Embrace Mystery

Series:  Long-Term Vision  #6  (this series began April 30—Seeking Rightness)

In this series I argue against our society’s loss of long-term vision and for the importance of remaining open to new understanding, a key element for long-term vision.  New understanding does not deny what came before; it expands upon it as greater awareness develops.

The scientific knowledge of our world has moved ahead by leaps and bounds over the last 100 years and that clearly is a good thing.  In keeping with that, our education system has become geared to specific absolute answers (multiple choice and true/false testing) and thus we’ve been conditioned to want immediate concrete yes or no answers to all questions.  In addition, computers have totally altered the availability and flow of information (we don’t need to search and wait).  That has increased our expectation of and desire for immediacy.  We’ve become the NOW generation, but without yesterday and tomorrow our vision has been narrowed.  It satisfies the ‘without’ but the ‘within’ is starving.  The ‘within’ is what contains the qualities of love, truth, justice, compassion, mercy, hope . . . the non-material elements that make life worth living.  That’s where God is found.

God is beyond our knowing; we cannot answer the question ‘Is God?’ with an absolute yes or no answer. Neither can we know or understand who or what God is—but since the human first appeared on earth that has been a burning question among all peoples.  Reflective awareness seeks to know and our knowledge is constantly refining our understanding.  There have been a myriad of answers for who and what God is—all with anthropomorphic leanings and all fail to satisfy.  We design our gods to fit what we know . . . but to accept that God is beyond our knowing is to ask us to embrace Mystery and not to abandon the search.

That is what Teilhard do Chardin and many contemporary theologians are asking us to do, to return to Mystery God.  It is not new with them, it goes all the way back to John’s Gospel that begins: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God . . . “, and later Paul in 1Corinthians 15:28 “ . . . that God be all in all.” . . . but that is mystery and human weakness has been unable to grasp it.  Even earlier, to Moses in Exodus 3:14 God self-identified with the words: I AM who I Am” then God added “tell the Israelites ‘I AM sent me to you’”.  

I am is first person singular for the verb to be.  Break that down; ‘I AM’ is ‘to be’ . . . God is Being itself—and that is beyond our understanding.  To accept that, is to embrace Mystery.

As I look back with long-term vision I see evidence of the law of complexity-consciousness.  Life, beginning with simple single cells, continually grows more complex over millions of years to finally bring forth the beautifully complex human form; and I see simple consciousness (a worm bumps into a rock and turns itself to go around it) expands, to eventually develop thought and understanding in the human mind.  In this, a pattern can be seen.  It is more than mere random chance. 

I see the primitive caveman giving meaning to sounds that become words and making marks on cave walls to tell the story of the hunt . . . and I see eons of time with the human consciousness expanding and shaping his environment and culture, bringing forth both beauty and horror.  Then, in our time, breaking free of earth’s gravity to see earth’s place in the vast universe as one whole interacting balanced unit supporting fragile life.  That is the new understanding we are called upon to realize, our global world maintains itself thru balancing all the elements . . . and the human species is one of those elements, the only ‘element’ with the power to alter and control that balance.  

As I turn my long-term vision forward to the future I see two possibilities: either we learn to live by love—or we self-destruct.  That is beyond finding the answer to the mystery ‘is God?’ that is the reality of what love (God?) is about . . . all humanity together building a sustainable future.  Only with love can we change the world. 

- - -

I repeat my two favorite Teilhard quotes:

The day of Nations is past.  The task before us now, if we would not

perish, is to build the earth.

Someday, after mastering the wind, the waves, the tides and gravity,

we shall harness for God the energies of love and then for the second

        time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.

Belonging to the Flow of Life

Series:  Long-Term Vision  #5

This series is titled long-term vision, but below the vision is thinking.  I want to consider long-term and short-term thinking. Short-term thinking serves the immediate, but only in long-term thinking is there room for vision and hope for the future. 

Let us take a closer look at thinking.  It is usually not something that is conscious (unless we choose to make it so) it is an operative principle below the surface guiding thought and action.  Long-term thinking (ltt) and short-term thinking (stt) are on the opposite ends of the spectrum of how we face life.  We need both and alternate between them—If we have an appointment on a given day we employ stt to fit the activities of the day around it. If we are buying a house it’s important to employ ltt to evaluate size in relation to family needs, consider location and proximity to what we find important, do an analysis of cost as it compares to income . . . and not react impulsively ‘because this one is cute’.  It is an individual choice to rely more on one side than the other but it seems like our fast paced society encourages stt more than ltt, the latter takes too long! 

How to explain stt and ltt? They are pretty much self-explanatory but to elaborate for better understanding let’s say: short-term thinking seeks quick, efficient solutions to immediate problems/demands/situations whereas long-term thinking looks ahead and back to take into account possible effects of our choice and remains open to possibilities not yet considered—which opens the door to vision. 

