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Letters to DaddyClick on the title below
Dissapative Structures
Colors and the Web
Blending East & West
On Blending of East and West
Dear Daddy,
I have really been enjoying your
letters...great sermon on What do You Really Want? Good
question to ask repeatedly and honestly.
If I have indicated in some way that I
have become a Buddhist follower or expert of any kind, please
excuse me...I am not. I have run onto some valid concepts etc.
to which he seems to have ascribed, and also that I find very
much in line with Jesus teachings. The semantics and
perspective starting point seems to be the major differences.
Like you said, we westerners have a difficult time
understanding the eastern way of thinking, and I really believe
that semantics has been a lot of the problem...how we interpret
the words and their meaning. Some of the material that I have
been studying, however, takes references from many different
sources including Buddha, Jesus, and a lot from Paul. Other
favorite sources seem to be the Rig Veda, the Bhagavad Gita,
and the Stanzas of Dzyan, as well as the Yoga Sutras of
Pantajali, the Kabbalah, and the I Ching.(One wonders how much
and what of this material Jesus had access to and studied.) It
seems to me that a study of the similarities instead of the
differences must be of great value. Surely the idea that
limiting God to some "particular form" is
counter-indicative of all that we believe He is. Surely if we
believe He has been "actively seeking" to communicate
with us, the thread of truth could be found all the different
religions commonalties. So many times it seems to me that the
same idea has been stated, but just in the context of the area
and time that it was revealed. It's really kind of funny how
often we seem to try to create God in our own image instead of
really attempting to perceive what it means the other way
around. But here we are back to the discussion where all our
perceptions are being colored by our emotions, past experience,
and other thoughtforms.
I found it interesting when you made
reference to the idea of the perception of our "inner
being" as "only energy", and that the idea that
"all we are is only energy in motion" is a limiting
one. "Energy" has so many differentiations,
connotations, and forms to me. You might as well say that all
we are is "only spirit". It seems to me that spirit
and energy have a lot in common. Both are mysterious,
invisible, powerful, and much closer to our
"definition" of God than anything else that I can
think of. (and that there is a lot we don't understand about
either one) Certainly there is an element of energy and mystery
in Jesus' relationship to God. It also seems to make some sense
that if we do believe that we are created in God's image (and I
do), that spirit and energy would be some of the common factors
that we might be able to look at for some clues about this
relationship and getting on with this "righteousness"
experience. In other words, What is God like in terms of energy
and spirit, and how can I be a microcosmic reflection of that?
How can I communicate with Him on those terms?
One of the eastern concepts that seems to
cause a problem is the idea of the "impersonal
Source" of which you spoke. I think a lot of our problem
has more to do with the way "It" is defined. One of
the customary eastern formulas for getting to a
"definition" of what something "is" is by
stating what it "is not". As I understand it (and
that leaves a lot to be desired for sure) as we westerners have
heard an eastern attempt to make statements about
"It" without limiting "It" in any way, we
have a tendency to interpret that definition as impersonal. But
the more I read and study the relationship in their terms, the
more it sounds like the same very personal, intimate,
motivating, all-consuming relationship that Jesus spoke of and
had with God. They speak of self-sacrifice, service,
compassion, universal brotherhood, union beyond and
encompassing individuality (not to the annihilation of the
"I", but to the expansion of it beyond the merely
personal aspect), intimacy to the point of total
absorption...sounds pretty darn personal to me! How much more
"in fellowship" can one get?!
The idea of the Trinity is still
there...but more of a Father/Mother/Son thing. I must admit
that I like the feminine aspect getting in on the ground floor.
(I know, I know, it's all way beyond the male/female
thing...but still...) The Son seems to be a natural result of
the exchange and "tension" (boy they got that right)
between the Father/Mother duality. The macrocosmic trinity has
many microcosmic reflections in eastern thought...mental,
emotional, physical...or spirit, soul, body...or past, present,
future...or vibration, rhythm, stillness...or energy, matter,
consciousness...lots of useful analogies when studied with
seriousness. There is also something that I don't quite
understand about the permutations of 3 (the different ways you
can put the three parts together a,b,c,ab,ac,bc,abc) that
results in 7 and has something to do with dimensions of
consciousness. Like I said, I don't quite understand, but it
appeals to the mathematician in me.
