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Essays by
Stan Tenen |
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| Spirals as Metaphors: |
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| Bible Codes |
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– An Experiment in Reality –
The Three Abrahamic Covenants and the Car
Passing Trick
©1996 Stan Tenen |
All whole cycles naturally come in three parts. This is because it
takes
3-points (anywhere in two or higher dimensional space) to uniquely
define
a circle. In the sense that a point is like a seed, a circle is like
its
surrounding fruit. Any finite circle viewed from infinitely far away
can
appear to be a point, and any point examined infinitesimally (from
within
itself) can appear to be a circle. If we make use of a point to model Unity, we could make use of a circle to model a corresponding Wholeness.
Thus it is more than coincidence that Whole and hole are
pronounced the same. There is always a hole inside of a Whole circle.
Since the volume of a 2-torus in 3-dimensions has the same measure
as
the surface of a sphere (with appropriate radius) in 4-dimensions (a hypersphere)1,
the discussion of circles as models of Wholeness, above, also
holds
for spheres and tori - even though it takes 4-points to determine a
sphere
in 3-dimensions and 5-points to determine a hypersphere in
4-dimensions.
The simplest, lowest order Whole of this sort is an ordinary
2-dimensional
circle.
In the Babylonian Talmud (an essential part of the Hebrew "Oral
Torah" later committed to writing), in Mishneh (section) Ain Dorshin ("Do not discuss"), in Tractate (book) Hagigah,
there are specific instructions regarding the discussion of kabbalistic
matters. When understood in its simple literal meaning, the Mishneh
opens
by stating that it is forbidden to discuss (or expound on) issues of
"nakedness"
(below, translated politely as "forbidden relations") with more
than three.
- From Tractate Hagigah, Mishneh Ain Dorshin, Soncino Press
translation:
- "The [subject of] forbidden relations may not be expounded in
the presence of three,....."
The Talmud’s word for "nakedness," or-i-oth, is usually
interpreted to refer to physical nakedness and sexual matters
("forbidden
relations") and three is generally thought to refer to three persons. However, when "nakedness" is understood in an
abstract, mathematical sense, the opening verse of Mishneh Ain
Dorshin can also be interpreted to read (loosely translated): "Nothingness
generates naked distinctions in threes." (A full translation, based
on this reading, will eventually be linked here. Naked, in this
non-bodily, abstract sense is also what we mean when we call our FIRST
HAND™ Flame Letter sculpture Naked Recursion. We mean naked in the sense of "having no other properties" - nothing but Recursion.)
This three-in-one, Unity-in-Wholeness, seed-in-fruit model
is
one reason why we chose to investigate the properties of torus knots
(torus
knots model mathematical singularities) that have three loops, layers,
windings, or lobes. (In mathematical notation, our torus knot models
are
all 3,X Torus knots. For example, the Meru model of Continuous
Creation is a 3,10 Torus knot: It has 3-layers in its standard "wreath"
form and 10-nodes and 3-coils or lobes in its inverted form.) The 3,X
series
of torus knots are most suited to our purposes because they all allow
for
elegant 7-color maps (which define the surface of a 2-torus) to be
drawn
between the windings of the torus the knot is wound on. This allows us
to assign meanings to the Hebrew letters based on an extension of the
stages
and levels of universal self-organizing process presented in Arthur M.
Young’s Geometry of Meaning (also available from Rob’t Briggs
Associates,
Lake Oswego, Oregon.)
The low order 3,X torus knots have another extraordinary property.
They
are related to the 5-platonic solids and the basic mathematical
symmetry
groups.
The 3,4 torus knot
is related to----------the tetrahedron and the E6 symmetry group;
the 3,2 torus knot (with linked ring)
is related to----------the cube, the octahedron and the E7 symmetry group;
the 3,5 torus knot
is related to the icosahedron, the dodecahedron and the E8 symmetry group.
Not only are there many important technical implications to the
triple
nature of all circles, as is demonstrated by the Meru Torus Knot
models,
but there are social and personal implications also. After all, Meru
Foundation
is presenting models that we believe to be part of a true science
of
consciousness carried in the letter patterns (and narratives) of
canonized
texts and by means of the sacred alphabets of the Abrahamic faiths. The
idea of a science of consciousness implies a linkage between
the
internal (personal consciousness) and the external (consensus sciences).
If this is actually so, we should expect to also find insights into the
human condition with practical as well as abstract applications.
THE THREE ABRAHAMIC COVENANTS
A covenant, for purposes of this discussion, is taken to be an
"agreement
with G-d"; a SELF-FULFILLING path and a self-referential PROMISE.
In the west, there are three strands of faith: the Hebraic, the
Christian,
and the Islamic, and each has its particular covenant which gives it
its
continuity and sustenance. It should be remembered that the examples
given
below are stereotypes and they are stated in the extreme for clarity. These
descriptions are far from complete. We are in no way suggesting
that
many or all the members of each of these strands of western faith are
limited
to the single stereotypical covenant here associated with that faith.
