CHAPTER 1
THE KEYS TO THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION
INTRODUCTION: The Double Stranded Story.
The misperception of our lives
Shapes our realities.
It sets the path and purpose
To ambition and desire.
Neither lens nor prism
Can correct these insanities
Since a fault within the optics
Never will you find.
From "Blind Vision", by the author.
Yes, there is a great story to be told. It is an incredible story because it transcends logic and human comprehension. It is a universal story concerning life, you and I, and all of us. It also concerns our world, the universe, and the meaning and the purpose of creation and of human existence. Many of us still yearn for some peace of mind, for understanding, and insight into these great quandaries. If that applies to you, then I invite you to follow this meticulously chartered ancestral route that I have now mapped out before you.
A large and varied number of different aspects of this complex and intriguing story have already been told in great detail. Within this more modern and scientific era the greatest emphasis has been placed upon the physical and material evolution of the universe, the planets, and the Darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection. Yet, this is no more than a record concerning an intellectual inquiry into a single strand of what is, in fact, a double stranded story. Such an inquiry would be tantamount to our unravelling a single strand of our DNA in our search to unveil the mysteries of our genome and the manner in which it is expressed within our biological makeup.
As with our DNA, there is a second strand to the nature of our humanity, and to its historical unfolding. Likewise, as with our DNA each of these strands mirrors, and complements, the other strand. It is only when both elements are interwoven, and placed together into a unitary structure, that we can begin to apprehend the extraordinary nature, interdependence, and complexity, of the subject of our inquiry. The history of creation, of life and humanity, is more than a physical, chemical, and biological event. These events must be placed within the context of what it is that defines humanity and of what it means to be truly human. The answers cannot be found purely within the scientific and biological terms of reference. The spiritual evolution of mankind is the second, and by far the more important, strand of this great and awesome story.
Having said that, I am not suggesting that human evolution constitutes a biological process within which there is a spiritual strand or elemental subset. On the contrary, I am explicitly, and uncompromisingly, stating that the evolution of humanity is, in its very essence, a unique, and fundamentally spiritual process. The biological element is but a mechanism, and a material means, by which this mystical process would unfold within the parameters that define the material, and the mortal nature of life, and our living universe. Consequently, the task demands the use of more than the left brained language of science, logic, and intellect. We must also resort to the primacy of the right cerebral hemisphere, to the use of metaphor, allegory, imagery and imagination. Most of all we must be able and willing to engage with our human intuition in order that we may recall and recollect that fundamental wisdom which we have long since surrendered to the archives of our subconscious and overwritten with cognitive arrogance. It would appear that we have inadvertently capitulated to the dictates of our intellects and our ego minds.
No doubt, but that some individuals will object to the very thought or idea that this story has a second strand that relates to the spiritual or metaphysical. Despite such objections, the full truth regarding this story must be told and will continue to unfold in word and deed, in truth and in reality, until the end of time. What precisely is this authentic reality? Do we actively seek to fully acknowledge and embrace it? Are we far more preoccupied in our efforts to create and live out some alternative version that is grounded only in the material, the intellectual, and the scientific?
At the core of our inquiry lies the fundamental question of what it is that defines our humanity and what precisely does it mean to be human. The scientists will insist that humanity is simply defined by a unique cluster of biological properties that have been encoded within our D.N.A. throughout the evolutionary history of this planet. Like all forms of life we date back to some specific, and as yet unidentified, primordial ancestor – LUCA: the Last Universal Common Ancestor, some 3.8 billion years ago. Life is no more than "self-replication with variation". Thus, Darwin's theory is restated in a contemporary scientific nutshell. Yet we must ask if these genetic expressions are the sole determinants of our humanity. Might our humanity have more to do with the non - molecular, the nonorganic, with the nature of our mind and that illusive quality which we describe as human consciousness? Might the phenomena of mind and consciousness be something far greater and far more enigmatic than a neurological expression of the biological workings of our human brain? Might it be that these uniquely human properties are not simply generated by the complex neurochemical and electrical interactions located within our craniums?
Furthermore, we might ask the most vital and elementary question within this evolutionary process. At what juncture did the primate, from whom we have presumably evolved, become uniquely human? What precisely was it that became the all defining factor or event? Was it simply the consequence of some final and critical evolutionary alteration, variation, or mutation within a small portion of our D.N.A.?
yes, we will be challenging some critical aspects regarding the interpretation which we have traditionally applied to Darwin's theory of evolution. We will also challenge a number of closely related scientific facts as they are presumed to apply within the historical unfolding of our ancestry and of our human nature. The term "presumption" serves as a useful reminder not to assume in advance that our mental (i.e. mind- full) faculties are exclusively confined to, or the necessary consequence of, our cognitive intellects.
