The Nature and Importance of Experience

What is Experience? Why is it important and how does it play a role in the development of Mind? Well, as I explained in the previous posting, Experience is that which results when matter interacts with the environment. Experience is the input data used by Mind to enable Matter attain a realization of its own Being. Without Experience, Mind remains inert and consequently Matter cannot realize its own being. It is important to note that following our definition of life, all Matter – organic or not, possess life. Taking the human being as a case study, examples of how Experience defines the human beings realization of the self are: the use of sight, sound, speech, smell and touch. These attributes, which are obtained from the interaction between certain parts of the body and the external environment, are all subject to the law of evolution. The law of evolution is the law of interaction. Under its omnipresent influence, all that is contained within Creation must interact in order to preserve its state of dynamism. The fact that the human being is able to interact using the property of sight, sound, speech, smell and touch, is only due to the fact that it happens to arbitrarily posses the appropriate organs to enable the realization of certain types of Experience, which we arbitrarily label sound, smell and so on. It could just as easily have been otherwise.

We have stated that the Mind is unchanging. It is a reservoir of energy without purpose or direction but waiting to be used. The input of Experience gives it direction and purpose. Consequently, work is performed. Experience defines the world we live in. With regards to sentient Matter, taste, touch, sight, smell and sound are all types of Experiences that are made possible by the level of complexity of certain organs, i.e. tongue, skin, eye, nose and ear. This implies that the level of complexity of Matter enables the realization of certain types of Experiences. This is because since Matter can assume an infinite number of complex variations, it can realize Experience in an infinite number of ways. More importantly, the link between Matter and Mind through Experience implies that Matter will never reach its full potential until the Mind is fully developed.

To give a clear example of how Experience plays a vital role in shaping our lives, we shall follow the hypothetical life of a human being from birth through adolescence, adulthood and finally death.
At the instant just before a baby is born into the world, it is blind to everything – all sensations, sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. The only thing it has to go by are the sensations experienced in the womb of its mother. These sensations prepare its Mind for what is to come when birth finally occurs. At birth the baby’s Mind is still not developed. By this I mean, that even though at birth the baby’s Mind has already formed all the various aspects – subconscious, subjective, objective, etc, courtesy of the complexity of its organs, it is unable to express itself because it’s Mind hasn’t had the requisite input of data in the form of Experience. The baby however is Aware. And so what one observes is that the baby is constantly interacting with the environment – gurgling, laughing, grunting, crying, staring, moving its limbs, etc, in an attempt to use its Awareness to feed its Mind with Experiences (which we must remember it is compelled to do by virtue of the active principle of Evolution that permeates its Being). The result is that its Mind becomes strengthened with each passing moment. Consequently, a personality that is unique to the child slowly begins to emerge which is a function of the Experiences that have been fed to the Mind.

This brings us to a crucial point. And this is that the uniqueness of the baby’s personality is a direct consequence of the Experiences that are fed into its Mind. Acknowledging the fact that each human being is unique, i.e. subtly different in physical make up, this implies that all human beings will realize the same Experience in a unique way. In other words, for example, if asked to look upon a random object, say, a stone, every human being will perceive it differently because the physical make up of the eye of each person varies in a very subtle manner. The same applies to the sense of smell, tasting, and so on.
And so coming back to the baby, we find that as the years go by, the baby is able to increasingly express itself from a unique perspective and thus it develops a personality that is unique to it only. When the baby reaches adolescence, and becomes a teenager however, its personality undergoes significant change, which will stay with it for the rest of its life. It is a change that provides the teenager with the tool to deepen its Mind and in the process realize its own Being even more fully. This is a crucial time in the life of the teenager because whatever is experienced during this period will define how well he or she is able to realize and balance all aspects of Mind. This in turn will determine how well the teenager is able to interact with his/her self and the external environment i.e. society.