In
the ideal, so-called Jewish learning, Christian love,
and Moslem surrender are admired, expressed (albeit in different
words),
and essential in each faith.
- The JEWISH covenant is based on adherence to and understanding of
the
law (The Torah). The Oral Torah, the Talmud, literally means, the
learning from the Hebrew root Lamed-Mem-Dalet, to learn or teach. This
has
led to a desire for LEARNING, and ethical behavior derived from
learning,
as the primary modes of relation to the world. We sometimes think of
Jews
as using their minds more than their hands because, without land and
sovereignty
that was all that was permitted. The (persecuted and) wandering Jew can
take his Torah-learning, but not his land and not always his tools,
with
him.
- The CHRISTIAN covenant is based on LOVE and empathy and therefore
emphasizes
the nurturing and nourishing emotions that lead to faith. Here
conception
is physical, and understanding of the Law (the Hebrew Bible) is less
important.
One can be transformed, healed, and even resurrected, by God’s love.
- The MOSLEM covenant is SURRENDER. The word Islam means
surrender,
submission or "letting go" to the will of Allah. In Islam the
goal is to surrender to God’s will.
In our world today these three covenants cannot work separately.
Each
is a necessary step in the harmonic living unfoldment of any
manifestation.
When we compare these covenants to the stages in the growth of a child,
it becomes obvious that all three are necessary. First the new life
must
be CONCEIVED (the Hebraic covenant), then the fetus must be nurtured
and
carried in the womb of its mother, with its parent's emotional and
bodily
LOVE (the Christian covenant), and finally the child must be birthed –
SURRENDERED to independent life (the covenant of Islam) in the outside
world.
To manifest anything in our reality it is necessary to Think, to
Feel,
and to Surrender. If any one of these three is missing or out of
balance
with the rest, there will be no child.
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When Its Real, You Do Not Need To Believe In It, You Only
Need To Try It.
If the reader would like to test this model to see for him- or
herself
that it functions in the real world, consider the following:
It is possible to relate an experience to other people who have had
a similar experience, even when it is difficult or impossible to convey
the experience by description in words. That is the key to
understanding
why experience is so essential. If you have not had experiences common
to the experiences of another person, then often the other person
cannot
learn from your experiences and you cannot learn from theirs. That is
also
why true understanding comes only after doing, and why apprenticeship
is
often the best way to really learn a new skill. Hands-on
learning-by-doing
rises above the description and makes the words real.
You can read a manual that will tell you how to operate the gas and
brake pedals of a car, but you cannot "educate" your foot until
you actually attempt to use the gas and brake pedals.
This is true of deep spiritual experiences. In part, the Talmudic
commentaries
on Mishneh Ain Dorshin discuss Rabbi Akiva’s and his three
companion’s
(circa 100 C.E.) experiences in PaRDeS (Paradise) in their meditations.
Rabbi Akiva, also known as a master kabbalist and a master of the
Hebrew
alphabet, is traditionally considered to be the person who first wrote
down the teachings about creation and the Hebrew alphabet in the most
basic
kabbalistic text, the Sefer Yetzirah (the Book of Formation).
Rabbi Akiva's spiritual experiences cannot be properly or fully
appreciated
by anyone who has not had similar experiences for themselves. Intense
prayer
and strict adherence to religious obligations certainly can provide a
touch
of a similar experience, but they cannot really prepare a person for
the
actual PaRDeS experience to any extent beyond that which the person has
already experienced. Only Rabbi Akiva is said to have returned from
this
experience whole and intact. One leaves PaRDeS (or Chapel Perilous)
as one enters. Rabbi Akiva entered "b’shalom" – whole and at
peace – so he returned that way. One of his companions died in PaRDeS
and
did not return. Another returned but was no longer well, and the third
returned with his intellect intact, but he was no longer spiritually
sound.
There is no royal road to the insights available in PaRDeS, and the
experience(s) cannot be obtained second-hand. It is not possible to
know
these spiritual truths without experiencing them for yourself, and it
is
not possible to communicate what you know – with its full integrity and
depth of meaning – with someone who has not had a similar experiences.
...And, just as it would be impossible for a child to evaluate sexual
experiences,
it would be foolhardy for someone to judge the importance of spiritual
experiences when they themselves have not had similar experiences.
This is from chapter two of Pirke Avot (the teachings of
the
rabbinic sages), Artscroll prayerbook translation, p. 551: "He used
to say: Treat His will as if it were your own will, so that He will
treat
your will as if it were His will. Nullify your will before His will, so
that He will nullify the will of others before your will."
