As I've mentioned in previous episodes, there have been times during my childhood when I came across a concept or an idea that unexpectedly buried itself deeply within my mind and I've gone back to it on a regular basis throughout the course of my life. Each time I reconsider it, I derive more value from it, which makes sense, because I keep seeing it from the new perspective of a different stage of growth.           Something like this happened on the night of November 13th 1959 when I flipped on an episode of The Twilight Zone. For some reason, I often watched the show alone, on a little black and white TV set in the den of our house. I was ten years old; it was over sixty years ago and I still clearly remember that moment in time. Fittingly, it just so happened to be Friday the 13th. The episode was called "The Lonely," and it took place in the far distant future, in the year 2046. It begins on a remote asteroid, and you're told that it's a prison planet. But it's more than that. It's actually solitary confinement.           There is an inmate named Corry, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to fifty years' imprisonment on this desolate little planet, which is completely devoid of all life.           So far, he had been there longer than three years and he is nearly going crazy from the isolation. Four times a year, a spaceship from earth lands and Corry gets to spend a short period of time with the captain and his crew. Captain Allenby brings him three months' worth of provisions and news from Earth.           These visits are the only time that Corry gets to see anyone at all and he looks forward to them with every fiber of his being. Unfortunately, when the ship lands, Capt. Allenby tells him that they can only stay for fifteen minutes due to a shortage of fuel.           The terrible turn of events is devastating to Corry, but Allenby has even worse news. Corry's plea for a pardon has been rejected and pardons for murder cases have been suspended indefinitely. The last remnant of hope is gone, at least for the foreseeable future and Corry is completely crushed.           However, over the years, Capt. Allenby has begun to have some compassion for Corry, beginning to believe his story that he had only acted in Self-Defense. He has started bringing Corry things to help him kill the time. A year ago, he had brought him a disassembled antique car with tools and instructions on how to put it together. It had taken Corry nine months to build it and had at least given him something to do.           Now, Allenby tells Corry that he has brought him something else, but he can't talk about it in front of the crew. Allenby has stolen it for Corry and if it ever got out that he had done it, he would be in serious trouble. As they are preparing to leave, Allenby has his crew bring over a large crate, placing it before the metal shack where Corry lives. He whispers to Corry not to open the crate until after the ship has departed. Within another few minutes, the ship lifts off and is gone. Overcome with his feelings of intense loneliness and isolation, Corry sits down on the crate, breaks down and begins to sob.           For a few days, he doesn't even open the crate. It doesn't matter what kind of distraction Allenby has brought him; he's just not interested. But finally, he opens the crate and to his surprise, he finds that it is an inanimate robot in the form of a woman.           It has come with an instruction manual which says that the robot's name is Alicia and it says she is 100% lifelike in appearance and is indistinguishable from a normal, living person. Her brain is currently unprogrammed, but as soon as she is interacted with, she will begin to assume the language and mannerisms of her owner. She has logic and memory and is capable of expressing the full gamut of human emotions.  At first, Corry detests it, rejecting it as a mere machine, whose human-like presence only makes his isolation worse. He lets his frustrations out in a verbal tirade and mirroring his language, the female robot tries to talk to him. This only makes him angrier and every time she tries to speak, he is mean and cruel to her. Finally, in a rage of frustration he screams that he hates her. He can't stand the sight of her and wishes Allenby had never brought her. But to his surprise, her face fills with an expression of deep sorrow and her eyes well up with tears. Seeing her deep sadness, Corry suddenly feels like he is with a real, living person, which melts his heart and he begins to accept her. Now, the scene flashes to a few months later, and not only has Corry accepted Alicia, he has actually fallen in love with her. Her personality mirrors his exactly. She has developed his sense of humor and expresses the same set of opinions as he does. They constantly laugh and have fun. She cooks him his favorite meals. They take walks at night and stare up at the stars. They are even deeply romantic together, and now, with his ideal partner, Corry is enjoying the happiest days of his life.  But unexpectedly, one day, the space ship from earth lands. It hadn't been scheduled and Capt. Allenby comes bursting out of the ship filled with joy. He has amazing news for Corry. He's been pardoned and Allenby has come to bring him home to earth right away. But they have to leave immediately. There is a coming meteor shower and they must lift off within 20 minutes to avoid danger. Corry is standing with Alicia and he is overcome with gratitude and happiness. He puts his arm around her and says they can leave immediately. But Allenby quickly responds, telling him that he can't bring the robot. There are seven other passengers on the ship and they only have room for Corry and fifteen pounds of belongings. There is no room for any cargo. Corry breaks into an impassioned explanation about why he must bring Alicia with him. She's far more than just a robot. She's not cargo, she's become his wife. He's in love with her and he will not leave without her. If he can't bring her, he won't leave. He'll just stay there with her.   