So why does the child’s personality undergo such drastic change during its adolescence? Well the reason is that during this period, in preparation for progression into adulthood, the body produces hormones, which act as catalysts for the introduction of major changes to the overall Matter composition of the body. The teenager gets bigger in size, puts on more bones and muscle, becomes more masculine or feminine, etc. The change in the Matter composition of the body results in an increase in complexity of the total Matter composition of the body. Thus, this will result in a consequent change in the perception and interpretation of any subsequent Experience obtained from interaction with the environment. This change in perception and interpretation of Experience is what results in a change of the personality. Note that the frame of the personality will remain the same but the depth of the frame will change.

Since the personality is the sum total of all aspects of Mind, a change in depth of the personality will affect the growth of the various aspects of Mind. If the depth of the personality changes uniformly then this implies a balanced personality. In reality however, this is not usually the case. During adolescence, the body grows so fast and the world suddenly seems different – almost alien, so much so, that in a bid to adapt, the teenager is forced to favour certain experiences over others. This leads to an unbalanced personality. After coming out of adolescence, the teenager subconsciously spends the rest of his or her life seeking out those experiences that will restore the simple balance of pre-teen years. The teenager will have the best opportunity to find this balance in old age in the years leading up to death for the simple reason that the body growth has virtually ceased and change in perception of experienced has slowed considerably.

It is important to bear in mind that an unbalanced personality is the hallmark of evolving complex matter. And as such there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it. It is inevitable. However, where it becomes a problem is with regards to the traits in promotes in human beings that run contrary to the progression of society a single unit. Some of these traits are greed, selfishness, lust for power, and so on, all of which, it must be noted are natural and only become disruptive when viewed in the context of the greater good – the Group.

So the question now becomes: how can the flaws in human nature, which are caused by an unbalanced personality, be corrected so that all members of society can co-exist in harmony leading to the elimination of social injustice and inequality? Well, the answer lies in learning to embrace and actively seek out all types of Experiences since different types of Experiences develop different aspects of the Mind. This will eliminate fear, uncertainty and guilt, which in turn will allow each human being to explore, without reservation, the self and the environment. This implies that that the human being will have put himself or herself in the best possible position to obey the prime directive of Creation, which is to evolve. The human being will experience a total realization of all aspects of his or her Mind. And this will result in perfect harmony with all Life.

This is the ultimate goal of every human being. It is what we subconsciously strive to do with our every waking breadth. All our endeavours in reacting to demand by trying to understand the self, the environment in which we live and how the two interact, is in response to our desire to achieve perfect harmony with all life. The best period in which to learn how to achieve this is just before adolescence. Our children must be taught to embrace all experiences in order to eliminate fear. When fear is eliminated, a strong, clear and balanced sense of self is established. In other words, all the facets of the personality, which is Matter’s realization of its self will be fully recognized and acknowledged. More importantly however, our children must be taught to interpret their experiences with respect to the expectations of the Group will i.e. of society’s will. This is the only way to preserve harmony within the self and with society. It is the only way forward. It is the only way to eliminate poverty, uneven distribution of wealth, crime and all the ills of society.

The Paradigm of Matter and Mind

To understand the link between Mind and Matter, it will be necessary to introduce the concepts of Mind and Matter.

Matter

Matter can be defined loosely as anything that can be realized as a physical aspect of life. In other words, anything that is experienced as a physical object is matter. Since life is Creation, this implies that matter is the physical aspect of Creation. The question then becomes why is it necessary for Creation to have a physical aspect. Who or what defines a physical aspect. The answers to these questions are to be found in the Paradigm of Mind and Matter.

Mind

What is Mind? Popular perception is that Mind is a concept that embodies a series of functions that stem from the brain. Some even go as far as suggesting that the Mind is the brain, in other words, without the brain there is no Mind. If true, this implies that any matter that is not sentient and does not possess a brain does not possess Mind. This cannot be true. There is a lot that is unknown about the nature, origin or purpose of Mind.Therefore, there is no reason to exclude the possibility of an intrinsic link between Mind and Matter – be it organic or inorganic.

So, what is the link between Mind and Matter? Well, we are sure that there must be a link for the simple reason that since Mind is an aspect of Creation, as is Matter, then they must both be subject to the same laws of Evolution. This crucial link between Mind and Matter will enable us to derive a paradigm that describes their interaction.

