“To be an abstraction does not mean that an entity is nothing.
It merely means that its existence is only a factor of
a more concrete element of nature.”
Alfred North Whitehead
"Abstract" 2006Cast Concrete, Bottle Lid, Polymer Stain on Concrete
From the Editor: Boundaries establish a binary conundrum - one is either inside the demarcation or outside the demarcation. Which reminds me of my favorite joke when I was a kid. "Two horses. One is running the range, and one is in the corral. Which horse sings Don't Fence Me In? The Answer? Well neither, silly. Horses can't sing." But in the unimagined land, horses can sing, and fences can come down. Entire Sciences are embraced and renounced and then held dear. The forgotten are re-membered, borders are crossed and erased and reconfigured. In the unimagined land reside my thoughts and dreams and aspirations til they percolate through my permeable walls and are set free in action. As Ken Wilber says, "The boundary between self and not-self is the first one we draw and the last one we erase.”
Imagine that.
"Moments in History - The Fall of the Berlin Wall"
Carston Cumbrowski 2008
“Mereotopology”
“Would it be prudent for The Universe to recognize that as an Entity, The Universe is best defined by its boundaries?” wondered The Universe.
God chewed on this question for a bit, and responded thusly: “a boundary can exist as a matter of necessity as an extension beyond that which is not included within the boundary.”
“Once again, The Universe hears God speaking in circles”, replied a confused The Universe. “The Universe is regarding the interiority that is The Universe.”
“Yes”, answered God, “and God intuits that The Universe’s concerns are justified. And those concerns are the vectors discerning what is there and transforms it to what is here.”
"Angel Oak Study #10" 2011Polymer Stains on Canvas
From the "Revisiting My Nature Series"
“Closure Operators”
“Back to order”, commenced The Universe, chuckling at the unintended double-entendre. “Isn’t there indeed an order in Nature? And if so, can it be formed?”
“There are sequential elements in the interactions of Entities that create societies of intertwining Orders. But these societies are not isolated. Take for example a language that is first acquired and takes an historic route in its developed usage. Over time, this language may come into disuse as overlapping societies of Entities implement new prevailing languages. This is a type of Natural Order”, intoned God.
“Sounds like Greek to me”, retorted The Universe.
“When traveling is made too easy and comfortable, its spiritual meaning is lost. This may be called sentimentalism, but a certain sense of loneliness engendered by traveling leads one to reflect upon
the meaning of life, for life is after all a traveling
from one unknown to another unknown.”
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki
Links:the meaning of life, for life is after all a traveling
from one unknown to another unknown.”
Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki
On Restructuring Habit.
Context.
On The New Land.
This concludes Week Thirteen of
"The God and The Universe Conversations".
"The God and The Universe Conversations".
All art and writing by Tom Schulz unless otherwise noted, or unless it is so cool
he will try to get away with claiming it as his own."The God and The Universe Conversations" are based on Tom's protracted reading of Process and Reality, by Alfred North Whitehead.
he will try to get away with claiming it as his own."The God and The Universe Conversations" are based on Tom's protracted reading of Process and Reality, by Alfred North Whitehead.
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8 comments:
RE: the boundaries that stop us from going to the New Land. What do those walls look like? Who built them? Who maintains them?
I maintain them very well; thank you! FEAR is a powerful motivator to NOT do something. What if you go over/through the wall never to see walls or boundaries again. What does that look like? I don't know but that feels scary. What would I hold onto; what does it feel like to be boundary-less? This is unfamiliar territory and do I have the guts to be an explorer? The devil I know...
I once had a dream that I was in front of a huge brick wall. I knew I needed to get on the other side. It was so tall and so thick. I didn't know what to do. I despaired. And was still. Then I started walking along the wall. I walked and walked and walked. Eventually, I came to the end of the wall and just simply stepped into the New Land. My desire outreached the wall.
Tom, the drama of the Berlin wall makes me cry! On the other hand, it must be wonderful to have the experience of physically breaking your wall.
The invisible walls are less dramatic and more lonely.
Boundaries...My convoluted mind went to the cellular level in this conversation about boundaries, specifically to the notion of the semi-permeable boundary. This quote says it well:
"Cells are a fundamental structural unit of all living organisms. All living cells are surrounded by membranes, which separate the water-rich cytoplasm inside the cell from a significantly different outside environment. The membranes, which define the boundaries of each cell, are “semi-permeable” – they let some things pass through, but keep other things in and out. Cells that are either permeable or are non-permeable, rather than semi-permeable, cannot support life. A cell that doesn’t keep anything in will dry up. A cell that doesn’t let anything out will explode. A cell that doesn’t let anything in or out is a closed system – it is dead. If living cells weren’t semi-permeable, they wouldn’t be able to retain moisture or minerals; they wouldn’t be able to metabolize food, release energy, or eliminate waste. The organism would die. All living organisms are made up of cells, which are defined by semi-permeable boundaries." I cut this from a longer and interesting reflection at http://web.missouri.edu/~ikerdj/papers/Ecology-Sustainability.htm
HI Beautiful Tom, This sight is so amazing! Love the new art piece. I wonder...perhaps we are on both side of the wall and the all..accepting every piece and part..the angelic/witness view can see both sides and no wall at all, and perhaps walls needed for definition here on this sweet earth place, yet inother spheres no boundaries needed..yet then if no boundaries..perhaps more responsibility to discern...the treasured human becoming more on the journey....hmmmm. Enlightenment is surely blessing on the journey.The illusions in the day to day..and the dreamshmmmm and being human a most treasured state - some mystics say there is a line of souls waiting for this experience of being human. I just know for this now - friends are a treasure at every part of the journey of becoming. How do I thank you for sharing room at the empathic gallery with my first artworks, sharing in a Sunday school class...you are one of those souls that helps others souls remember the divine friend is right here in life..., the spark of the divine artist..here...not away somewhere...Life is so very rich in this way.Love to You and Sheila ; ), and sweetie new Olive
Jane - you have spent your life moving through those invisible walls with grace and determination. And you continue in that effort, which is amazing. You are an inspiration and great teacher. Thank you.
Cathy - "Cells that are either permeable or are non-permeable, rather than semi-permeable, cannot support life."
That's exactly where I was going. It's the "going back and forth" between multiples of possibilities that is so very exciting to me.
Thanks for the additional info.
Virginia,
Thanks for this: "the angelic/witness view can see both sides and no wall at all, and perhaps walls needed for definition here on this sweet earth place"
I love definitions. What Sheila calls "something to bump up against". But the walls of confinement are what I rail against. And I am responsible for having built so many of them - brick by brick. And then watched them disappear with a shift in perspective.
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