Your welcome
continues . . .
Where we are, what we are
The universe is a place of extraordinarily
wondrous behaviors
starting from the extremely subtle dynamics of
fundamental forces. It develops on through the chemistry of atoms and
molecules, into the metabolisms of biological organisms, the interactions of species, the
activities of social, communal and economic-political organizations - and even phenomenal
events on the cosmic scale.
Everything that you can conceive of, from the massive energies of galactic
structures, to the evanescent fragility of an infant's breath, are all companion
presences, and are connected with each other in the most sublimely fundamental and
intricate ways you can imagine.
The Integrity Paradigm binds
all these things
together
into a perspective that is unquestionably new and yet
conceptually comfortable and familiar. It takes all that we currently know of the
world we are part of and re-assembles prior understandings in a substantially and
substantively
new way. It melds topics that were thought to have no connection what so ever and
shows that they are all representatives of simple singular principles, which, when
blended in all the incredible and mutually supportive assemblies of being and potential,
blossom into the vast and awe inspiring beauty that is the universe - an entity complex
and vibrant on every scale of being.
Re-exploring your own being
You are about to participate in a brand
new exploration of your own existence.
The landscape
is nothing but undeniably familiar and still exhilaratingly fresh at the same
instant. Ideas that you used to appreciate with absolute surety, intuitions
that a from the very fibre of your being, will take on new meaning. From here on
out the universe loses any anxious inferences - it is no longer some vast unknown darkness
to be hesitatingly and tentatively approached simply because it
could
harbor
unknown dangers. From here on out the universe is affirmed as haven and home,
abundant in wonders and possibilities.
Our universe is a place where creation is
here, now, all
about us
,
not some moment in space and time that happened in the far dim past
of cosmic history. We are not merely products of a singular creative act. We
are presences
participating
in its ongoing
continuous unfolding -- where creation is a
forever process
discovering and
experiencing itself - perpetually, continually, increasingly. "Infinite" -
to slightly re-phrase Freeman Dyson - "in all
dimensions
":
physically, relationally, and most important ... transcendently.
The Integrity Paradigm
The Integrity Paradigm focuses on
the shared similarities of existence
,
formally noted
in the basics of mathematics and philosophy. But much more - even as it
sometimes uses the language and notions of science - it does something important:
it places those dynamics in real situations, and makes the ideas meaningful to our
everyday lives and to every strata of organization and organism of the universe.
Admittedly, this may seem an arrogant and ambitious scope, but it is not
attempted without thoughtful consideration.
The universe we are part and parcel of is a
continuous, coherent, consistent, and compatible Extancy. Vibrantly thriving at every
turn. To repeat the crucial notion:
it harbors no aspect that is "alien" to its self.
All of its aspects co-exist together. So, it is neither naive nor grandiose to
anticipate that
it can understand itself
. How is that? By
what
we
do, that is how. We - human beings - are one special
part of
this universe
which can reflect on the rest of it - the rest of our companion
processes/parts
.
We are the
universe
..
exploring
itself
.
As we
look out
, so we see
within
. . . as we look
inward, so we . . 'find
out
'.
A technique of fundamentals
To grasp and appreciate
the importance of the Integrity
Paradigm, a few essential papers will take the time to re-evaluate many scientific
concepts that are currently assumed to be fundamental, confirmed, resolved and well
understood, but, in ceptual thinking, may still be open to better interpretation. If
you don't read those passages, don't worry. They are presented for verity sake, to
show specific new links among facets of existence. The general readings
will make perfect sense to you regardless.
. . . quick treatments of
those fundamentals . . .
One idea is the everyday notion of "equals sign", = .
What if it really means that some quality remains unchanged even if we
describe it differently? Even if the equation 'x=y' allows x and y to be
different 'information', another 'intrinsic information' measure remains intact and
immutable. This may seem inconsequential, but ceptually considered, it's very
important
Another notion is the Plato/G?del idea of "bounded identity"... the
sense that a thing has a
complete
and independent
essence
... separate
from the rest of the universe. Ceptual thinking appreciates how that view
could be, but goes a step further. It finds better credibility in Martin Buber's
notion of "I-Thou". Instead of some thing being what it 'is', independent
of the world, the more important quality of Existence and Being is that environment and
universe contribute to identity and activity, defining and enabling the realization of
what a life or entity is capable of being.
A third consideration is the related notion of 'information'. It is more
than some zillion jots of 'data'. Relationships, timings, translations,
significance, etc., all supply additional and different
informative meaning
to the 'thingness' of something. Awareness and memory are more than cubby-holed
storings of bits, bytes, books, materials or wealth. And energy and
information are constantly being sensed, transformed, coded, accessed, experienced,
imaged, and expressed in absolutely amazing ways.
And lastly, but most important, 'entropy'
, the
underestimated sibling of the four fundamental forces, is re-considered. Since
first being recognized and defined some 300 years ago it has been treated as a single
mono-framed phenomenon. Ceptually, the more accurate view is that
many entropies
exist -- simultaneously and blended -- with plural bounds and plural frames of
reference. Entropy turns out to be, in its most general form, a quality of
differential
differences
, more primal than anything else, more essential and
formative than the so-called four 'fundamental' forces, and is present as
the
motivational and causal driver of everything we experience and know.
So what?
So what does this all have to do with us and our lives? Well, it
has to do with the notion that
the Idea which brought all of the
universe into existence most sublimely accomplished it by inextricably tying all
activities together, so perfectly and so intimately that the same qualities of existence
that are present in the
simplest
are necessarily present in the most
complex
or
transcendent existences of anything and everything, also.
To place this in human terms, consider
:
a person is many things
~
parent, child, mate, explainer, learner, metabolic organism, spiritual essence,
thinker, accomplisher, decider, planner, bridge, consumer, creator and so much more, all
at the same time. Every quality and each relationship unique - and yet companionly
integrated with every one of the others. Each is an identity, each is a gestalt with
its own dynamics, tendencies and patterns. Each valid. Each distinct.
Each real. Each separate. All together. Though describable in
vernacular and even scientific ways, each relationship and activity is inextricably
connected and woven with all the others. Each set of concerns, exploring and
impacting alternate simultaneous concerns and potentials, where the mingling of all the
diversities and abilities is what
combines
to make us 'human' - fully, completely
- in the most intense, truest and wonderful sense.
The Ceptual Institute readings and mindways you
will encounter will give you visceral and conceptual understanding for how extensive,
natural and integrated Integrity behaviors are throughout the universe. Science,
Art, Folk Wisdom, Chemistry and Religions. Galactic Infinities, Geology, Biology and
Gaia. Family. We are fortunate participants in this most marvelous of
occurrences - Universe. We are fellow travelers with every mote of creation, every
process of organization, every thought and spiritual aspiration. The universe is a
spectrum of Being, exquisite in all its aspects.