Another aspect of the eastern religions
that has attracted me has been the kaon, the paradoxical
relationships. This stems, of course, from the Father/Mother
duality concept. Questions that are meant to
"off-balance" our sense of rational mind and move us
into a more intuitive dimensions definitely have their place
and value. "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
is an example, and the relationship of dark and light, good and
evil, yin and yang. The paradox between "infinite
becoming" and the "eternal now" is another.
Obviously, we can always use improvement. No matter how
"righteous" we may get, there will always be another
level of "perfection" that we need to work toward. It
reminds me of calculus and "the limit as N tends toward
infinity". You get into "degrees of infinity"
that are relative to "how great a perspective" you
are capable of perceiving, how much awareness you have
accumulated, how far above the graph of the equation you can
stand. (Smells of macrocosmic/microcosmic fractalness to be
sure!) Yet, in the midst of this infinite becoming and
diversity that encompasses so much of our lives, there stands
the "eternal now", the eternal life of which all the
"great ones" have spoken that is not dependent on
"degrees of infinity". And of which they have assured
us we each have access to regardless of our state of
"becoming". Seems paradoxical to say the least and
amazing grace for sure.
Please take all this in the spirit in
which it is meant...that is to say not in an antagonistic or
argumentative way or in any manner disrespectful of anything
that you have said or taught me. I rather see it as an
extension of the same, and that is how I have meant it. Anyway,
it is interesting and enlightening to write it down, isn't it?
Love, Lisa
(Feb. 12, 1994)
On Dissipative Structures
Dear Daddy,
Well, here we are at summer solstice
already! Isn't it amazing how time flies when you're having
fun. Or, of course, the frog thing - time's fun when you're
having flies. (that was so funny...I am already getting mileage
out of it) I keep studying relativity to try to get a handle on
time...but alas, it still eludes me! I have been trying to get
around to writing this letter for weeks. Good grief, when did I
ever have time to go to work?! I enjoyed the visit with Uncle
Carl. It sounds like you had some great fishing and communion.
I am glad.
I have been reading a lot of books
recently, and I thought I'd bounce some of these ideas off of
you. I don't have the holographic thing down yet, but here are
some other interesting ideas until I grok it well enough to
enunciate it better. Back to the reoccurring theme that
suggests that all of our thoughts and feelings, and even
ourselves essentially are waves of energy.
The Theory of Dissipative Structures was
discovered or formulated by a guy named Ilya Prigogine and he
won a Nobel Prize for it in the 80s. It is a theory about
dynamic structures (any system that moves and changes and
grows) that basically states that the more complex a system is,
the more unstable it is because it requires more flux of energy
to maintain it. Because of the movement and exchange of energy,
when it breaks down, it is likely to reorganize and reestablish
itself at a higher or more complex level. When it is perturbed,
or disrupted in some way, then the parts have a tendency to
come back together in new ways and form new patterns within the
whole in a more complex, interactive form. Therefore, the
reason that the system achieves coherence is because it is so
unstable. Prikoshein even came up with the mathematical models
and equations that would show why it would reorganize in the
new, more complex way.
Water moves through a whirlpool and forms
it at the same time. Energy moves through a dissipative
structure and the dissipative structure is the energy...a
flowing wholeness, highly organized and always in motion. The
more energy that is required, the more vulnerable it is to
changes within the system, thus the farther from equilibrium it
is. Increased coherence (the more ways and places in which it
is held together by energy) means increased instability, and
that creates more potential for reordering. If the perturbation
is minor, then the system will dampen it and go on the way it
was. But if the perturbation is of a certain size and force,
then it shakes up the pattern and causes it to reorder in some
new, more complex way. Then the system is even more unstable
because it is even more complex, and therefore it is even more
vulnerable and therefore more likely to evolve. Evolution
begets evolution and is built into the very nature of the
complex system itself.
Well, what does this have to do with me,
you ask, and why is she telling me all this? The answer is that
you and everything else that moves and grows and changes is a
dissipative structure. This is, in essence, the science of
transformation. Human beings, our brains, emotions,
thoughtforms, plants, animals, nations, the population,
economics, society, the earth, the solar system, the
universe...you name it and it is a dynamic, dissipative
structure. You no doubt also recognize the fractalness of this
idea...the "similarity across scale". And, this model
can give us insight into how to look at many microcosmic and
macrocosmic "problems".