Mind has many observed aspects, such as consciousness, intellect, thought, perception, etc. What is the link between them all? This answer is to be found in the paradigm of Mind and Matter.

The Paradigm of Mind and Matter

This is the paradigm of Mind and Matter:

• Before the beginning was a sea of Existence – which was characterized by a state of infinite potential without any boundaries. Because it was without any boundaries, the sea of existence was without form or purpose. It was non-dynamic. It was in a state of Pre-Creation.
• Pre-Creation was injected with an impulse which imposed boundary conditions on its “potential well” thus giving rise to internal dynamism resulting in the state of Being...which is Creation.
• The Principle of Evolution is the personification of this impulse. Its only purpose is the enforcement and maintenance of dynamism in and of Creation.
• Creation results from the transformation of Pre-Creation due to the intervention of Evolution.
• Matter is the condensation of Being in space and time.
• Mind is the Personification of Being.
• Mind is formed in the instant Being is formed. In other words, Mind has existed for as long as Creation has existed.
• Condensation occurs in a quantum like manner. This is because throughout the process of condensation, the energy remains the same, but the frequency of vibration reduces. Therefore, to compensate condensation occurs in quantum levels. The presence of quantum levels results in the fracture of time, at the moment in-between levels, thus creating unique moments of space at each level.
• This implies that Matter stretches through numerous quantum levels, but throughout each level space remains non-unique, i.e. unchanged, while time is unique.
• The uniqueness of time within a given quantum level creates a reality that can be objectified only in that quantum level.
• Since Mind is the personification of Being, and since Matter is Being condensed in space and time, then this implies that Mind personifies the entire spectrum of Matter through all its quantum levels of realisation.
• Matter can only realize its personification through feeding Mind with Experience. In other words, Matter is only able to realize itself through Mind. And, this is done only by providing Mind with input data in the form of Experience. Thus Mind without any input is inert.
• Experience is obtained from the interaction of Matter with the environment.
• Experience is realized and channelled through to the Mind via the use of Awareness.
• Awareness could be visualized as a sheath between Matter and Mind. It is the conduit through which information is passed between the Matter and Mind.

Summary

The paradigm of Mind and Matter is based on our understanding of the phenomena of Existence, Creation, Matter and Mind. The paradigm of Mind and Matter explains that the key to understanding Mind or Matter is to understand the principle of Evolution. It explains that the principle of Evolution is the link between Mind and Matter. Mind and Matter are two aspects of Being where Being is Creation. Matter however, is the condensation of Being in space and time, while Mind is the tool with which Being, i.e. Matter, realizes its own self. The paradigm also lets us know that the condensation of Matter occurs in quantum-like steps with the result that space stays the same in each pocket of condensation while time is fractured at the point between each pocket. This implies that in each pocket, time is unique, i.e. unfolds at a different rate. This in turn implies that in each pocket Matter realizes its own self differently. Therefore, the manifestation of matter in each pocket will be different, despite the fact that the essence of matter remains unchanged. This is a profound discovery that will explain so many mysteries of Matter that man struggles to come to terms with today. Finally, the paradigm of Mind and Matter enables us to know that since Mind is the tool with which Matter realizes itself, then the only way to understand Mind and the dynamics of its many levels is to understand the nature of Experience.

What is Life

Questions aimed at uncovering the meaning of life have been floating around for a long time. And, as with most complex things the answers evolve with time. Today, depending on who is asked, life could mean one of many things. It could mean the existence of animate matter only. Or the definition could be broadened to encompass the existence of both animate and inanimate matter. Some however, see life as possessing many aspects, with all perceptible phenomena constituting one aspect and non-perceptible phenomena constituting different aspects of life that may or may not be relevant to us as human beings in light of the fact that their existence cannot be proved or disproved.