Usually such religious teachings are taken to be admonitions. They
are
assumed to be a means to teach people how to behave well. But if we are
really being taught a science of consciousness, we should expect that
statements
such as this might be more than admonitions. They might have real,
practical
meaning. This is very interesting because it suggests a real experiment
in faith that could be tested and proven. In fact, it is an experiment
that I designed (although I am far from the originator of the general
technique)
over a decade ago to demonstrate the reality of a science of
consciousness
to skeptics on a computer conference. Anyone who is able to actually
follow
the directions will find that the teachings of the Jewish sages (and
the
comparable teachings of Christian and Moslem sages), as quoted above,
are
exactly – and demonstrably – correct. |
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THE CAR PASSING TRICK
It is essential, if this experiment going to work, that you NOT take
it seriously at first. It must be ONLY for amusement (at least at
first).
This is the "bitul" aspect (bitul is the Hebrew term for
self-abnegation of will, will-less-ness, and humility). Think of it as
a "controlled folly" (as Carlos Castenada put it in his works
on Yaqui Indian "sorcery".)
- So, do not believe the following, just try it. If you do
believe
it, you are disqualified.
The reason what you are about to do, and especially its outcome,
MUST
be a "folly" is because if there is any desired outcome whatsoever,
your ego will be involved and you will not have nullified your will.
That
is not bitul. (It is interesting to speculate that this might be
because,
physically speaking, conscious ego involvement collapses the "wave
equation" prematurely and prevents the experiment from working.)
The necessity of nullifying your will provides some additional
guidelines
for the experiment. You must either be completely alone, or the people
you are with must never know what you are doing. (You can do this
without
telling your companions.)
If you tell anyone before you try the experiment, your reputation
and
the credibility of the experiment will be riding on whether or not you
are "successful." This is not bitul. This is ego involvement
and it engages rather than nullifies your will, so the experiment will
not work.
If you intend to tell anyone after the experiment – either bragging
about success, or mocking the foolish-superstitious experiment if you
fail
– your ego will be involved and the experiment will not work.
Now, if you are already a person who can nullify their will, like a
tzaddik (saint), these precautions are not necessary. But, it is best
to
start out without presuming you are a tzaddik. <smile>
(Presumptiveness
is willfulness.) Willful ego-consciousness is inextricably tied to our
3-D bodies. The experience of "hyper"-reality is not consistent
with 3-D reality, because 3-D reality is causal and deterministic.
Although
this is a repeatable experiment with consistent effects, it is
definitely
NOT physically causal in the usually understood sense. What other sense
is possible, you ask? Read on.
If the experiment is going to have meaning for you, you must be
prepared
to keep it entirely to yourself. You may, however, repeat the
experiment
to your heart's content. You will find that IF and WHEN you are able to
meet all the conditions, the experiment will become reliable – from
your
point of view. Of course, there won't be any other point of view,
because
you are never going to tell anyone about any particular experiment at
any
time when it could be externally checked on. Without humility, the
experiment
will fail. You cannot objectively demonstrate this experiment to anyone
else. You can only encourage them to try it, and, if they succeed, to
discuss
their and your common experiences.
This experiment is exclusively repeatable and subjective. It only
works
in consensus reality IF you are a genuine prophet. Since it is unlikely
that anyone reading this is a prophet, we can neglect this case.
- You may wonder how it is that I am going to be able to tell you
what
I can without ruining the experiment for myself. You will never know
WHEN
the experiment has worked for me, so, in any given instance, you will
not
know that anything has occurred. Likewise for everyone else.
Okay, here is an example of what to do. Remember it is only an
example.
You will have to interpret it and try something equivalent to it in
your
own particular circumstances.
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The situation: I am driving down a narrow country highway with only
one lane in each direction. Passing is not allowed and/or it is too
dangerous
because the road is too winding to see far enough ahead.
I am in a hurry to get to my destination and am zipping along
merrily
down this country lane when I come up behind farmer Brown who is
driving
his model T at 20-miles per hour. I was happily going along at 45-miles
per hour, and could safely continue to do so IF farmer Brown weren't in
the way.
What to do?
I could risk the chance of an accident or a ticket and cross the
double
yellow line to pass farmer Brown. But, it's not that much of an
emergency.
(If it were a real emergency, I would have a real stake in getting to
my
destination in a hurry and I would have a very difficult time trying to
remain bitul. See more on this, below.)
I could pull up behind farmer Brown, flash my headlights, honk and
make
an angry gesture. But, alas, we already know that farmer Brown has
declining
eyesight and doesn't hear so well anymore – else I wouldn't have evoked
the stereotype of "farmer Brown in a model T", and he wouldn't
be driving so slowly in the first place. <smile>
So, I decide to try the experiment:
The first condition is that I actually desire to pass farmer Brown.
This is my will. I will later have to give up on my desires and nullify
my personal will.
- I pull up behind farmer Brown, but not so close that he would
feel
pressured by me. Just so he sees I'm present.
