In his book The Road Less Travelled, M. Scott Peck interprets evil as pure "entropy"- the natural tendency in all systems towards a reduction in energy over time. However, most of us are not evil but are still subject to an element of entropy. When we fail to apply effort against this entropic force, what Peck defines as plain "laziness", we commit "sin". In contrast, when we resist entropy, through love,("the will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing our own or another's spititual growth") we grow spiritually. This novel way of representing otherwise rather nebulous phenomena I find rather interesting. Peck is contributing to bridging that increasingly flimsy divide between science and spirituality.
Jung carried off a similar exercise when he compared the relation between the unconscious and the conscious to that of a rhizome and its fledgling sprout, the latter appearing temporarily in the spring, only to die, the rhizome (the unconscious) remaining. "Life has always seemed to me like a plant that lives on its rhizome . Its true life is invisible, hidden in the rhizome. The part that appears above ground lasts only a single summer. Then it withers away, an ephemeral apparition."
Peck, however goes further and suggests that the unconscious is God. He can then suggest that mental illness occurs when the individual's conscious will deviates from that of his unconscious (God). This makes sense to me, since I understand that one needs to be "tuned in" to one's intuition (our subconscious/unconscious) and not be tempted to follow our inner ego-voice. Many of us, by contrast, take that "gut feeling" as meaningless or primitive- I suggest it is the very opposite. The usual pattern is for us to dismiss that initial "gut feeling" or intuition and allow the conscious mind to weave its logical tentacles in a deathly embrace.
Of course God can also be seen as "truth" or reality and as such our aim should be to live "in truth" or "in reality". Hence the oft repeated injunction to live in the here and now- to be truly present. To achieve this state is a continual battle and whether we see it as a struggle against entropy or a fight with our ego- the result is the same. No surprise then to hear the shaman talk of the "path of the warrior", because a spiritual person has to be a peaceful "warrior"
Showing posts with label COINCIDENCE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label COINCIDENCE. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Coincidence, Homoeopathy and the morphic field
The film "A dangerous method" portrays the develpment of the young Jung and his relationship with Freud in early 20th century Vienna. The most fascinating aspect for me was the response Freud displayed as Jung increasingly delves into the occult, spirituality and related phenomena such as "coincidences". Freud warns Jung that such interests risk damaging the reputation of the fledgling science of psychoanalysis--there is a threshold beyond which public opinion will turn against him.
The film title refers to the concern that Freud's "talking cure" could be damaging to the patient- as doctors of the time considered. Well, science has moved on since that time but still the rank and file science community treats many therapies and theories with deep scepticism. Many doctors today, for instance, would consider homoeopathy "dangerous" even though it has a longer track record than modern medicine and little if any of the side effects of the latter.
I wonder what Jung would have made of Rupert Sheldrake- and his theory of morphic fields? After all, Jung's notion of a collective unconscious is not a milion miles away from Sheldrake's proposition, if one adopts the maximal interpretation of his theory. But Sheldrake's concept is perhaps better able to provide a mechanism for explaining "coincidences", or "synchronicity" as Jung termed these, since individuals will experience similar realities when they are focused on similar "frequencies".
At a recent wedding I attended, a passage from Kahlil Gibran's the Prophet was read. The previous night,reading in bed, I had read exactly the same short passage! Most of us can can provide similar examples illustrating this phenomenon. Personally I consider that everything is imbued with meaning and thus such synchronous events are worthy of our attention.And "attention" for me is the crucial element here- the more attentive and "being in the now" we are, the more likely we are to understand the deeper meaning behind such synchronous events and the like. I also feel that we should be able to attract such "coincidences" although I can't propose how this could come about- apart from positive visualisations.
We also get messages in dreams. In his book "Conscious Dreaming", Robert Moss outlines many examples of such communication and how we can interpret and benefit from it. Again, once we accept that everything is interconnected and has meaning, the world becomes a far larger and more fascinating world-- fact is truly far more exciting and amazing than fiction.
And nowhere is this better illustrated than in the practice of homoeopathy where remedies are chosen by means of tuning in to the person's "wavelength" and matching this with the similar (the similimum" wavelength remedy. The practitioner has to synchronise his observations of the patient with his knowledge of the remedies. That Hahnemnann happened upon this incredible means of healing the sick is miraculous indeed and indicates how important it is for us to be able to suspend disbelief in order that our minds can be broadened beyond the limits of our past experiences.
The film title refers to the concern that Freud's "talking cure" could be damaging to the patient- as doctors of the time considered. Well, science has moved on since that time but still the rank and file science community treats many therapies and theories with deep scepticism. Many doctors today, for instance, would consider homoeopathy "dangerous" even though it has a longer track record than modern medicine and little if any of the side effects of the latter.
I wonder what Jung would have made of Rupert Sheldrake- and his theory of morphic fields? After all, Jung's notion of a collective unconscious is not a milion miles away from Sheldrake's proposition, if one adopts the maximal interpretation of his theory. But Sheldrake's concept is perhaps better able to provide a mechanism for explaining "coincidences", or "synchronicity" as Jung termed these, since individuals will experience similar realities when they are focused on similar "frequencies".
