Friday, February 28, 2014

Envisioning a Sustainable, Equitable and Spiritually Fulfilling Future: The Visionary Work of PhysicistDavid BohmThrou...

Envisioning a Sustainable, Equitable and Spiritually Fulfilling Future: The Visionary Work of PhysicistDavid Bohm



Throu...
: The Visionary Work of Physicist David Bohm Throughout the world, in all ages, there have been belief systems that state our uni...
The Visionary Work of Physicist David Bohm




Throughout the world, in all ages, there have been belief systems that state our universe at its core is unmanifest, uncreated, or unconditioned.  Thus the 13th century Christian mystic Meister Eckhart states:

When I stand empty in God’s Will and empty OF God’s Will and all of His works and of God himself, then I am above all creatures and am neither God nor creature, but am what I was and evermore shall be.

Mirroring Eckhart, Lao Tzu advises us in the Tao Te Ching to be newborn and free of our self. Or as Jesus Christ says upon finding a woman nursing her baby, “be like him.”  That is, our conditioned self needs to become unconditioned.

I could go around the world looking at Native American, ancient European, Asian (e.g., Buddhist and Hindu) as well as African spiritual teachings and show a corresponding foundation to the universe that is, ultimately, unconditioned and unmanifest.  It is here, in the Unmanifest, or Uncreated, that possibilities—potentials—are unlimited.

Due to Eckhart’s pointing out the unconditioned or unmanifest in his work, he was condemned by the church as a heretic.  As illustrated below:

Furthermore, Eckhart courageously braved the charges of heresy by affirming that in every soul is the Divine Spirit itself as its true Identity. Eckhart specifically declared that there is a non-creaturely “uncreated aspect of the soul,” which is always already perfectly one with God. A startling, shocking truth that elated the many mystics of his time who flocked to hear his electric sermons, and, predictably, angered the non-mystics whose stunted intuition could not resonate with what the Meister so beautifully spoke.
           
Eckhart pointed people towards an unconditioned, uncreated and unmanifest world. 

The mindset of moving beyond the conditioned mind is dangerous in that it is the place of infinite potential.  This is the place from which evolutionary potential emerges. This is the place where real creativity emerges as well as making institutions such as the church, government, schools, and corporations a thing of the past.

This is the reason it is so dangerous.  What happens to the collection plate if folks started discounting what you are preaching?  The Unmanifest is the place where we ring out the old and bring forth the new.  The possibilities within this Unmanifest Order are infinite!  They are the potentials of Imagination…of people, other creatures, planets and stars.

Eckhart’s work teaches us to go beyond conditioning, into what the Buddhists call the Unconditioned and what the late physicist David Bohm referred to as the Unmanifest Implicate Order (Talbot, 1991).  This mindset is beyond the waves and currents of the manifest brain; it is in the deep stillness and depths of universal Mind.

Bohm was a contemporary of Einstein and worked with him.  He contributed unorthodox ideas to quantum theory, philosophy of mind, language, and neuropsychology. (Wikipedia.com). He is widely considered to be one of the most significant theoretical physicists of the 20th century.

According to Bohm:

It is proposed that the widespread and pervasive distinctions between people (race, nation, family, profession, etc., etc.) which are now preventing mankind          from working together for the common good, and indeed, even for survival, have one of the key factors of their origin in a kind of thought that treats things as inherently divided, disconnected, and "broken up" into yet smaller constituent parts. Each part is considered to be essentially independent and self-existent.

The notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion. Indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments are really separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today. Thus, as is now well known, this way of life has brought about pollution, destruction of the balance of nature, over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder and the creation of an overall environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy for most of the people who live in it. Individually there has developed a widespread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it. (David Bohm, Wholeness and the Implicate Order, 1980)

Bohm and Meister Eckhart are one!  No division there. 

Bohm’s message to the world and his work in physics, which touched upon all aspects of our arts and sciences, is that we don’t need to live in a fragmented world.  In other words, we don’t need the warring factions of republican and democrat, liberal and conservative, catholic and protestant or Christian and Everybody Else. Opposites, as I see them, are simply mirrors to each other, poles of one continuum.

Take gender, for example.  Women and men are mirror images of one another in their opposition.  Women enfold their ovaries and uterus upwards and inwards (as a metaphor for unmanifest potential) while men unfold downward and outwards (as a metaphor for the external spark to bring forth unmanifest potential into manifestation).  The so-called “battle” of the sexes is a myth.  In their apposition to one another, the universe and babies are conceived.  Perhaps my words will spark an insight in you?  We are all interwoven in the web of life and love.

Same idea.  Otherwise, why do some blatantly say; “this idea is MY baby.”  (Of course, no baby belongs only to one ego. Even the Virgin Mary required the Holy Spirit; and, conversely, the Holy Spirit required the Virgin Mary.)  Why else would we say we conceived an idea and then call that idea a concept?  Man or woman, the process of conception from inside one’s self is a feminine process and the act of sparking that conception is masculine.  Perhaps the virgin birth is something that comes out of the blue? Thus many Christian mystics refer to being virgin as being empty.

Would Bohm see it in the same way?  I’m not sure.  I would love to have the discussion, though I think it would take a while for me to get to the core of what this ingenious man might say.  Perhaps one of his protégés, F. David Peat, could answer how he thinks Bohm would respond.
Peat is a brilliant science writer who has several books under his belt.  These include:  Synchronicity: The Unity of Mind and Matter; The Blackwinged Night: Creativity in Nature and Mind; Science, Order and Creativity (with David Bohm); and Infinite Potential: The Life and Time of David Bohm; Glimpsing Reality: Ideas in Physics and the Link to Biology.  (For a complete bibliography of Peat’s prolific and prophetic writings, go to http://www.fdavidpeat.com/bibliography/books/books.htm
Peat says of Bohm:

Today's generation of physicists, impressed by the stunning successes of quantum physics--from nuclear weapons to lasers-are of a different mind. They are busy applying quantum mechanics to areas its original creators never imagined. Stephen Hawking, for example, used it to describe the creation of elementary particles from black holes and to argue that the universe exploded into being in a quantum-mechanical event.
Bucking this tide of modern physics for more than 30 years, Bohm has been more than a gadfly. His objections to the foundations of quantum mechanics have gradually coalesced into an extension of the theory so sweeping that it amounts to a new view of reality. Believing that the nature of things is not reducible to fragments or particles, he argues for a holistic view of the universe. He demands that we learn to regard matter and life as a whole, coherent domain, which he calls the implicate order.
Most other physicists discard Bohm's logic without bothering to scrutinize it. Part of the difficulty is that his implicate order is rife with paradox. Another problem is the sheer range of his ideas, which encompass such hitherto nonphysical subjects as consciousness, society, truth, language, and the process of scientific theory making itself.

Perhaps Bohm’s getting past conditioning means he is a modern day Maria?  His words are rife with paradox. I think of this in terms of the writings of mythologist Joseph Campbell, whose most famous book is Hero of a Thousand Faces.  Campbell was very much like Peat in being interested in the work of psychiatrist Carl Jung (e.g., Peat’s Synchronicity: The Unity of Mind and Matter).  Campbell also spoke a lot to the coincidence of opposites in the myths, which fits into the way Bohm was seeing physics. 

Ultimately, the paradox is that unity is inherent in diversity and diversity is inherent in unity.  We live in a paradoxical universe in which the implicate and explicate orders require the apposition of their opposites with a constant flux between the two-in-one.  The wave and the particle coexist.  Thus, the United States motto is “E Pluribus Unim,” in the many one, which is in contrast to the current nation’s undeclared, “United Corporations War Against Planet” whose mode of operandi is to “Divide and Conquer.”  A simple example would be the United States cable news channels that act as opposites such as Fox and CNN.  But are they truly opposites or are they like the right and left arms of the same monster?

But this is merely my way of viewing opposites.  How would David Bohm answer me?  I’d love to hear the answer.

But, Bohm is deceased.  In addition to Bohm’s writings, his memory lives on in the writings and work of F. David Peat.  Thus, Peat is teaming up with movie producer Paul Howard of Imagine Films to produce a documentary regarding the work of Bohm. 

This movie adventure on the part of Peat and Howard provided me the opportunity to ask questions I would have probably asked Bohm.  But, I had to take care of family needs.  So, I could not talk to Peat and Howard directly. But, I did get answers from questions I wrote. Merry simply served as my voice.

The ultimate message Bohm would impart to whoever reads this article is that the potentials within us all, including you, are endless.  Perhaps you can read this message in a book written by Peat about Bohm?


My suggestion is not to look at the title, Infinite Potential as just speaking of Bohm, Peat, Howard or any other specific person.  I suggest the title refers to everything and everyone.  This means you, the reader.  In my understanding, infinity exists side-by-side with nothing.  This is its limitation.  Without the finite, the infinite has no sense of Her-His Self.  This is why there is the dark circle within the white half of the Tao symbol and a white circle (yang or male) within the dark (yin or female) half.  To be whole, the Unmanifest (Yin) needs to manifest (Yang, the spark or Eros of creation).  Thus the Unlimited is inherent in the Limited and the Limited is inherent in the Unlimited. Their ongoing dance together is the dance of Life itself.

Duality, the beginning division of Genesis—be it of the Cosmos or the human egg—is  the beginning of self-awareness.  If nothing exists within you except you within your self, how would you know anything?  Thus, it is in the manifestation of potentials (i.e., the finite) of evolution that the Unlimited ultimately sees itself.

