CHAPTER 7 Eenie, Meenie, Minie, moe... and other tips on how to choose your favorite philosophy... "This is interesting," Bo sighed as we read the chapter heading. I nodded, and then I noticed I was looking down at a menu. Up at the top of the left hand page it read, "WHO ARE WE?" and on the right hand page it read, "IS IT OVER WHEN IT'S OVER?" All the choices were in some strange squiggly language. I muttered to myself as I stared at the pages and tried to decipher something. Anything. I looked over at Bo and saw he was wearing these funny glasses. They were cardboard, with tinted plastic. Like 3-D glasses. "Hmmm..." Bo was muttering. "Hey, how come I didn't get glasses?" I complained, and poking him, I reached for his pair. My gaze wandered out past the booth we were sitting at, but I couldn't see much. It was pretty dark. Too much atmosphere. I turned back to Bo and saw that he was about to bite my fingers which I had left on automatic pilot, on their way to stealing his glasses. "Get your own pair!" he growled, and pointed to a basket in the center of the table. Next to the breadsticks, of course. How silly of me. I eagerly pulled out a pair and put them on. "Let's see," I exclaimed, because now I could clearly read my menu. "WHO ARE WE?" 8. We are nothing more than physical beings? 9. We are physical beings with a soul? 10. We are physical beings with a soul and a spirit? That's all the left hand side said. Oh, there was the price as well, but that was still undecipherable. The other side was a little more detailed. IS IT OVER WHEN IT'S OVER? 11. When it's over it's over -- we cease to exist? 12. When our physical body dies, our soul lives on? A) it is reincarnated again and again? B) it wanders aimlessly throughout the universe? C) it lives forever in heaven? D) it lives forever in hell? E) it becomes one with the universe? 13. When our physical body dies, the soul also dies, but our spirit lives on? 14. No one dies, when we "die" we wake up from the dream called life, and live forever? "Hmmm..." Bo was muttering again. "I think 12C looks nice. 14 might be even better. What do you think, Jack?" "Uh, huh," I mumbled, having come to a similar conclusion. "But what's this for? Aren't we supposed to prove or disprove these possibilities?" "That was the general idea. But you're probably getting ready to wake up, and you're supposed to hurry up and pick the right answer and get it over with already. So, here's what we do. When the waiter comes over, just tell him 14. Or 12C. Whichever one you like best. They're both okay with me." "You can't just pick the philosophy that you like the best. You've got to taste all the possibilities. No matter how bitter they are. You've got to find the Truth, even if it's the worst of all possible explanations." Bo threw his menu down in disgust. "Suit yourself, pal. But I'm ordering 14!" I saw the waiter coming closer through the soupy darkness. I looked nervously at the menu. I could feel the waiter's breath on my shoulder. "Well, 14's nice, but let's look this over. I'll start at the top. Let's see, 8 doesn't seem too pleasant. But it could be true. No. Wait. What about consciousness? Well. I don't think..." The waiter was coughing impatiently. I looked up as politely as I could to ask for a moment or two. I'd figure it out, if I could just have a second. But the waiter was gone. Panic stricken, I turned back to Bo. He was still there, but our table had split in half. It wasn't a table anymore. It was more like a desk...in a classroom... I was back at school! And we were still in our pajamas! "Oh, brother," we both moaned. "What a dream!" Table of Contents | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter