in a perpetual series of iterations that were ultimate determined by the iterations of others.

The following is important!

How then do we escape this wretched and seemingly inescapable karmic circle?

The Buddhist way of escaping it was to get rid of desire, thus rendering the cycle irrelevant, meaningless, and thus perceptively nonexistent.

The method presented by this project, which will become the basis for Ego Engineering, is not to escape it (Escapism is not a very productive lifestyle anyway– I would know!), but to overwrite it!

How is this possible?

It’s a lot simpler than one would think– in fact, it’s something we do all the time to a limited extent, without realizing it. But that right there is the real problem: By taking freewill for granted, we have unknowingly yet freely given away our freewill to Society, in exchange for this universally critical human need that might broadly be referred to as “security”. So what then is the key to unlocking our freewill, which we let Society swallow in the name of “security”?

I’ve pondered this for the past 3 years– you could say that I started http://th3g1vr.wordpress.com for this very purpose. How ironic it is that I was only able to find this answer I searched for so long after I closed the book on th3g1vr!

In those three years, I put together many pieces of the puzzle of freewill, my starting point being the philosophy of Causality, and with an emphasis on the sources of Motivation. I stitched together a multitude of fragmented thoughts, writing several essays with the aim of developing a better understanding of these things.

But it didn’t finally come together until today, and it came packaged in one surprisingly simple word:

Planning. Yes– that’s really the secret to freewill. Now mind you that’s just a starting point; to actualize your freewill requires a lot of dedication. But perhaps a better way of putting it: The more that you plan (you plan– not someone else!) The more freewill that you can take advantage of– can unlock through actualization. But of course, even then, the limit to which you can plan is determined by your own discipline, maturity, and dedication. But these too can be “upgraded” through proper planning.

There is then, no limit to a human being’s potential, other than the limit which they place on themselves.

But at the same time, in accordance with the principles of Balance, a person’s actuality is directly reciprocal to their potentiality; if a person has more potential, they will actualize less, and if they have less potential, they will actualize more.

How much potential that I (or anyone else) has is up to me / that person. If I am then to achieve perfection, I must find the maximum amount of potential that is actualizable.

Due to my lack of experience or skill in the art of planning, and my own lack of knowledge regarding these things, I will initially be proceeding  from here intuitively.

The initial criteria will thus be both developed and determined as I go, and I will rely on the Holy Spirit to guide me in these things, as I instruct both myself and whoever may be reading this on how to effectively improve every area of their life.

Perfection is the goal, and the standard of that perfection is decided by God himself; he has a purpose for each and every one of us– Project Matthias exists only to assist in effectively actualizing that purpose.

If we are made in God’s image, then surely God created us that he might actualize his perfect will and endless love through his Creation. Since we are the physical manifestation of God’s perfection, it’s only natural that we strive to be perfect, just as God is perfect.

By improving ourselves by seeking God’s will, we glorify God by mirroring his greatness. It is the mission of Project Matthias to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness through striving for perfection, and to seek his will which is the standard of that perfection.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2