- Actually or in my mind's eye, I smile at him. I imagine that I
can
look into his eyes through his rear view mirror and I, in my
imagination
- or for real, if possible - greet him with my eyes.
I form the thought: "Top of the morning to you, sir. Do you mind if
I pass you? I would be pleased if I could." This is my statement of
my will.
Another thought that works is tied to the casual/friendly feeling
connection
you make with a person as you are trying to get by them in a crowded
hallway.
You sort of tap the person on the shoulder and they quite naturally and
unconsciously make way a bit as you squeeze by.
- I drop back a bit more from behind farmer Brown, and I COMPLETELY
AND
UTTERLY GIVE UP on EVER passing him. I submit my will to God’s will.
This
step is vital and it CANNOT BE FAKED. I must nullify my will or nothing
will happen. Unless I actually give up all hope and expectation of
passing,
and resign myself to God's will by following farmer Brown to the ends
of
the earth or to my destination – whichever comes first – nothing will
happen.
If I get uptight that nothing is happening, then nothing will continue
to (not) happen. Often it is not possible to actually give up. When
this
is the case for you, you will know this is true, and you will observe
that
the experiment doesn't work.
1. When all the conditions are met, When I clearly form the thought
that I would like to see manifest
2. AND when I feel my need and lovingly share my feelings about it
3. AND when I completely let go of my wish by nullifying my will to
God's will,
.....then and only then IT happens.
At the very instant when I have actually nullified my will to God's
will (just as in the biblical story of the sacrifice of Isaac)
and
given up on anything happening, and I am completely resigned to follow
farmer Brown forever, Farmer Brown will inexplicably pull over or turn
off the road and let me pass. Or some other means will open up that
allows
me to pass. (In essence, just as with Abraham and Isaac, God provides
the
alternative for the sacrifice.)
Sometimes all that is required for me to actually give up and let go
of my will to pass farmer Brown is for me to turn on the radio and get
lost in some discussion or music. At the instant that the radio catches
my attention, the instant that I drop my will – and not a moment before
– the obstacle will disappear.
This "car passing trick" is especially useful when you find
yourself behind a police officer traveling at the speed limit on an
otherwise
completely open road. No one is foolish enough to speed by a police
officer
when the officer doesn’t have some other problem to occupy his or her
attention.
(It is always safe to speed past a police car after a fire-engine red
sports
car speeds by first. <smile> )
You may have to experiment for a very long time before you will get
the hang of it. It may work for you the first time and then it won't
work
again until you get out of the habit of counting on it. (Counting on
things
is not consistent with a state of bitul.) In fact, it won't work at all
at first for some people, because, try as they might, they can't turn
off
their ego expectations. This will even be true for very pious persons
who
observe all their religious obligations.
You have to keep running variations on this experiment UNTIL JUST
AFTER
YOU CAN GIVE UP ON IT so that it will REALLY be a controlled folly and
you really will be in a state of self-abnegating bitul. After a large
number
of attempts, you will naturally stop expecting anything to happen.
Then,
when your will is dropped, you will be caught by surprise. After the
first
breakthrough, if you are not ego pushy, it will become easier and
easier
to the point where this just works naturally whenever you can actually
afford to give up on getting what you want. It will stop working
entirely
the first time you are tempted to demonstrate "your" ability
for someone else. That turns on ego. Ergo, no effect.
You can also make an experiment of preventing the effect this way
from
time to time. You will find that the willful ego-switch turns the
effect
on and off with absolute precision.
- This is not magic. It is the opposite of magic. Magic is based on
power-tripping
one's own will. The "car passing trick" is based on nullifying
your will to God's will. It is a example of how a kabbalistic
perspective
on our traditional teachings can be instructive and helpful in real
life.
- This is a science of consciousness. It should be tested, not
believed.
Whatever you do, do not attempt this in any way that is inconsistent
with your understanding of what is right. Improperly understood this
experiment
can lead to "siddhi-tripping" and idolatry. Be careful, but if
you are up to it, I think you will find a startling experiential proof
of the reality of the teaching in Pirke Avot.
...And if you know someone else who has had the same experience, you
will have someone with whom you can share this subjective demonstration
– in objective discussion.
Have a happy folly.
Note: An earlier version of The Car Passing Trick appeared
as
an essay in The Zen of Close Encounters (Edited by Paul David
Pursglove,
© ‘95, The New Being Project, POB 3070, Berkeley, CA 94703).
1See The
Reflexive Universe by Arthur M.
Young, available from Meru Foundation at http://www.meetingtent.com. See
also the Arthur Young home page: http://www.hypersphere.com/ay
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Contents of this page are ©1996 Stan Tenen,
and licensed to Meru Foundation, POB 503, Sharon, MA 02067 USA.
Email inquiries to: meru@meru.org
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