For example, human beings grow through
stress. We don't generally like stress or being
"perturbed", but it does usually force us to
reexamine who we are and what we are doing. Then a
reorganization takes place that is (hopefully...ha!) of a
higher order. The people we look to for help in those
situations are not the ones who say "oh woe is you"
and talk to us about how to get back to the way we were. They
are the ones who will have suggestions and encouragement for
growth and movement through the suffering toward
transformation. Through the suffering, or what is sometimes
called the "zones of annihilation", hopefully we
reach an access to that which is beyond the world of opposites
(that which attracts or repels us). And then, that which is
beyond annihilation becomes clearer. Altered states of
consciousness used for personal transformation, such as prayer
or meditation, will, of course, assist and put us in contact
with the Master Designer and Organizer. It is, in a sense
however, the confronting of the pain and stress that generates
the reordering processes in the brain that bring about the
movement toward transformation. If we look at our pain and
stress in that way, whole new dimensions can open up for us.
With a little thought, whole new applications for healing
ourselves can also become clear.
In another application, we can look at
society or at the world as a dissipative structure. Because of
the media, modes of travel, and possibilities of interaction we
have the small world phenomenon. We are more complex and
interlinked and unstable than ever before in history. Could we
possibly look at the perturbations in society or on a world
interaction level, or even environmentally as having this same
transformative potential? It is at least somewhat encouraging.
A book that has come to my attention that
looks interesting is AGELESS BODY, TIMELESS MIND. I noticed
that Annie was reading it when we were at their house on one of
our most recent visits. I saw an interview with the author, an
east Indian doctor named Depok Chopra. He also wrote another
called QUANTUM HEALING. I am ashamed to say that his name was
somewhat alien and I do not remember it, but he was really
neat. He had that wonderful Indian accent that I love to listen
to. The basic premise was that the human being, as a dynamic
energy system in constant flux, regularly reconstructs itself,
and that this reconstruction can be orchestrated positively
through realization of the timeless spirit which can be
contacted by looking at the space between thoughts. From that
perspective one programs the body into health and literally
reconstructs it on an energy and chemical basis through thought
and the energy/chemical effects of thought. Fascinating,
although nothing new in concept, ("As a man thinketh, so
he is") I liked the way he put it and it seemed very
deliberate in ways I had not before considered. It made me want
to read his books. It certainly fits into the dissipative
structure model.
Another interesting interview I saw
recently was with Maya Angeleau (the inaugural poet). She was
talking about the power and tangibility of words- how they are
things that literally come out and stick to the walls and get
into our clothes and finally actually into us. How true that is
and how you can feel the presence of it when you go into a
place. I started thinking about it in my own home and in the
conflicts with my kids. It is amazing to think about all the
energies that fly around us every minute affecting our health,
moods, energy, perspective. We are responsible for so much of
it, as are our families, associates, etc. The Oneness of all
things seems more and more tangible on so many levels. It has
the feel and the perfume of truth.
I realize how addicted to my little
routines I am. Walking on the back nine no longer seems
optional, but absolutely essential to my health and sense of
well being. It was absolutely awesome out there this morning!
The pond is covered in lilies and yonky-pons (a form of water
lily). Their perfume was intoxicating, and I sat down
overlooking the water in a spot where the breeze was blowing
the smell right at me. It was a blustery day, and the clouds
were rolling through in such a way that the light and shade
were dancing across the fairways and the water, lighting up a
section here and there and making it luminous. The trees were
singing "a song the wind remembers about the way the ocean
sounds." (one of my favorite lines from Randy's songs) I
was looking at the rainbows in the wall of water mist made by
the sprinkler system back there. It struck me how the rainbow
is there every morning waiting and invisible until the light
comes through at just the right angle, and the sprinkler comes
on, and then it appears. How much we are like that,
too--invisible light waiting to manifest and be recognized. The
whole morning was breath-taking and sacred.
It's also nice to have some creative space
and I am singing, sewing, reading, meditating, and gardening.
Hummingbird medicine (American Indian medicine totems...the joy
of going from flower to flower) is another daily ritual that
feels essential. The yard has been absolutely gorgeous with
tons of roses, hibiscus, and other colors and perfumes. I heard
a garden fairy song that I am trying to get down on tape.
Caring for the roses teaches me so much--the energy of the
flowers, the relationship with the plant itself, the nurturing
and constant watching for and precautions against impurities,
and of course just the communion of the beauty.
Well, so much for the update. It will take
weeks to read this, I guess. We think of you so often, and miss
you both. Take care of yourselves, and let us know what is
happening and how you are. We love you.
Love, Lisa
(June 25,1994)