Frantic and near insanity, he keeps begging Allenby to help him.  Allenby apologizes, but telling Cory that he must do what he must do, he suddenly draws his gun and shoots Alicia in the face. The robot breaks down, malfunctioning and repeating the name "Corry" until it goes silent. The large gap in her face where the bullet hit reveals the metal under her skin and a mass of wire and broken circuitry  Allenby then takes Corry back to the ship, assuring him that the only thing he will be leaving behind is his own loneliness. "I must remember that," Corry says in a daze. "I must remember to keep that in mind." As the show began to  close, the camera pulled away, revealing the desolate landscape of the asteroid with Corry's metal shack, his antique car and the lifeless form of the robot lying next to it. From that vantage point, it was clearly just one more inanimate object that had helped Corry feel less lonely. Now, as a ten-year-old, the program really hit me, but I didn't know why. It was more of a feeling than words. But looking back on it in later years, I could see a lot of levels to it. For starters, it was an excellent piece of drama. You got bonded to the character of Corry. As a convict, he seemed like a reasonably good guy who didn't deserve the horrible punishment he was suffering, which was too awful to even imagine.   When the robot was introduced, you didn't know what to make of her. She looked human, a very attractive woman about the same age as Corry. But she didn't become animated until Corry began to interact with her. Then she became the likable character of Alicia. After a short time, they fell in love and Corry became incredibly happy with his lot. He didn't care where he was or that he was alone anymore. He had unexpectedly, found the love of his life, taking him from utter despondency to ultimate happiness.  You had to feel good for him. Then when the ship unexpectedly landed and Allenby gave Corry the incredible news that he had been pardoned, it was cause for tremendous celebration until it became clear that Alicia the had to be left behind. Then when Allenby shot her, it was a total shock. But the gunshot wound revealed not blood and guts, but metal and wire, driving home the fact that the creature was a mere machine. Again, it was a great piece of drama, but it went far deeper than that. You knew that Corry had been deeply in love, but the big question suddenly became, "In love with what?" Alicia had been a blank slate when Corry had unpacked her. Then over a short period of time, she took on all of the characteristics of the kind of woman that Corry would love. She became the very embodiment of his fondest dreams and being with her made him incredibly happy. What does that tell you? Well, over the years, as my inner consciousness began to evolve and grow, some profound realizations began to flow within me. Basically, to begin with the simplest terms possible – we all like to get what we like, and the more the better. In the story, Alicia wasn't a real person with her own mind and emotions. Rather than that, due to her make-up she became a perfect reflection of Corry. In an attractive form, she reflected all of the best parts of him back to himself and he became incredibly happy with her. But in the end, he was shown that he had been having a wonderful relationship not with another human being, but with the personified expression of himself. Now, if you want to dive into it, these waters run pretty deep. A million questions pop up like, what is the nature of human-to-human relationships? Why do we like the people we like? And what am I really looking for in life anyway? Am I just running around trying to find a reflection of my own likes and dislikes? Does that process really allow me to grow or does it just make me feel better? And given the nature of how our mind works, it's projecting itself all the time. For instance, if you have a lot of anger in you, you're going to see a lot of angry people in the world. People consumed by greed will live in a world filled with greedy people. Ego-centric people will generally find themselves locked in conflicts with other people bonded to their ego. Afterall, like does attract like. If that's true, what if we are able to evolve to a higher inner level and our awareness becomes filled with what is known as the better angels of our nature? Will the people in the world around us begin to reflect these higher understandings and feelings back to us? And taking it one step further, what if the concept of the Indwelling God Presence is actually true, as thousands of teachers, masters, saints and sages throughout the ages have told us that it is? What if we're really able to truly connect with this amazing part of our inner awareness? If we're experiencing that and constantly giving it out, what will the world be like for us?  And what kind of a life would that be like to live? We certainly don't have enough time here to cover all this, but if you ponder it a little, I am certain you will come up with your own valuable conclusions. And these are questions that can only be answered on an individual basis anyway. As the wisdom information tells us, they can't be explained or taught. To be understood, they have to be felt and experienced.   Well, that's a lot to consider and it seems like the perfect place to stop, so this will be the end of this episode. As always, keep your eyes, mind and hearts opened, and let's get together in the next one.

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