These differing views raise many questions concerning the nature and purpose of life. For example, where does life begin and where does it end. What is death? Does death constitute an end to life or is it symptomatic of something more? To understand the answer to these questions, perhaps the simplest approach would be to identify the common link that runs through all the views held by the various schools of thought and use this as a starting point. After doing just this, we find that the common link is the term existence. Despite the fact that there is no universal consensus as to what exactly constitutes existence, it is possible to arrive at an understanding by using the tried and tested method of starting from a baseline and building upwards. And, with regards to existence, the base line is creation. A naive definition of creation would be the sum total of all that exists in the physical world. Since the physical world is made up of matter, this would imply that creation is nothing other than one huge soup of matter. Science has shown us that matter is made up of particles. This would imply that creation is a gigantic soup of particles. Now, if creation is made up of matter, this would imply that creation by definition must have had a beginning and will therefore have an end. Or does it? Not necessarily. Because science has shown two things; the first is that what were once thought to be the basic building blocks of matter may not necessarily be basic after all; the second is that our perception of what actually constitutes physical matter is deceptively misleading. The spectrum of matter stretches far beyond the range of any optical technology we posses today. For example, scientific discoveries have shown that an in-depth study of an object, say, a table using an unimaginably powerful magnifying apparatus would show, not a table, but an immense cluster of particles with empty spaces in between and all held together by forces of varying strength. The same applies to any solid matter - trees, cars, the human body and so on.

Thus, science makes very clear that strictly speaking, in the world of matter, there is no such thing as an absolute beginning or end. There are only boundaries. And these boundaries are constraints within which an object is described as exhibiting certain properties with the highest degree of certainty possible. For example, using the concept of distance as a measuring tool, the length of a chair can be measured with a high degree of confidence as having a beginning and an end but only within a certain degree of tolerance. The more precisely one tries to measure the length – the beginning and the end of the chair, the more indeterminate the result. Therefore, the notion of a beginning and an end can, in truth, only ever be measured relative to a prior condition or state. This is also true when one considers the dynamics of any element within creation such as organic matter. Scientific observation shows conclusively that life of organic matter is observed to unfold in cycles of birth and death. In other words, it unfolds in cycles of continuity. Animals reproduce their kind, who mature from infancy into adulthood, reproduces more of its kind, before dying and passing the mantle to its progeny. And so the cycle continues. This lends weight to the notion that the concepts of beginning and end are not absolutes but relative.

Now it is known that matter isn’t the only thing that exists, Mind is another concept that describes a state of existence that is associated with the non-physical part of the human body and which by virtue of its existence, forms a part of creation. Since this is the case, then our naive definition of creation as simply the sum total of the physical world would need to be adjusted to encompass all possible forms of existence. And so, having established that matter, which is one form of existence, has neither beginning nor end in the absolute sense of the word, what does this tell us about all other possible forms of creation? It tells us that since it is logical to assume that all aspects of creation must be interconnected in some way, then the theory of continuity implies that all forms creation must exhibit the same property of continuity.

This implies that in order for creation to uphold the property of continuity, the evolution of creation can only take place through transitions. This is exemplified, at least in the world of matter by cycles of birth and death. This implies that the phenomena of birth and death are only transitions that take place within the continuity of creation – of life.

With regard to the concept of an after-life – heaven, hell, purgatory or what have you, it is clear that the realization that birth and death are simply transitional states in the continuity of life lends irrefutable evidence that there is such a thing as the after-life. In fact, it is worth noting at this point that if we are to go by our definition of creation as encompassing all matter - animate or otherwise, then the term after-life is incorrect. It is incorrect because the after-life is generally thought to refer to existence in a non-physical world. Therefore, in the strict sense of the word, there is no such thing as an after-life. In any case, it is clear that the dynamics of existence in the after-life is still very little understood. The reason for this is simple, since existence in the after-life revolves around a world that is non-physical, it is difficult to measure or verify because to do this would require an understanding of how to move back and forth through the transitions of birth and death. To take a first step in this direction, humanity must first understand the dynamics of creation. This will entail a subsequent understanding between the various manifestations of creation, two of which are Matter and Mind.