~ ∞ ~ The Essence of Zen - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
We As Organism - Alan Watts Lecture. And when you look at the world in that image—or in the other image that it’s a stupid mechanism—either point of view you take, you don’t really belong. You’re not really part of all this. And I could use a stronger word than ‘part,’ only we don’t have it in English. We have to say something like ‘connected with it,’ ‘essential to it.’ Or, to put it in the strongest possible way, it is quite alien to Western thought to conceive that the external world—which is defined as something that happens to you, and your body itself is something that you got caught up with—it is quite alien to our thought to consider all that as you, yourself. Because you see, we have such a myopic view of what one’s self is. It’s as if, in other words, we selected how much experience is really to be regarded as “me,” as if you focused your attention on certain restricted areas of the whole panorama of things that you experience and say “I will take sides with that much of it.”
Now, we come here—right at the start—to an extremely important principle, which is the different points of view you get when you change your level of magnification. That is to say, you can look at something with a microscope and see it a certain way, you can look at it with a naked eye and see it in a certain way, you look at it with a telescope and you see it in another way. Now, which level of magnification is the correct one? Well, obviously, they’re all correct, but they’re just different points of view. You can, for example, look at a newspaper photograph under a magnifying glass and where, with the naked eye, you will see a human face, with a magnifying glass you will just see a profusion of dots rather meaninglessly scattered. But as you stand away from that collection of dots, which all seem to be separate and apart from each other, they suddenly arrange themselves into a pattern. And you see that these individual dots add up to some kind of sense.
Now you’ll see at once, from this illustration, that maybe you—when you take a myopic view of yourself, as most of us do—but you may add up to some kind of sense that is not apparent to you in your ordinary consciousness. When we examine our bloodstreams under a microscope we see there’s one hell of a fight going on. All sorts of microorganisms are chewing each other up. And if we got overly fascinated with our view of our own bloodstreams in the microscope we should start taking sides, which would be fatal. Because the health of our organism depends on the continuance of this battle. What is, in other words, conflict at one level of magnification is harmony at a higher level. Now could it possibly be, therefore, that we—with all our problems, conflicts, neuroses, sicknesses, political outrages, wars, tortures and everything that goes on in human life—are a state of conflict which can be seen in a larger perspective as a situation of harmony?
~ ∞ ~ On Intelligence 4/6 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to information, knowledge, and intelligence, it is worth highlighting the following: there is a definite connection between awareness, understanding, and intelligence. This triune connection is interesting in more ways than one.
You see, intelligence needs understanding, which in turn needs awareness. Intelligence cannot be intelligence without understanding, and understanding cannot take place without awareness because understanding takes place in consciousness, you see?
This brings us to an important point: understanding, knowledge, and intelligence are intimately linked to, connected with, and dependent upon both consciousness and awareness. This brings up a whole host of other questions, the most obvious being: Is life conscious? Other such questions include: Can matter become conscious? When does matter become conscious, or can it ever become conscious at all?
If we really tune into this idea, one can find through personal, subjective experience, that in all actuality, only consciousness is conscious, and only awareness is aware; and that our ability to be aware enables us to express consciousness through which we experience the world, you see? What does that say about life, then?
And when it comes to chaos, randomness, and disorder — it is essential to note that what we humans perceive as randomness, may instead reflect a degree of complexity of order that we have yet to decode in understandable form.
What we classify as being mere randomness, may indeed be Intelligence so far beyond our current level of understanding and comprehension that we disregard it altogether by denoting it as randomness, or just simply labeling it as “disorder”; such level of Intelligence we humans have yet to recognize — after all, we cannot recognize, let alone know something that we are not yet aware of.
In actuality, nature is neither essentially ordered or disordered. You see, what we perceive as regular, patterned information — we classify as order; what we perceive as irregular, unpatterned information — we classify as disorder. The appearance of order and disorder implies more about the way in which we process information than the intrinsic presence of order or disorder in nature — see?
If one sees the universe as a medium through which information is communicated, shared and exchanged, they can also picture the universe as one enormously big, gigantic cell containing all the information life needs to expand, develop and unfold. What makes it remarkable is that this type of information coded in the fabric of the universe by entropy is a magnificent feat, isn’t it?
If one sees the universe as a gigantic process of becoming, of attaining new levels of existence and organization, continually transforming work of art by the master artist, they can easily picture the following: the very fabric of the universe being a canvas of a non-material vibrating energy in which frequency, vibration, consciousness, and awareness express themselves creatively.
You see, it is the very nature of life to intelligently seek to expand, develop and unfold — often in surprising and novel ways. Wouldn’t this then suggest that there is a Greater Intelligence at work here? You see, using entropy as a tool to achieve something like the universe we find ourselves in — is nothing short of spectacular, or do you beg to differ?
Against this backdrop, it can easily be said that in the beginning there was Pure Information, from which everything else is derived. This kind of information is beyond any words can describe — it is something we don’t have words in our vocabulary to describe. What can be said about it, though, is that it has no units and predated energy, and thus no entropy. How can this be? Well, you see, Pure Information just “IS.”
It springs from Pure Being, that is, Living Awareness, or more simply, presence; it springs from that which has always been, always is, and always will be — see? Consider, for a moment, a universe of pure awareness with the appearance of material reality. Now, you are at the point where you can begin to see the bigger picture.
Pure Information helps energy evolve so that the process of universe can continue to create life, including us human beings; it is also the very “place” or “source” from which these words arise — see? While all this may go way over your head at this point, the bigger picture will emerge — eventually.
While one marvels at the extraordinary nature of the situation, one cannot help but arrive at the conclusion that wisdom lies in paradox — for you see, even if something contradicts itself, it can still be true; some would call this ‘coincidentia oppositorum,’ or just simply Unity of Opposites. A thing is both what it is and what it is not, and yet it somehow escapes contradiction — that’s how the Miracle of Life is possible — see?
It goes without saying that things would go much easier for us if we were to embrace the paradoxical character of life, time, and the cosmos, alongside with the coincidentia oppositorum. But for some reason, it is difficult for us to appreciate anything that goes against the norm, that is, logic and reason as we know and practice them today.
Extra Material:Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"
~ ∞ ~ On Intelligence 3/6 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
This being the case, we need to add another layer to this discussion, that of protolanguage – a parent language from which actual languages are derived; or as some would say, exolinguistics, xenolinguistics. This kind of language is universal, having the ability to convey different meanings to different people at different times.
These kinds of symbols or archetypal alphabets (seen both in this book and on the website) are encoded within the very fabric of our reality, which is another way of saying that the roots of all the languages in all cultures lead to a singular multidimensional source – transcending both space and time, you see?
If one wishes to better understand this, it may be immensely helpful to “flip the script” for a moment and consider a different kind of approach than what we are accustomed to. In so doing, one can easily entertain the idea that not only space and time, but also matter and form, and even energy – are concepts that appear in consciousness; and thereby phenomena that we perceive through our senses, of which the mind is the primary sense-organ. In other words, all experience and phenomena happens in consciousness – see?
Against this backdrop, we can easily see that there is nowhere to go but in, which is another way of saying that in regards to space and time – there really is no space “out there,” and no universal clock “anywhere” to keep time. Rather, there is but an appearance of space and time, matter and form; and thus, it is all here – within the Innerverse, residing within each and every one of us.
Within the heart, within the Innerverse, in the deepest core of our being, there is a sacred space where the Creator dwells – the Divine Presence is found there, alongside with Living Intelligence and Living Wisdom. As we delve into this, we find that there is something beyond the surface – we call this something, Living Awareness, which is the key to unlock the treasure within, you see?
It seems as though this unexplored world of consciousness – Innerverse, is both the great mystery we are afraid to explore, and dogma that we are too afraid and reluctant to burst open. Someday soon, once we reach a new way of thinking that will liberate our minds not only from bias and illusion, but also from ignorance and hubris, can we approach this from another perspective.
This inner transformation could ignite the spark of interest to reach toward something new and exciting; it could spark the flame of curiosity and the will to discover one’s True Self; strive to push the boundaries of what is possible, so that we could gradually venture into the unknown – to discover what lies beyond the limits of the known, you see?
There already are some who have crossed over to discover the Great Unknown – hopefully someday soon, many more will follow, for there is plenty more to discover, a plethora of questions to be asked, and lots of answers to be found – the key resides within, you see?
And so you see, in actuality, all information is already within us, which makes information accessible to anyone. It helps tremendously if we think in this way: everything we have ever wanted to know about Life is within us – our bodies are composed of cells, each cell is a fragment of the whole, and yet each cell contains the blueprint for life. What a marvelous revelation, don’t you think?
This means that the Source Code of Life and the vast array of memory banks are readily available to be read, analyzed and interpreted by everyone. All we need to do is to become aware of this hidden treasure within each of us and start reading the Book of Life.
That said, it should also be acknowledged that yes, of course, we can analyze our DNA by using modern technology, but the simple truth is that it can only take us so far. There is so much more within us that no external technology can ever show us, and so the only way to access this vast array of information is to use our innate internal technology.
And when it comes to information itself – well, this is an interesting one to say the least, because it is one of those “chicken and egg” type of situations. There are two facets to look at here: first, information in general, which we will take a look at in a moment. Second, information as it pertains to this book – well, no one can say from where or when it originates exactly. Why? Because of the paradoxical nature of it all.
You see, one could easily entertain the idea that alongside with the paradoxical nature of information itself, we are dealing with another paradox called “bootstrap paradox.” It occurs when the consequences of an event in the future travel back in time and cause an event in the past or present, which in turn is among the causes of the first event, forming a causal loop in which both events are caused by each other. In case of information, this means that it no longer has a discernible point of origin, and thus is said to be “uncaused” or “self-created,” and thus “self-emergent.”
This presents an interesting conundrum: Is information created, or is it discovered? And if information, and as an extension, knowledge, and even Universal Wisdom – is indeed discovered rather than created, can we then say that information just “is?” Furthermore, is it not indeed the case that in the same sense, nothing is ever invented, only discovered? You see, there are more wonders to be discovered in this universe and beyond than one could ever dream of, are there not?
What we can say with certainty is that information in itself is, indeed, a paradox. For instance: we are information, yet we are uncertainty, and paradoxically enough, information is thought to be the resolution of uncertainty; the more we know, the more we realize how much we don’t know – see?
What is certain, though, is that in whatever kind of way the universe and life as we know it came into being, is sustained, and continues to express itself – is due to information and intelligence. The concept of information has different meanings in different contexts, but generally, across the board, information signifies intelligence; other than that, information is considered to be a form of entropy*1, which in turn signifies chaos, randomness, and disorder. However, entropy is also the process of arrangement.
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*1 Entropy can best be described as follows: everything that comes together falls apart. In other words, it is the nature of this universe that entropy increases over time, which means that everything in the universe tends towards disorder or chaos. For example, all living things age and die, they don’t get younger; mechanical things tend to wear out and break down; bricks are not naturally stacked up nicely or become part of a building unless someone has put a lot of effort into making it. And so it seems that chaos or disorder is more probable in the universe than order. This goes on to say that chaos or disorder is the backdrop against which order (life, intelligence) can be seen.
You see, the interesting part is that all life arises out of chaos with ordered set of information (something being informed, and thus in form), which goes on to say that life, in and of itself, is one gigantic process of passing down information. Does it not, then, qualify as intelligence?
Here we should remember one important truth: information itself is not intelligence, which means that information by itself is useless and meaningless, unless it is acted upon. And so you see, to use it, a system/entity/person needs enough knowledge to know what it means, and enough know-how to do something with it.
Extra Material:Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"
~ ∞ ~ Living Quantum World: A New Synthesis of Wisdom - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
In the previous sections, we explored not only the core of our being, but also the essence of reality. In our discussion, we considered the relationship of our experience to reality, how our experience of life is filtered through our senses, how our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and intentions affect and shape our reality. The discussion in this section continues the trend by expanding our exploration to cover science of reality, as it were. As such, it is a natural continuation of the previous sections and chapters.
In this section, we will further our understanding of life and our experience of it, by expanding our horizon even further – it is dedicated to the Mysteries of the Quantum World, as the title suggests. The purpose of this section is not by any means to give an all-encompassing overview of the subject, neither is it to give a lecture of some kind, nor is it to focus on physics, math and formulas – rather, the purpose of this section is to expand one’s own thinking; to open up new perspectives and ways of seeing.
By now, at this point in the book, it must have become obviously clear that there is an overarching theme throughout this book, namely Interconnectedness of Everything. This section is no exception as it continues to highlight the importance of this Truth.
That said, there is one thing to keep in mind before we dive in: Quantum Mechanics is by no means the end-all-be-all way to understand the deeper mysteries of Life, neither is it some magical solution that will fix all of our problems, but it is a very useful tool that can most certainly provide a wonderful bridge to what is yet to be realized, acknowledged, understood, accepted and appreciated by humanity as a whole.
All things Quantum is just the beginning in a long journey of discovery. As is the case with so many other things, in due time, and in due course, Quantum Physics will have a paradigm shift of its own, so that we will one day redefine, in ways not yet imaginable, reality. In other words, as it has become apparent from the previous sections, there is more to life and reality than meets the eye – a spiritual dimension or component, if you will.
And so you see, without integrating this component as part of our worldview, we will always fall short in our attempts to understand Life. To evolve and develop further – as individuals and as a species, we need a synthesis of science and spirituality, a combination of both – modern and ancient wisdom – see?
Now, let us begin with the following: we as the collective human species have come far on our journey to understand our relationship with the world and the larger universe, our place in the world that conforms to the reality of Creation and of our place within it.
Our modern-day understanding about the nature of reality has improved profoundly thanks to Quantum Physics and Quantum Mechanics; the latter being a subset of physics that does its best to explain the behaviors of matter and light on the molecular, atomic and subatomic scales. What’s interesting is that Quantum Mechanics indicates a fundamental discontinuity in the nature of all phenomena, yet we perceive a seamlessly coherent world around us.
This macroscopic integration of a seamless reality from which we derive the characteristics of space and time leads us to believe that they are somehow independent entities in themselves, which brings us to an important point: we are so conditioned to believe that space and time are a priori determining conditions of Creation that we easily forget, or better yet, willingly and willfully ignore the fact that there may be some other factors in play; factors that are found deep beneath the surface.
You see, if we look deeper, we can find that instead of a lonely void with isolated particles moving through it – space appears to be filled with connections and interconnected fields; these quantum fields are energy, manifesting into form when they intersect. This is why ideas, concepts and metaphors transform into a web of information and weaving, or to the world of dreams and infinite possibility.
From this, it becomes clear that the Quantum World opens up a totally new level to our understanding of the world. The understanding from the Quantum World challenges our entrenched beliefs about the nature of reality, and thus it goes without saying that this new paradigm shifting synthesis of knowledge will usher in a whole new era for humanity.
And so it goes that eventually, we will face the inevitable – we need to modify the deeply entrenched belief that body and mind; spirit and nature; mind and matter – are separate and distinct. This will change the way we see and experience reality, the way we live and act, which goes on to say that it is inevitable for us to develop a holistic view of life. It will open up new ways of thinking and being – resulting in sustainable living, prosperity and blossoming humanity as a whole – see?
Now, if we take a brief moment to consider the differences between the classical view of the world (“legacy physics”) and the new paradigm shifting view (Quantum World) – one may be better equipped to understand everything that was discussed in earlier sections – PROLOGUE, INFINITE, TRANSFORMATION, LIFE, CONSCIOUSNESS, AWARENESS – respectively.
The basic premise of classical physics is that the world is material – made from the solid basic building blocks called particles. This material world is based in time & space, and is regarded as being highly predictable. This type of classical or “legacy” physics assumes that there exists an external reality independent of our perception of it; and yet quite interestingly, when the science goes down to the very core of even the most solid-looking object – separateness dissolves, and all that remains are a set of relationships, revealing a deeper level of reality – Interconnectedness of All Things.
This means that everything connects to everything else and nothing is separate from the whole. The interesting part is that the subatomic particles themselves come into form and are observed only as they are in relationship with something else; particles come into being through the interactions with other forms of energy. These unseen connections are fundamental ingredient of all Creation – see?
Interconnectedness of Everything is a key factor in the Quantum World – relationships are everything. There are no familiar ways to comprehend the levels of interconnectedness within the Quantum World – so the best way to get a glimpse of it is to think in terms of infinitely repeating self-similar patterns known as fractals. A fractal is a natural phenomenon or a mathematical set that exhibits a repeating pattern – a pattern that displays at every scale.
Another way is to think in terms of an invisible interconnected network, or mycelial network of sorts. You see, mycelium of belowground fungi connect plants and trees together and have even been shown to communicate with each other*1, which makes it “Earth’s Natural Internet,” doesn’t it? Besides communicating, through this interconnected network, mycelium can transport nutrients between different plants or trees.
In much the same way as the mycelial network connects plants and trees together, so can the Quantum World be imagined to work as well – connecting the seen and the unseen, the outer and the inner, uniting the small and large-scale happenings seamlessly together – making instantaneous communication possible.
If we combine this idea with fractals and holograms (Holographic Fractal Nature of Reality), we would get something as amazing as the “Holofractographic Mycelial Quantum Network” – a vast microscopic web spanning across the multiverse, an intergalactic, interdimensional ecosystem, or an infinite number of roads leading everywhere.
~ ∞ Entanglement ∞ ~
In whatever way this communication in the Quantum World happens, it surely is both more complex than we can imagine, and yet more simple than we think. To further understand this, let us introduce a term that frequently appears in discussions of this kind.
In the Quantum World, entanglement is a phenomenon in which two particles can communicate instantaneously to one another – this enables them to behave like one object even though they are physically apart; something is clearly connecting them faster than the speed of light.
The integral part of entanglement is instant communication – meaning that connectivity is “outside” time and space. The key principle of entanglement is correlation; this means that throughout the universe subatomic particles act as they are connected to each other – meaning that what we do to one particle at one location, happens for another at different location – see?
A musical style called Jazz conveys perfectly the idea of interrelated connections within the quantum canvas of Creation. Jazz musicians are sensing the nature of the Quantum World – only requirement is to be present in the moment and to be willing to surrender to the flow of inspiration through improvisation.
In Jazz, the players have a shared idea of what they might play; they agree on the melody, tempo and key, but the music itself rely heavily on improvisation. The players listen carefully, communicate constantly, and suddenly there is music with the possibilities beyond anything imagined.
The music itself comes from the interconnected whole – the unified field of information in which patterns are contained within patterns. And so you see, every player have accessed this field among themselves, which goes on to say that this type of music is undivided wholeness in flowing movement, or a relationship that transcends the sense of separateness – fascinating, isn’t it?
~ ∞ ~ On Intelligence 2/6 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
So without a further due, let us delve right into it, shall we? The above-mentioned process, which is named as Holofractographic Intelligent Emergence, for lack of a better term, is inextricably linked together with the style of writing, which is a unique form of creative expression as explained in the chapter “About Writing Style.” From this, the question arises: Creativity – where does it come from? From what source does creativity spring?
Well, it is good to remember that life itself is a creative process, and as an extension of that process, human life is also a unique creative process. In this respect, we ourselves are an extension of God’s Power in the universe; extension of the creative Spirit of God. It is against this backdrop that we can more easily understand the aforementioned process.
This brings us to an important point: as mentioned in the Preface, sometimes while writing, I had a feeling, or more aptly, an Inner Knowing that the contents of the book was being written through me, rather than by me, which goes on to say that this book was co-created together with Living Life, under Divine guidance, you see?
In other words, all the way through the writing process, I had a sense of certainty that Living Intelligence within Life was guiding me in the writing process. And hence it can be said that this book was, indeed, Divinely inspired; how this really works is but anyone’s guess, which makes it all the more intriguing – a mystery, if you will.
Someone who contemplates the idea of Divine inspiration might propose the following explanation: God provides the thoughts, and the prophet provides the words to express them – but even this fails to convey the true nature of the process known as Holofractographic Intelligent Emergence. You see, the interesting part is that there were no thoughts involved at all – just an awareness of Awareness itself, or simply Living Awareness, through which the Living Intelligence expressed itself.
Everything that follows makes a lot more sense when we reach a point in this book where we delve into the fascinating realm of the Quantum World. You see, in contemporary terms, there is but one way to explain this process alongside with the spiritual one; the only thing that can be said about it in a way that avoids being too specific or complex is to say that the information that was being “communicated” can be classified as being Quantum Mechanical, and yet even this description fails to convey the true nature of the process behind the communication.
Even the very word communication does not lend itself to a precise meaning since there is nothing that is being sent, moved or transported anywhere – Inner Knowing is instantaneous – see? Taking that into account, one might want to challenge themselves by accounting for tachyons, i.e., faster than light particles, combine it with Quantum Nonlocality and Quantum Entanglement, and formulate a hypothesis about how this might work. It is noteworthy, though, that one’s theory is just as good as another’s as to what’s going on. The experience itself tells all that’s important to know about it, though.
By virtue of the aforementioned with regard to the said communication or the process by which this book came about, the following is more than enough to give a peek into the experience: with an inner eye, one is able to look at the holofractographic informational wave, and through awareness, is then able to tap into specific aspects of it, you see? That’s the process in a nutshell, but there is a lot more to it than that. As such, in the following few paragraphs, I will do my utmost to describe the process in as simple way as possible.
The following description should be read with the thought in mind that as we move through this book and learn more about how intelligent Life really is, many of the following sentences will make even more sense. And who knows, it might turn out to be a good idea to revisit this section sometime later – just to see where it all began, how the pieces fell into place, and how the whole came together – see?
With that said, we can now take a closer look at the details. In a nutshell, the process known as Holofractographic Intelligent Emergence consists of becoming aware of Life’s inner workings; that is, accessing, reading and retrieving information embedded both in our DNA and the vast array of memory banks in our cells – extending into the Morphogenetic Fields and the Human Spirit – wisdom passed on from generation to generation. On that note, when it comes to the biological aspect of Life, it is a whole topic of its own, and is therefore discussed in the section titled LIFE, especially in chapters What Is Life?, When Does a Human Life Begin?
Well, then, what was the experience like, I hear you ask? As mentioned earlier, all the way through the writing process, I had a sense of certainty that the Living Intelligence within Life was guiding me in the writing process. This alive, vibrant presence not only guided me through the writing process, but also gave comfort, courage, strength, serenity and peace along the way.
It was as if I was being held in the Bosom of Perfect Love; as if I was held in the sweetest, most tender, loving embrace of such knowingness and limitless possibility. It was as if I was diving into the great unknown, whilst knowing that the unknowable is indeed knowable, and knowing how to know is the key.
And so you see, there’s no secret really, because it all boils down to Inner Knowing, which is possible for each and every one of us – through awareness. I would go as far as to say that the communication is the result of extending one’s awareness through the fabric of space and time – into the spaceless space and timeless time; into the nexus point where the known meets the unknown.
This kind of nexus point is the point of Creation – an epicenter of vast interconnections where destiny and opportunity meet, a place where everything connects to everything else and back into itself again. If one would be in such a nexus point, they could contact the time-space of the past, present, and future with ease from that single location.
If one would try to describe this nexus point in any sensible way, one would need to assign some physical attributes for it to make sense. The best possible description for this “place,” if we can even call it that – would be a massive hall of mirrors.
On a deeper level, this “place” is both an interconnected gateway and a massive storehouse of information, or simply hall of records. This “place” is made of crystals, and not just any kind of crystals – living crystals to be specific. They look like crystals, but they have no physicality. In other words, they are more like space-time crystals*1, which are structures that repeat in time, as well as in space.
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*1 A time crystal or space-time crystal is a structure that repeats in time, as well as in space. Normal three-dimensional crystals have a repeating pattern in space, but remain unchanged as time passes. Time crystals repeat themselves in time as well, leading the crystal to change from moment to moment. A time crystal never reaches thermal equilibrium, as it is a type of non-equilibrium matter, a form of matter proposed in 2012, and first observed in 2017. This state of matter cannot be isolated from its environment – it is an open system in non-equilibrium.
As one is situated in the middle of these crystals, surrounded by a beautiful vista of awe-inspiring complexity and structure – one will notice that these beautiful fractal-like structures resemble Nested Apollonian Gasket Fractals*1 in multitude of dimensions; each fractal represents an Interconnected Nested Multiverse within the Innerverse, or just simply a world within a world – see?
As one stands in the middle of these space-time crystals, setting their intention, focusing their attention, and expanding their awareness – these multifaceted crystals would begin to respond and start reflecting on their surface everything one would like to see – whether it be past, present, or future.
This, of course, is only one of the many ways in which the mind represents or visualizes what consciousness receives through awareness. You see, the human mind is only capable of comprehending something beyond the ordinary by using the shapes, forms, objects, textures, materials, colors, and events already familiar to us.
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*1 To understand this further, one might want to study Nested Apollonian Gaskets, as well as Apollonian Sphere Packing, which is the three-dimensional equivalent of the Apollonian Gasket.
Extra Material:Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"
~ ∞ ~ On Intelligence 1/6 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
Now that we have established a base of understanding about the main themes of the book, we are ready to delve into a more complex topic, that of Intelligence. This is a wonderful way to conclude this introductory section as it crystallizes some of the more important themes which are woven through previous chapters.
This part of the Prologue can be considered as a continuation of the chapter titled About Writing Style – its purpose is to delve deeper into the process known as Holofractographic Intelligent Emergence – an intelligent process which is based on both holographic and fractal principles.
Essentially, this chapter was written to open up a discussion on the topic of Life’s Intelligence. As such, here, in this chapter, we are not so much concerned about the form of intelligence we typically see in humans. Instead, what we are most interested in is Intelligence – emphasis on the capital letter, or more aptly, Living Intelligence within Life itself.
On that note, if we did want to talk about intelligence with regard to human beings, we would be talking about Spiritual Intelligence, or Existential Intelligence – and in a way, we will; you see, it is an essential prerequisite to possess this kind of intelligence to be able to even talk about it, let alone talk about Living Intelligence within Life itself, you see? So, what is this kind of intelligence, exactly?
In short, Existential Intelligence can be seen as the ability to be sensitive to, or have the capacity for, conceptualizing or tackling deeper or larger questions about human existence – the proclivity to pose and ponder questions about life, death, and ultimate realities. On a deeper level, Existential Intelligence includes the capacity to transcend the physical and material aspects of life, and hence the ability to experience heightened states of consciousness, by which the ability of utilizing spiritual resources to solve problems comes to fruition.
As regards to Spiritual Intelligence, it demonstrates not only Unconditional Love (Agape – Universal Love, Loving-Kindness and Compassion) as its ethical value and guiding principle, but also Self-Awareness that is key to many essential aspects of this type of intelligence, such as mindfulness, humility, holism, compassion, and the capacity to be virtuous. It is worth noting that spiritual experiences are but precursors to something deeper.
You see, in order for spiritual experiences to evolve into Spiritual Intelligence, an individual must seek to understand the meaning of those experiences and integrate them mindfully into the totality of one’s life. Intelligence is critical to this process because the experiences can have profound effect not only intellectually and psychologically, but also biologically and interpersonally.
Furthermore, individuals seeking to develop Spiritual Intelligence need to learn to tolerate uncertainty and paradox, recognize and acknowledge that all religions, wisdom traditions, and spiritual experiences contribute important and unique insights into the larger phenomena of consciousness and the collective reality that we experience through our individuated consciousness.
Against this backdrop, we can see that there is an intimate connection between said “Existential Intelligence” and Living Intelligence within Life itself. If one truly experiences this kind of intelligence, whilst directly experiencing it, they would arrive at the conclusion that there is hardly any distinction between the two.
What there is, though, is the difficulty in conveying the essence of it. You see, even the very terms “existential” or “spiritual” with regard to Living Intelligence doesn’t lend themselves to a precise meaning since it’s nature is such that it can only be experienced directly.
And so you see, by naming something, we separate it from totality, and the more are the number of the words, the more is the fragmentation. The very second you assign meaning to it, give it a name, or definition of any kind – locks it in time, and in so doing, externalizes it by breaking it down to something tangible and intelligible, which in turn causes it to lose its essence, which makes it rather challenging to talk about it.
Hence, the term “existential” in this context reflects the conscious recognition and acknowledgement of such deeper underlying Intelligence; likewise, the term “spiritual” reflects the nature of this Intelligence. Unfortunately, there are no other suitable words in our vocabulary that could intelligibly describe such Intelligence, so we need to settle for these two terms.
This is also the reason why we use “Living Intelligence” in this book to give it a more accurate expression. As such, it is worth pointing out that the discussion about Life’s Intelligence will continue in some shape or form throughout the entirety of the book. In the next section titled INFINITE, we will once again return to this topic, especially in the chapter Infinite Living System (The Miracle of Life).
This brings us inexorably to the conclusion that even though the discussion is distributed throughout the other sections, it will not lessen or diminish the difficulty in conveying the essence of Life’s Intelligence or its many ways of communicating with itself and its many emanations.
As such, this part of the Prologue may be one of the most challenging to write, not only because it involves explaining the process that is highly subjective and not fully understood by conventional scientific methods and thinking, but also because the general population is largely unaware of the concepts discussed in this book. Hence, it poses a huge challenge in conveying the best possible explanation – one that is both understandable and easily approachable, yet precise and comprehensive enough to cover the essentials.
Having said that, it should be mentioned that this chapter contains some not so well-known terms that are covered in greater detail later in this book – therefore, we should start with a nutshell version and then expand upon it. Even though some of the terms are briefly explained in the footnotes throughout the book, glossary at the back of the book may be immensely helpful.
Extra Material:Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"
~ ∞ ~ On Interconnectedness 2/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
As everything is interconnected, interdependent, and interrelated, as everything seems to be arising in relation to everything else – it would mean that cause and effect “inter-are,” that all things – both seen and unseen, are bound together by cause and effect. As everything arises in relation to everything else, it would also mean that nothing can exist in absolute independence of other things or arise of its own accord.
Everything in the world, therefore, comes into existence in response to causes and conditions, which means that all beings and phenomena exist or occur only because of their relationship with other things. And so you see, with regard to humans, the whole of humanity is a single being – having a collective consciousness, the sum total of all human life, having a collective direction and destiny; each life is a link in a chain of lives, bound together by cause and effect, different, yet the same – see?
This chain of lives or “samsara” as it is called in Sanskrit, refers to the idea that human life is a repeated story; the one we all have been caught up – a dream from which we are unable or unwilling to wake up. This perpetual cycle of interconnected and interrelated chain of lives is caused by a lack of knowledge, lack of awareness, and most of all, ignorance that is caused by our desire for fulfillment outside of ourselves, grasping at passing experiences.
And so you see, when people are looking outside, they never have to look inside, and so it goes that yearning for fulfillment outside of ourselves only generates more desire, making the cycle of desire a continuous, perpetual self-sustaining loop. This brings us face to face with another aspect, far too rarely or infrequently discussed or written about. You see, nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to learn, which goes on to say that everything seems to be cyclical.
One doesn’t need to be particularly observant or to have a keen eye for detail to see that not only are the stories we tell cyclical, but also our lives and everything in it, including our thoughts and ideas, desires and attachments. In the end, we all want the same things in life: health, happiness, and love – very much in that order, and most of all, contentment and fulfillment; none of which are dependent upon external factors such as money or belongings – yet, the peculiar thing is that most people seek these things from the world outside themselves.
And because of this, we continue repeating the cycle, retelling the same stories over and over; this is why we continue to embody ourselves, or be reborn in this infinite and eternal universe as a result of these unfulfilled desires – the chain of births lets us resume the pursuit, until such time when we can become aware enough to awaken from this never-ending dream, and realize that we ourselves hold the key that can end this perpetual cycle, resulting in the cessation of suffering that arises from our ignorance of the true nature of reality, and which is caused by our desire and attachments – see?
By virtue of the aforementioned, it should be pointed out that it matters not whether or not one happens to believe in, or subscribe to, the idea of a repeated or continued nature of human life, i.e., rebirth – what matters most is that we ourselves, humanity – as a collective, are enough evidence that there is more to human life than meets the eye.
Isn’t it peculiar that besides the cyclical nature of the stories we tell, thoughts we think, ideas we come up with, desires we have, and attachments we cling to – everything in life seems to be rediscovered, reinvented, recycled, reused and repurposed time and time again? Intriguing, isn’t it?
And so you see, as it has been before, so it shall be again, and what has been done before, will be done again. Against this backdrop, one should be asking themselves: Is there a deeper meaning behind it all? Could the meaning be as simple as this: Life is a full circle; coming back around, again and again, in hopes of meeting ourselves; in hopes of seeing and really knowing ourselves; around and around and around we go, in this thing we call life. And now the question becomes: Is it really so simple? Hardly. In principle, maybe, but in practice – not so much.
If we could learn to recognize and acknowledge that everything arises in dependence upon multiple causes and conditions, it can lead us one step closer to peace – with ourselves and with others. Pointless conflicts in human relations would diminish greatly, if we as individuals would embrace the view “because of that, this exists,” and, “because of that person, I can develop.”
If we manage to do that, then the next step would be realizing that nothing happens by chance – everything happens for a reason, you see? We can use the following analogy to understand this better: this is – because that is; this happens – because that happens.
Another way of saying the same is through negation: this is not – because that is not; this ceases to be – because that ceases to be. Whether or not we are aware of the interconnected web of causes and conditions that bring about an effect, one thing is certain: every action has a reaction, or consequence, you see? This goes on to say that eventually we have to face up to the consequences of our actions – both individually and collectively, “we reap what we sow,” as they say.
As our realization deepens, of the interconnected nature of life, we begin to discover that we can’t separate ourselves from the pain and suffering of others, and that the suffering of the world is our own suffering as well – this brings us to the idea of compassion, which is a whole other topic on its own, and is left out of the discussion for the sake of simplicity. For the sake of context, though, it should be noted that the word ‘compassion’ originates from the Latin root meaning “co-suffering.”
The essence of compassion is a desire to alleviate the suffering of others and to promote their well-being. Some would say that compassion originates as an empathic response to suffering, while others hold that compassion originates in our own suffering and self-compassion, which is then recognized in the other.
Now, let us consider this: If personal suffering stems mainly from craving and ignorance – the same applies to the suffering that afflicts us on a collective scale – ignorance begets ignorance, and suffering begets suffering, doesn’t it?
We humans are beings who are particularly good at ignoring problems and their causes; we are beings who like to blame others and not take responsibility for our actions – does it not, then, inflict suffering upon others if we behave irresponsibly?
To inflict suffering upon others is to become more deeply involved in ignorance, deepening the problems we already have. Indeed, people inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their happiness or satisfaction through external means, but alas, the honest truth is that true happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment.
In so doing, in our pursuit of satisfying our craving, we are subject to emotions without properly using our intuition and intelligence, which is why we are in conflict with ourselves and with others. In an interconnected world, this inner conflict manifests in various forms and occurs at different levels. In other words, our inner conditions have a real and tangible impact on the external world – see?
By virtue of the aforementioned, considering the interconnected nature of life, isn’t it intriguing that of all things, it is suffering that unites humanity? Isn’t it intriguing that instead of happiness, contentment and fulfillment, it is the void we feel inside, and our attempt to fill the void what unites us all?
Isn’t it intriguing that we all look for peace and happiness, contentment and fulfillment in the things of the world, and we try to fill the void with anything – be it people, money, education, sex, drugs, travel, entertainment, cars, houses, or other material possessions – however big or small? But alas, the honest truth is that satisfaction in life is not a function of what you can buy in a store; happiness in life has little to do with what you wear, drive, eat or drink – see?
Here we should ask ourselves: Why are so many of us driven by the cravings of various sorts? Why is it that everyone seems to want the same things that others do? Why are so many of us driven to accumulate more of everything, without any evidence that they provide us with contentment and fulfillment?
We can only arrive at one conclusion: this endless craving of material possessions is our desperate way of trying to alleviate our spiritual thirst for deeper fulfillment. And so you see, all along, these things we seek – happiness, contentment, and fulfillment, are our very nature – our very own center of being.
Wouldn’t all this then suggest that as we live in an interconnected world, taking care of ourselves is intimately linked to, connected with, and dependent upon taking care of each other and the Earth? Wouldn’t this also suggest that the overall health of the individual and society is dependent upon inner well-being more than anything else?
