Meru Foundation eTORUS(tm)
Newsletter: SPECIAL EDITION Number 29 – 23 September 2005 Copyright 2005 Meru Foundation Edited by Levanah Tenen MERU LECTURE
DVDs I'm pleased to announce that two of Meru Foundation's video
lecture series are now available in DVD format. We are releasing
"Geometric Metaphors of Life," a lecture by Stan Tenen in San Francisco
in February 1989, and "Squaring the Circle: The One and the Many, Mind
and World", our March 1999 "10th Anniversary" lecture in the same
venue, the "3220 Gallery". These DVDs are currently available only from
Meru Foundation. If you have been waiting for the DVD versions of our
lectures, please go to http://www.meetingtent.com/MeruVideo-DVD.html to order "Geometric Metaphors of Life" and "Squaring the Circle".
(Also, don't forget Stan Tenen's "Thinking Allowed" interviews on DVD
-- go to http://www.meetingtent.com/DVD-ThinkAllowed.html for details.)
MERU FOUNDATION
RESEARCH -- CURRENT FOCUS
Last month we announced that instead of writing a "popular" book on
Meru, we are examining some of the oldest Kabbalistic works in the
light of Meru research. Our current focus is an in-depth examination of
the "Sefer Yetzirah" ("Book of Formation", dated by the scholars as
somewhere between 100-500 CE). Even though this material is often
identified as Jewish mysticism, our project has implications for all
the Abrahamic traditions -- and for our society as a whole, which has
arisen from these traditions. Because Meru Foundation's supporters
(like all eTORUS readers) come from a wide variety of backgrounds, I
want to share more of how we envision the Meru project's future. On
July 4 of this year (American Independence Day), Stan wrote the email
below to a friend, explaining our current focus, and its implications
for society as a whole.
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Stan writes:
We are researching Sefer Yetzirah because we believe it may provide the
boundary conditions, rules, and algorithms for weaving or otherwise
generating the sequence of letters in the Hebrew text of Genesis.
Showing how the text is woven is what we call our "fait accompli".
Bottom line, beyond the demonstration of geometric metaphor and its
significance, and beyond the rediscovery of universal gesture language
(as in the story of the Tower of Babel), we think we will be able to
show irrefutably that the "root document" of Western civilization is
not only a story.
If we can demonstrate that the sequence of letters in the text of
Genesis can be generated, we will have a revolution on our hands.
Religious approaches to the Genesis story will have to deal with the
letter-text's preceding the story. Academic scholars who believe that
the text -- that is, the story of the text -- was written and edited
during the Babylonian exile will also have to deal with our
demonstration of a decidedly different origin/source for the text.
If we can show that the text represents both a natural, universal
cosmological constant, and a natural, universal "constant of
consciousness," and that it links the two, then we have "outflanked"
the scholarly hypotheses -- and thus have changed the world.
If we're right, we have to consider the effects these findings will
have. This means we need to do our work privately at first, and then
introduce it to the public after careful consideration of its
potentially revolutionary impact.
If the Bible text is more than a story, if it's software for mind and
universe, then all of the differing religious and secular versions are
both transcended, and unified, in the letter-text source.
In the short term, there is no telling what the impact might be. It
could range from explosion to indifference. In the long term, the
various faiths and sciences must make peace with established fact, and
this will inevitably provide a common ground sufficient for all. What
would be the point of Jewish, Christian, and Moslem versions and
sub-versions of the Bible stories, if the letter-text itself was not
initially, and/or not primarily, a story? If our work is valid, it is
the "software for the mind" (and for cosmology) that will be explored
and made use of, in all faiths and in all sciences.
Personally, I see this project as part of the evolution of mind, and as
a substitute for the vanities of politics, business, and tribalism.
What would be the point of violence, if a science of consciousness were
available not just to settle differences, but literally to heal them?
A science of consciousness is exactly what we need to guide the proper
use of the mind-boggling miracles of modern technology. Without knowing
what we're doing with high-tech, we're hardly more than children with
books of matches in rooms fully of gasoline. But with knowledge,
technology becomes the means to fulfill what we know, and make best use
of all of our resources for the benefit of all.
I'm waxing a bit romantic. But this really is a revolution that we're
proposing. And the challenge for us is the same as it was for Thomas
Jefferson, on this date, 230-odd years ago: "To place before
[hu]mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm
as to command their assent."
********************
Meru Foundation research -- the work Stan describes above is exciting,
provocative -- and needs continued support. We do not receive
institutional grants -- almost all our support comes from individuals
and families who want to see this work reach fruition. If you have been
waiting to purchase DVD's from Meru Foundation -- please start by
ordering "Geometric Metaphors" and "Squaring the Circle", for yourself
or as a gift. And if you believe that Meru research is a valuable and
necessary contribution to our future, and want to help financially,
please send your contribution to Meru Foundation -- either via PayPal
(by the link on www.meru.org), through a
regular credit card on www.meetingtent.com,
or via check or money order to Meru Foundation, PO Box 503, Sharon, MA
02067. Thank you very much.
I hope you enjoy this Meru Foundation eTORUS(tm) Newsletter.
We welcome your comments and suggestions, and would like the
opportunity to speak with you personally.
If you have comments or questions, please send an email to Levanah
Tenen at <meru@meru.org>
with your phone number and a good time to call -- or, please call us at
781-784-8902 (Boston area).
If you no longer wish to receive Meru Foundation's newsletters, please
send email to Levanah Tenen at <meru@meru.org>,
and include "Unsubscribe" in the text of the message.
Thank you for your interest in the work of the Meru Foundation.
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Meru Foundation research offices:
Research Director: Stan Tenen Secretary-Treasurer: Levanah (Cynthia)
Tenen
PO Box 503
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Voice: 781-784-8902 eFax: 253-663-9273
Email: <meru@meru.org>
Website: <http://www.meru.org>
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