The real question is: “What potentials exist in you?”   Beyond that, “Which of these potentials do you choose to manifest?”

Sit with those questions for a while.  Perhaps the unfolding of potential in you is the true dream of David Bohm as well as Peat and Howard?  Or, perhaps the true author is Nature, Yahweh (I AM) or Brahman (the Self)?  Is there truly a distinction between I and Thou?

To listen to the interview with Peat and Howard talking about Bohm’s infinite potential, go to:  

To learn more about David Bohm and Peat and Howard’s documentary on him, visit:  http://thebohmdocumentary.org

References

Talbot, Michael, The Holographic Universe:  The Revolutionary Theory of Reality, HarperCollins Publishers Inc,  New York, NY  1991

Thursday, February 27, 2014

RECONNECT TO OUR TRUE NATURE VIA A DOCUMENTARY ON QUANTUM PHYSICIST DAVID BOHM 02/26 by ENVISION THIS | Culture Podcasts

Perhaps the most important visionary of the past century, the following link leads to an interview of scientist and author F. David Peat and film maker Paul Howard regarding the work of David Bohm, a physicist that if foundational to the development of a more resilient, equitable and just future.





RECONNECT TO OUR TRUE NATURE VIA A DOCUMENTARY ON QUANTUM PHYSICIST DAVID BOHM 02/26 by ENVISION THIS | Culture Podcasts

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Envisioning a Resilient, Equitable and Earth - Friendly Future

Envisioning a Resilient, Equitable and Earth-Friendly Future



I'm doing this as a newsletter-journal regarding the work Merry and Burl Hall as hosts of the on-line radio show, ENVISION THIS!  Our job in this world is to work with others in co-creating a resilient, equitable and love-filled future.  While many people don't think about future generations, and instead only want their pleasures in this moment, Envision This! does look towards the future generations.

Many say it is too late.  The world is going to hell in a handbasket.  I don't doubt that.  But what if a new life can be resurrected from the rubble we have created?  As I write this I hear Steppenwolf's potent song, Monster.  "America, where are you now, don't you care about your sons and daughters?"  

As I see the mainstream voice of America, I hear a resounding, "hell no we don't care!"  And then George Bush Jr chimes in with his infamous "just go shopping" to help you deal with the loss of your sons and daughters going to war.  It is they, and you, who will suffocate at the hands of global warming.  But, don't worry your pretty little head, George says alongside Obama (apparently, not literally). "Just go shopping!"

Oftentimes, as I gaze upon people shopping, the fiasco of television shows that I see every now and again, and the news, I wonder if we aren't doomed.  

But, alleluia, I cling to hope that we can co-create a better future.  So do our guests on Envision This!

F. David Peat, our upcoming guest next week, is such a visionary.  F. David Peat is a brilliant man who wrote several books, including Synchronicity: Unity of Mind and Matter.  From his website, F. David Peat has authored twenty books on popular science with topics ranging from synchronicity, to chaos theory, to the life of David Bohm. His latest books, The Black Winged Night: Creativity in Nature and MindFrom Certainty to Uncertainty: The story of Science and Ideas in the Twentieth CenturyBlackfoot Physics and In Search of Nicoka Tesla can be purchased through the Pari Center website, which is an educational center began by Peat.

Peat will be speaking to the work of David Bohm, one of the greatest physicists that walked the face of the planet, according to my estimation (and perhaps Peat"s?).  Indeed, my interpretation of Bohm's work (as well as Peat's) were instrumental to my understanding of dreams, visions and intuitions occurring from the age of 5 and into adulthood.  

Peat is working with Paul Howard of Imagine Films (Ireland) regarding a documentary regarding Bohm's work. We will be interviewing Peat and Howard on Wed. Feb 26th and 10:00 Eastern (United States) time. The show will serve as a way of helping to fund raise for the project as well as to talk about the work of David Bohm.   

We hope you join us.  Remember, if you can't make it live, the show will be archived.  You can listen to it at any point your heart desires.  We are all in this to speak to change.  Bohm's work in my estimation speaks to foundational change, from his work in physics to his understanding of language.  Indeed, his thinking may be foundational for future change.  Envision This! a physics in which the notion that all men and women are brothers and sisters becomes a reality.  Is this so hard to do?  The holographic nature of physicists like David Bohm and neurologist Karl Pribram is not a modern discovery.  Indeed, as the Bible's "Genesis says it, "God created Adamah male and female, male and female created He them!"  Thus we are indeed mirrors of the All.  What do we see in ourselves as we look out at the depleted landscapes if not an image of our own minds?  Just saying….this may make a good conversation piece for the show!




  



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