The ancient civilizations were imbued with long-term vision; their lives were shorter than people of today yet they were aware of a sense of belonging to history.  They built structures to last: Roman roads, aqueducts and the Colosseum are still there for us to see; Egyptians gave evidence to it with the pyramids; China’s great wall and the Terracotta soldiers were meant to last forever, they defy our understanding.

That awareness of belonging to the flow of life gives meaning to existence.  It has been lost in the modern era.  We became the NOW generation, members of a throw away society, ‘If it feels good do it’.  With too much short-term thinking and too little long-term thinking we’ve embraced meaninglessness.  Without a meaning or purpose it’s easy to choose violence or suicide.  

Step out of now for a minute and look back with long-term vision.  The human came into existence as an unfinished species with the inherent need to self-complete (its called evolution).     Going all the way back, Teilhard de Chardin defined the law of complexity-consciousness.  Briefly, it recognizes the path of evolution as a systematic progression.  The ‘without’ of life forms began with simple one-cell forms and over eons, constantly complexifying, till homosapien (human) appeared. Additionally, in the ‘within’, there was a steady progression of consciousness until thought was born in the human.  Eons are needed for the light of consciousness to fully realize our destiny and recognize our interdependence. If we go back far enough, we can see progress in mankind’s evolving consciousness; part of which is the search for ‘rightness’, exemplified by relinquishing what was once seen as the ‘norm’ but with new eyes seen as unacceptable—slavery being the most obvious example.

Early humans gathered in clusters that came to be known as tribes.  Then, in some unknown long ago, some brave individuals began to move beyond their tribe to walk the Silk Road in order to trade for exotic things found or created by other tribes . . . centuries passed, then ships sailed out defying the ‘known’ truth of a flat world wherein if they sailed too far, they’d drop off the edge.  They didn’t drop off, they discovered unknown places and the world got larger.  As exploring expanded a new generation followed rivers into the unknown, surveying and mapping; slashing through jungles and recording what was found and seen to bring new versions of the world we occupy. Over time technology grew to bring new ways to travel, the invention of cars to move us over land and planes to fly us thru the air—till finally, rockets broke free of earth’s gravity and floated out in space, allowing the astronauts to actually see planet earth for the first time, there it was!  A tiny speck in the vast universe enveloped in a layer of clouds embracing the life within. 

This world is one whole interacting unit supporting the rarity of life.  Once again our world had been rediscovered.  It is a global world.  And we, the reflective species that is programmed to see and appreciate the wonder, must rejoin the flow of life to find the way to assure its continuation  

Post of September 11, 2015

Teilhard Series  -  6th

I apologize for my previous posting; my error was to re-post the 5th rather than the 6th (missing from the archives) of my series on the concepts introduced by Teilhard de Chardin.  His ideas challenge us to think holistically rather than compartmentally.   Underlying his body of work is the conviction of interconnectedness of all being, with a purposeful direction inherent in the evolutionary process.

As a paleontologist Teilhard traced evolutionary development back to its most distant origins, then followed its path forward to the present.  He discovered a pattern at work that he called complexity-consciousness.

The slow development of life on earth has proceeded from simple to complex.  In our first biology class we learned that life gradually emerged from the simple one-celled ameba to the indescribably complex human form, not just by changing in size and shape, but also by the increasing complexity of interacting systems.  On the one hand this kind of progression can simply be accepted as the way it should be, but on the other hand it suggests a profound intentionality with direction and purpose.  Teilhard saw its significance—life gradually unfolding by increasing in complexity and moving toward self-awareness. 

from Google/Wikipedia: “The law of Complexity-Consciousness is the postulated tendency to become more complex over time and at the same time to become more conscious . . . The law was first formulated by Teilhard de Chardin in his 1955 work The Phenomenon of Man.”

Before we look further at complexity-consciousness it is necessary to consider another of Teilhard’s concepts—that of the ‘without’ and the ‘within’.  Life (or existence) displays two dimensions.  The ‘without’ is the stuff of the universe.  The things we can see and touch, can experience as material solid objects, the so-called ‘real’ that we know and that to which science gives attention.  The ‘within’ is the non-material, what is called the subjective dimension . . . it is that to which religion, mysticism and psychology gives attention; it includes emotions and the elusive—still not clearly defined—consciousness.

The ‘complexity part of the law is more readily understood and accepted as science has long traced that aspect of the pattern—simple organisms evolve to more complex ones.  Yet there is another aspect of this law to understand.  In complexifying, there is a flow between the lower and higher state—potential for the higher state pre-exists.  In the evolutionary process nothing can come to be in an advanced state that did not pre-exist in some rudimentary form.  The new emerges from the potential carried in the earlier state  (think of butterflies, or oak trees).  Yet the new is a different entity.