We share nearly 99% of the same DNA sequence as chimpanzees, from whom we split 6 million years ago. If at some future date we were able to reconfigure the 1% difference that exists between these two species using genetic engineering techniques, would we confer the property of humankind upon this primate relative of ours? Would such a species be classified as human, or perhaps within the subcategory "Chimpanzee Humanoid?" Most importantly, beyond the visible, the microscopic, molecular, or behavioural, would such a "creation" be devoid of some illusive property that we recognize as uniquely human? Alternatively, if by some accident or incident a segment of the human population's DNA was to mutate in a retrograde manner that critical and approximate 1% so as to match that of the chimpanzee, would they lose their humanity and become no more than animal? Would we still refer to them as human or reclassify them as something less than that: such as "Human Chimpanzoid"?
While the likelihood of either, or both, scenarios may appear highly remote, they are not theoretically impossible. Most of us might find it impossible to arrive at some absolute and definitive answer. Despite this I will venture to say that in the former instance the humanoid creature would more likely resemble Neanderthal man in nature, behaviour, and form. I will be proposing that this primate, and many other "Homo" classified species, were devoid of the facility of human consciousness and were never destined to become a human being. But that is another issue which we will address in due course.
For the moment these questions have been posed so that we might seek to fathom the ultimate depths of the nature of human kind. Are we no more than intelligent monkeys with the facility of speech and language in addition to some fairly obvious anatomical and physiological variations? It is at this level of consideration that many, if not most of us, would intuitively feel that there is another strand to the story of humanity beyond the material and the purely biological. Regardless of the purity of one's scientific intellect, and any measure of aversion to the philosophical, psychological, and spiritual, I would hope that I can provide supportive evidence for the popular contention, and deeply held belief of many, that we are more than the expressive intellectual and emotive sum of our evolving molecular and biological parts. In due course we will revert to the beginning of this epic story. We will attempt, hopefully without undue prejudice or prejudgment, to reconstruct a more holistic framework that is inclusive of the second strand.
CHAP 1A. THE AIR OF CONTEXT
As in all things,
What one sees is there.
What one fails to see,
Is not,
For now,
Until our eyes are opened.
From "Our Paradigm ", by the author.
If there were three odd little words to describe the keys that could help to magically unlock the doors to an authentic vision and understanding, of ourselves and our universe, they would be "context", "primacy", and "synergy".
These are the keys that can open the Doors of Perception to the reality of life within our world. These are the keys to the acquisition, and ultimately to the sharing, of genuine knowledge. In fact, these are three of the master keys that help us to define both the purpose, and the implicit meaning, of the term "human consciousness". Without these "Keys of Wisdom", we are reduced to gazing at life through the uncorrected, and imprecise, prism of our intellect. This is a ground glass prism that refracts, disperses, and dims, the source of our genuine human enlightenment. Such is the nature of the spiritual light that is essential to illuminate our perception, and provide us with a clear and authentic vision of life and our shared reality.
Yet, there is a fourth, and final, word that describes the unlocking mechanism to this reality. This is the word that finally releases the entrance bolt, and inscribes the circle of knowledge. This is knowledge that once shared, will revert to its source of origin. It is knowledge crafted, guided, and directed, upon the wings of the golden key-ring of Consciousness. It is concealed within the term "reciprocity", and is of such vital importance that it will be considered as a separate entity. Within its terms of reference resides the critical interchange, the crucial act of sharing, and the ultimate returning. It is within the act of sharing that synergy can be realized. Additionally, it is in the faithful return of its content to its primacy that reconciliation is acquired for, and on behalf of, every one of us.
Reciprocity is the fundamental unit of transactional exchange, and of spiritual and conceptual intercourse. In its absence, the acquisition of knowledge would be no more than a self-indulgent and futile mental exercise. In due course, you will come to appreciate the manner in which this specific form of interchange is reflected within the enigmatic relationship that exists within, and between, the content of our mental and cerebral capacities.
In addressing a wide range of issues that pertain to the nature of our humanity within the following chapters, the fundamental importance of all four of these defining characteristics, as they apply to the topics under our consideration, will become clearly evident in every instance. Regrettably even these irritating little brats of words are invoked so often in the text that I honestly do not wish to see, nor hear again, from either "primacy", "context", "synergy", or even "reciprocity", for a very long time. In the meantime, be assured, if not forewarned, that I will make every effort to follow my own directions, as herein expressed, with regard to the sharing of knowledge, and as it is seen to apply to the pursuit of our individual and collective human enlightenment.
In so far as it is conceptually possible to do so, each of the core issues that are addressed within the text are placed within the context of their spiritual and material (i.e. scientific), primacy. In other words, we will revert to address these issues in terms of what we will variably refer to as their "Scientific Laws", or "First Principles". We will also refer to them within an alternative allegorical form of language that is elaborated and expressed within a "Primary Thesis", (The primacy of the Word), or as expressed within the meaning of the term "Sitz im Leben" (The original life setting).These fundamental issues are also considered from a synergistic perspective that attempts to reconcile the invariable conceptual polarization as it is expressed within the language of science and that of the metaphysical.
This cognitive conflict is, to a large extent, an inherent feature of the discordant nature of the dominant metaphorical source from which these propositions, and beliefs, are derived. The misappropriations of terminology, and the conceptual extrapolation of scientific theory into the domain of the nature of life and the lived experience, are additional contributing factors.
Very little of anything that we attempt to communicate to each other has any value, use, or relevance, in the absence of context. As you will understand more clearly in subsequent chapters, what the word "context" is to syntax is what that activity is to the right brain. A major function of our right cerebral hemisphere is the provision of a primary allegorical (or metaphorical) substrate for intellectual analysis by the left brain, and to contextualize the cognitive material that is subsequently returned to it from that side of our analytical and logic brain. This synergy of effort provides us with a perceptual product that can be integrated, and applied in a meaningful way, to the external world in which we live.
The right hemisphere, as provider of the original substrate, underwrites the material that is presented to the left hemisphere. Only our right cerebral hemisphere can perform this synergistic feat of allocating concepts within a specified context. This is because the format of context has already been preconditioned by the implicit nature of the substrate initially provided to the right hemisphere.
The primary substrate of all our concepts is allegory and metaphor. Metaphor, by definition, is a means of comprehending something new in terms within which we are already familiar, and within a context that has been previously known. Everything that we come to know is like something that is already known. The source of the primary, and allegorical, substrate to which the right hemisphere is in receipt, is derived from the collective unconscious. These primary allegories, in common with all forms of intuitive, and archetypical, allegory, are implicit in the sense that they have not been subject to cognitive abstraction and explicitness by the left analytical hemisphere. In other words, explicit concepts and ideas are dependent upon the provision of the implicit, and the collectively intuitive, for their generation and their expression. Consequently, all our conceptual constructs derive their primacy of context from an implicit and intuitive source that is shared by all human beings.
These primary allegories, or metaphors, are representative of "intuitive precepts", or "first principles", that are derived from pre-existing concepts with which we, as man within a celestial domain, had once been familiar. These pre-existing concepts have been retrieved as recollections that were originally archived within our "unlived memory". These are the ancient remnants of the authentic and perfectly conceptualized memories of man, (as we shall define the term "man" later within this chapter), as he initially existed within a celestial domain of the first creative event as described in the Book of genesis.
These "first principles", as originally imbued within the essence of the Spirit of man, are derived from the Holy Spirit. They are expressions of the Will of the Spirit, and are representative of the spiritual life force and the spiritual knowledge that was imparted to man as first created. Within this context we refer to the content of these first principles within the terminology of the "Wisdom of the Soul". "Wisdom of the Spirit" is the term that we apply to describe the nature of these "first principles" within the broader context and as they refer to that which constitutes the authentic source and the fundamental essence of all that exists within creation.
The nature of the units or "first principles" may also be considered as "monads", as defined by the eighteenth Century German philosopher, Liebniz. Monads are considered to be immutable, and "true substances", that are individually "programmed" to act in a predetermined manner. Each program is coordinated with all others He defined these substances as metaphysical points, or "universal units", that are both "exact and real". Liebniz considered monads as the metaphysical units that constituted the "perpetual living mirrors of the universe". As so defined, monads are representative of the authentic, and metaphysical nature of the universe within which resides a material correlate that is amenable to our sensory senses of perception. Within those limited terms of reference, where "exact" also implies absolute perfection, this is an appropriate descriptive term that may be applied with reference to the "first principles" of the Wisdom of the Spirit. However, the fundamental philosophical context in which Liebniz applied the term "monad" is considered to be inherently flawed.