At a recent wedding I attended, a passage from Kahlil Gibran's the Prophet was read. The previous night,reading in bed, I had read exactly the same short passage! Most of us can can provide similar examples illustrating this phenomenon. Personally I consider that everything is imbued with meaning and thus such synchronous events are worthy of our attention.And "attention" for me is the crucial element here- the more attentive and "being in the now" we are, the more likely we are to understand the deeper meaning behind such synchronous events and the like. I also feel that we should be able to attract such "coincidences" although I can't propose how this could come about- apart from positive visualisations.
We also get messages in dreams. In his book "Conscious Dreaming", Robert Moss outlines many examples of such communication and how we can interpret and benefit from it. Again, once we accept that everything is interconnected and has meaning, the world becomes a far larger and more fascinating world-- fact is truly far more exciting and amazing than fiction.
And nowhere is this better illustrated than in the practice of homoeopathy where remedies are chosen by means of tuning in to the person's "wavelength" and matching this with the similar (the similimum" wavelength remedy. The practitioner has to synchronise his observations of the patient with his knowledge of the remedies. That Hahnemnann happened upon this incredible means of healing the sick is miraculous indeed and indicates how important it is for us to be able to suspend disbelief in order that our minds can be broadened beyond the limits of our past experiences.
Sunday, 5 December 2010
COINCIDENCE
Are “coincidences” really that? Or are they something else? How does the concept “coincidence” fit in the wider scheme of things? All our understanding of the world at large- both at macro and micro levels indicate how intricate and interdependent the universe is. The level of organisation, the pattern of complex interrelationships, continues to stupefy our scientists. Everything points to a world so organised that every event affects and is affected by all other events.
To suggest that within this organisation we have random events, or “coincidences”, defies logic. To my mind, it ranks alongside terms such as “iatrogenic conditions”- that is, a condition without a cause, in its ilogicality. A “coincidence” surely is only termed that because we don’t understand the reason behind the event. If a mechanism were discovered and elaborated upon, which explained how “coincidences” happen, they would no longer be “coincidences”.
I suggest that there is no such thing as a “coincidence”. By all means lets admit that such events seem strange and hard to explain. But why then consider them just random accidents? Instead, such occurrences should be viewed as specially meaningful- even if the meaning cannot at first be recognised. Arthur Koestler, in “The Roots of Coincidence” argues that there is probably a natural law which explains the mechanism behind “coincidences”. With the old scientific objections to such phenomena as ESP increasingly being removed, he suggests that a similar development will clarify how “coincidences” take place.
On another level, human beings seem to have a need for occurrences which are out of the ordinary or “extraordinary”. Whilst we have a hunger to explain how things work, our place in the grand scheme of things, we also seem to require mystery and surprise.
In Carlos Castaneda’s (2) and later Florinda Donner’s books (3) the notion of “coincidences” is put to practical application through the discipline developed by the sorcerers of old Mexico. In these books, Castaneda and Donner relate how “dreamers” and “stalkers” are able to access other realities by a relentless self-discipline which relegates the ego or “self” to a subordinate state. Implicit in these tales is the significance given to what one might otherwise consider as “coincidences”.
1. Arthur Koestler: The Roots of Coincidence Picador 0330 24167 2
2. Carlos Castaneda: A Separate Reality. Penguin ISBN 0-141-01702-3 ( and others)
3. Florinda Donner: Being-in-Dreaming. Harper Odysseys isbn 0-06-250192-5
To suggest that within this organisation we have random events, or “coincidences”, defies logic. To my mind, it ranks alongside terms such as “iatrogenic conditions”- that is, a condition without a cause, in its ilogicality. A “coincidence” surely is only termed that because we don’t understand the reason behind the event. If a mechanism were discovered and elaborated upon, which explained how “coincidences” happen, they would no longer be “coincidences”.
I suggest that there is no such thing as a “coincidence”. By all means lets admit that such events seem strange and hard to explain. But why then consider them just random accidents? Instead, such occurrences should be viewed as specially meaningful- even if the meaning cannot at first be recognised. Arthur Koestler, in “The Roots of Coincidence” argues that there is probably a natural law which explains the mechanism behind “coincidences”. With the old scientific objections to such phenomena as ESP increasingly being removed, he suggests that a similar development will clarify how “coincidences” take place.
On another level, human beings seem to have a need for occurrences which are out of the ordinary or “extraordinary”. Whilst we have a hunger to explain how things work, our place in the grand scheme of things, we also seem to require mystery and surprise.
In Carlos Castaneda’s (2) and later Florinda Donner’s books (3) the notion of “coincidences” is put to practical application through the discipline developed by the sorcerers of old Mexico. In these books, Castaneda and Donner relate how “dreamers” and “stalkers” are able to access other realities by a relentless self-discipline which relegates the ego or “self” to a subordinate state. Implicit in these tales is the significance given to what one might otherwise consider as “coincidences”.
1. Arthur Koestler: The Roots of Coincidence Picador 0330 24167 2
2. Carlos Castaneda: A Separate Reality. Penguin ISBN 0-141-01702-3 ( and others)
3. Florinda Donner: Being-in-Dreaming. Harper Odysseys isbn 0-06-250192-5
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