Teilhard states, “In the world, nothing could ever burst forth as final across the different thresholds successively traversed by evolution (however critical they be) which has not already existed in an obscure and primordial way.”

It is important to realize both the ‘without’ and ‘within’ are equally bound to the principle that ‘for every synthesis . . . its end is already implied in the beginning’  (T)

Since the focus of science is on the ‘without’ it is easy for scientists to be dismissive of the appearance of consciousness in the human as a ‘fluke’ or an anomaly or an epiphenomenon and simply ignore it.  Teilhard makes the point that consciousness pre-existed in a rudimentary state in even the lowest life forms and came to flower in the human and is yet continuing to evolve.  Consciousness is THE crowning phenomenon that has revolutionized the earth.  Its evolving development as it appeared in the human can be charted: from cave-men just beginning to use tools and fire, to the inventors of modern technology; from a world of landscapes without indications of human habitation, to networks of highways and bridges crisscrossing the globe; from markings on cave walls, to countless books and elaborate communication systems, etc.  The human is much more than ‘just another animal’—a random product of blind chance . . . the human, endowed with consciousness, has emerged from the long complex evolutionary process armed with reflective awareness that enables the species to make of this world whatever they would have it be.  May the consciousness in the species continue to evolve to enable it to reach the potential intended.

As we see a pattern emerging and can trace order in development, it belies creation by random chance.

Our World

About a year ago my friend Jane, unknowingly, presented me with a challenge as she gave me a little ‘world pin’.  She is part of a group about which I know only that they have created and distribute this lovely little lapel pin of planet earth with its oceans and continents.  In our conversation she casually said, “Just what is the world? . . . the world, the earth, the planet, is it all the same?”  I think I responded with something like “well not exactly”. 

I went on to expound (yes, I do do that!) about Teilhard de Chardin and his explanation of the formation of the earth’s layers that evolved over an incalculable span of time; first there coalesced the Barysphere and Lithosphere—the metal core and rocky crust; next, those layers were overlaid with the Atmosphere and Hydrosphere—air and water; which were the necessary precursors for the Biosphere—all life forms.  Over eons of time, an array of vegetation and animal life slowly appeared, advancing in form from simple to complex.  Teilhard defined that as the ‘law of complexity-consciousness’, which drives evolution to ever reach for greater intricacy and more freedom by complexifying nervous systems and increasing consciousness.  The process ultimately brought forth the rational and reflective creature—the human species.  This wasn’t just ‘another species’ but the very axis and arrow of evolution, adding a new layer to the planet.  That layer, Teilhard named the Noosphere—the thinking layer.  With thought and freedom, human choices have shaped the emerging world in which we live: a world of buildings, roads and machines; a world of languages, music and arts; a world of laws, institutions and philosophies . . .

Evolution is on-going change.  Only humans have the ability to initiate change, both within the self and in the world they inhabit.  It is imperative that we awaken to the power humanity has to determine the destiny of this awesome interacting system—our world.

Our planet is an object in a solar system that orbits the sun in harmony with other planets—Jupiter, Mars, Venus, etc.  At the planetary level it is but one of many similar objects.  It differs however, because of being surrounded by continually re-circulating air and water, thus providing what is necessary to support life.  The interaction of these elements is a unique process, fully integrated with the myriad life forms animating our earth.  Just as the Biosphere changed the planet into the living earth (fondly referred to as ‘Mother Earth’), the newest layer, the Noosphere, changed it into the world of thought and action we occupy.

Over the past year my thoughts kept returning to the challenge of that question, ‘are they the same?’  I now realize I found the question so significant because it points to the basic God/human interaction—together we co-create the world.

When I speak of God, I’m not referring to a remote Being far away in the heavens who counts sins and grants favors.  Knowledge of the nature of God is of a dimension beyond human comprehension.  When I speak of God I mean that dynamic Mystery beyond my understanding that brought order out of chaos.  I look at the known evidence of life and the magnificent balance of the uncountable elements necessary for the universe to exist—yet there it is and here we are!  So I say, “Thank you, Mystery God” and I think of the wonder of human consciousness that can seek Truth, Justice and Love and can express love, compassion . . . and hope.

The evolutionary process is still unfolding; the God contribution has been set before us, ours is underway as we explore our capacity for both good and evil.  We’re given this playground free and clear, no strings attached.  Our ultimate challenge is for the human family to learn to act cooperatively in supporting the preservation of our common home.  We can make it flourish as it was meant to, or we can destroy it by our collective violence, greed and selfish choices, so reducing it to a dead planet left empty in its orbit around the sun.

So my friend’s question about ‘sameness’ can be answered both yes and no.  Either word refers to the same whole unit, but the world comes into being thru the God/human interaction.  We’ve been given planet-earth, flourishing with life and potential; and too, we’ve been called to consciousness and freedom to do with it what we will.  Ultimately ‘our world’ is our answer to Mystery God.