This, in turn, can be achieved through the cultivation of altruism, of love and compassion, and elimination of ignorance, selfishness and greed, can it not? How else would an intelligent, sentient species like us humans survive, grow, progress, and eventually prosper – if not through these means? All things living in harmony, live long, and they prosper, do they not? Are humans any different in this respect?
Extra Material:Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"
~ ∞ ~ On Interconnectedness 1/2 - Awaken the Living Awareness Within ~ ∞ ~
Besides all the aforementioned themes, another equally important aspect of this work is interconnectedness, and because it is an overarching theme throughout this book, a few words are in order in that regard – there are two facets to look at here: first, the interconnectedness on a larger scale; second, the interconnectedness as it pertains to us human beings. It is worth mentioning that although there is no one particular chapter dedicated in the exploration of this theme besides this one, there are plenty of discussion throughout each section covering all the needed aspects of it.
A good way to start would be to say that this book stems from the deep realization that most of what we encounter in our environment is alive, filled with interconnected intelligence, which goes on to say that Living Intelligence is present in all that we call life. Interconnectedness and symbiotic relationships are present everywhere, occurring all around us all the time – between the Earth and humans, between people themselves, people and animals, plants and animals, and all the connections in between – see?
In the pages of this book, we will come to learn that Life on Earth is an autopoietic system – self-producing, self-perpetuating, self-organizing, self-maintaining and self-regulating Intelligent System, and that human beings are an intrinsic part of this Interconnected Web of Life – together they form a symbiotic relationship, you see? Therefore, it is essential to be aware of, and to appreciate the Interconnected Web of All Life.
Throughout the living world, we find living systems nesting within other living systems (Interconnected Symbiosis), which means that nature has learned how to create organisms that grow and self-organize without planning – still working in unison. What a magnificent feat, isn’t it?
To give an example: cells combine to form tissues, tissues to form organs, and organs to form organisms. Material world, therefore – ultimately, is a network of inseparable patterns of relationships – interconnections, you see? This means that also the Earth as a whole is an Intelligent Living System.
By virtue of the aforementioned, it is clear that we as human beings are an intrinsic part of nature, and of the larger whole – Sentient Intelligence, individuated, yet interconnected and interdependent on other parts. Indeed, we are connected with everything – the earth, oceans, forests and mountains, all species, and most of all – with all people. We are one drop in the entire ocean while simultaneously being the entire ocean in one drop – see?
When we look around us, we can see that nothing exists in isolation, which is another way of saying that everything is inherently interconnected, intimately interdependent, and hence inextricably interrelated.
Upon deeper examination, one finds that ultimately, the whole of humanity is a single being – having a collective consciousness; each life is a link in a chain of lives that extends far into the past and projects far into the future. We are part of, and intimately connected to, absolutely everything in the universe – the deeper we go, the more we see how truly connected we are.
We live in an Interconnected World, in which biological, psychological, social, and environmental phenomena are all interdependent. Therefore, it is essential to explore these interconnections if we are to better understand ourselves and our place in the greater scheme of things, our role in bringing about balance in the environment and in our lives, or upsetting the balance even further – instigating disharmony, deepening the problems we already have, you see?
The larger lesson is to make a conscious effort in our daily lives to understand these interconnections – if we can discover and implement ways of honoring these connections in our daily lives, we would be well on our way toward a more sustainable world, with a healthier and more balanced way of life, wouldn’t we?
In the modern era of laptops, tablets, smartphones, and other gadgets of various kinds, the interconnected nature of life has become ever more apparent. Digitally interconnected networks have offered us amazing new ways to understand in practical terms, not only how connected everything is, but also how dependent we have become of these digital networks.
This, in turn, goes a long way to demonstrating how vulnerable everything is – all major systems underlying our society are dependent upon these networks and technological machinery and equipment that keeps it working.
The Digital Revolution has played a huge part in helping us forming new connections all around the world; interconnected digital networks and the Internet has virtually removed all the barriers between the countries, making it possible for us to communicate with other people easily and effortlessly.
What we may have missed in the midst of this technological frenzy is that our lives are intimately bound up with the fragile organism of life on Earth and the interdependence of all species. We should take heed of this and reflect on it, shouldn’t we?
It goes without saying that we would do well as a species to heed the lessons we can learn from the digitally interconnected world. When one has the understanding that we are part of the whole and the whole is part of us, then we start living in a new way – see?
Because all life on Earth exists in an Interconnected Web, it means that what happens to the Earth affects everyone, and everyone’s behavior affects the Earth, and since humans are not isolated beings, their interpersonal actions have much greater consequences and impact than most realize.
But alas, all too often we lose sight of how our actions affect others, and others’ actions affect us. Indeed, everything we do has a ripple effect on everything else – you see, every action activates a cause, which in turn triggers an effect.
This is why becoming conscious and aware of our thoughts, words, and actions is of paramount importance – especially in these turbulent times where interconnectedness is becoming more and more pronounced by the day. The practice of mindfulness is therefore more important than ever before – it is the aliveness we bring to our everyday lives that makes all the difference.
Extra Material:Video: You're It - Alan Watts. Video description: "An inspiring and profound speech from the late Alan Watts. Speech extract from 'Zen Bones and Tales' by Alan Watts"