Middle Stanza Thoughts

This is a continuation of my former July 17 entry wherein, while in Hawaii, I explored the deeper thoughts stirred by the Trinity prayer, I continue with the prayer’s middle stanza:

            --as Savior, you clothed yourself in human flesh and entered

            time as Jesus to show us how we are to live.

God, you created matter—the solid stuff of being that has weight and dimension.  Teilhard has told us: in Being there is a 'within' and a 'without'.  The within—the Word and Spirit—preceded materiality.  At the appointed time your creativity brought forth mass and form—the without—and life, in an evolutionary process that revealed endless possibilities—reaching for the form most appropriate for containing the seed of spirit.  The mechanism of the process was that of complexity-consciousness:  a progression from simple to complex (the without) and ever deepening consciousness (the within).  Through eons of time, slowly evolving to eventually produce the human form that came to know itself and emerge from a primitive state to become a communicative, creative being—developing language and utilizing tools to shape their environment.  Slowly the light of awareness increased—knowing without knowing they knew—they were to gather together to organize and build while paying tribute to the unknown beyond their comprehension.  Mankind emerged as an altogether new species.  Beginning with limited awareness, the ‘without’ received more attention than the within—managing food and shelter, refining communications, gathering together to establish roles and rules and rituals, growing in awareness that there was something greater than what they could see and feel and touch. Looking backward from the present to some four thousand years ago we see a people gathering their tribes into a nation with a central focus binding them together; their belief in One God, creator of all that is.

When outer and inner development was sufficiently established to sustain fuller consciousness of meaning and direction, You, God, entered time as Jesus, accepting both the process and the limits of being human to demonstrate the full measure of human potential—the power and goal of our freedom: to create a world of peace and love by acknowledging our interdependence and together willing that our world be so.

Jesus came into the world in a male body full of strength, courage and intelligence, with a feminine soul living the truth of love, compassion and self-sacrifice.  The ‘without’ of Jesus was here but briefly, while the ‘within’ remains in Spirit.  God, you aren’t ‘out there’ or ‘up there’ beyond our reckoning but right here in our midst, waiting for us to discover you, not in the many conflicting ways men have designed you, but as you truly are.  

Teilhard Series - 7th

In this, the seventh and final of my Teilhard series, I focus on the most central of his themes—Love

            God is Love=Love is God

            Love is the energy of existence

            Love is the affinity of being-to-being

We have yet to understand love.  The contemporary world has misled us with overly sentimentalized, romanticized versions of love or has falsely applied love’s name to self-gratification.  We are closer to love’s reality at the joy of sharing experiences, thoughts and goals with another, of reaching out to give comfort, of working cooperatively toward a ‘good’ that is beyond self-interest and of saying ‘Amen’ to the wonder of creation.

Love is a ‘within’ quality—of the subjective realm—it cannot be weighed and measured, only experienced and so in the world of science it has no place and is as ill-defined as consciousness (of which it is a part).

Teilhard invites us to regard the ‘within’ as having supreme value, only it can awaken us to that new dimension to which the human is being called.  We are not just another species on an equal plane with all others.  We are more than bone and muscle and organs; with fully matured consciousness and the awareness of love, we are participants in the creative process.  We have been charged with shepherding our earth and creating our world. What we create is dependent upon our ability to realize our interconnectedness to this singular whole web of life.

Evolution begins with attraction and union; there follows a process of development.  That development (whether of species or individual) follows the law of complexity-consciousness, unfolding the pre-ordained possibilities of increased abilities and freedom.  Throughout the process, movement is toward greater being.

Looking back to the earliest and simplest level we see only a mysterious attraction propelling atoms to cluster and form molecules, then molecules joining to form cells.  Teilhard has stated that nothing comes to be in final form that had not pre-existed in an obscure and primordial way—there is a striving in coming to be.  Here we consider that attraction and union appears to be the driving force (energy) of the evolutionary process.  Teilhard states “The affinity of being with being . . . is a general property of all of life and as such it embraces . . . all forms successively adopted by organized matter . . .”; a complex concept which means ‘attraction to wholeness is everywhere in everything.’  That attraction that calls subatomic particles of protons, electrons and neutrons to join and form atoms, then atoms to join together to form molecules and molecules to cluster to form cells—that primitive attraction, over millions of years, came to be realized in ‘hominized’ form (human consciousness) as love—and continues to draw us together to realize our interconnectedness as part of our mandate to build a sustainable world.  Teilhard’s understanding of evolution and his vision of its trajectory gives hope to the future.

I conclude with one of Teilhard’s best-known quotes:

“Some day after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness—for God—the energies of love.  And then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”