Theory of Polarities
A
quick tour by Varadaan
1D – One Axis
Perhaps
the most basic polarity is the theme of one and many, or self and other. Babies cry when they need their diapers
changed, or they are hungry. They
are totally focused on their own self and its needs, and then, as children grow
up they begin to explore the world outside their own ego, which interestingly is
also when the defensive ego structure is formed. As a human develops, if she is lucky, she will become aware
of the limitations of her ego, and how that self-identification limits access to what is greater, to
the experience of true Love and other experiences of Essential Qualities like
Joy or Clarity. Perhaps she will
know the experience of union with the Divine, knowledge of a Oneness with all
of Existence. Thus the One of self
eventually merges to the One of Existence through knowledge of True Self. Ultimately the end of the path is what
many call ‘enlightenment’ — a permanent resting of awareness beyond
mind/body/ego, a full time experience of a Divine consciousness.
Oops, I
digress slightly. Or not.
The
basic theme of a polarity, can be expressed as a number line, of a sequence of
numbers, but with the understanding that there are an infinite variety of
values available between each of the numbers on the line, something like this:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 . . . to Infinity
Note that infinity, a mathematical concept of a value beyond anything that can actually be written, is quite suggestive of the Divine, and this is no accident. Mystical teachings often equate the infinite with the numinous realms where consciousness can meet the totality of existence. The mind can only point to something beyond it, beyond specific understanding.
Matter to Spirit and Spirit to Matter
Certainly
another basic polarity is the theme of a continuous progression from matter to
spirit. This can be understood as
an evolutionary sequence of consciousness, such as from rocks to humans, or in the Christian
tradition,
from rocks to humans, to angels and then to God, . In the system that I am personally most comfortable with it would be
from rocks to plants to animals to people to enlightened incarnated beings to enlightened
beings no longer in the body but merged with existence and then finally to the
totality of existence itself. Thus
is a continuum from matter to spirit, and this is another universal,
fundamental principle, probably found in all cultures— a basic part of every human
cosmology. Ken Wilber refers to
this as “The Great Nest of Being”, drawing consecutively larger concentric
circles, from self to spirit.
But
now it is time to digress from Ken Wilber and explore a dimension of reality
that he largely ignores, and perhaps a reason why few Women are interested in his books. If we go a bit beyond the basic
positive integer line we get into negative numbers.
Thus:
Infinity . . . -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 . . . Infinity
So
this is a continuum from the ultimate negative to the ultimate positive, with a
neutral balance point in the middle. The math is a metaphor, a distillation of a basic principle of opposites
that operate in the human realm, as matter but also as consciousness. Between Matter and Spirit is the human
realm. We are not rocks, and at
least at the body-mind level, we are not God. In this intermediate realm we witness a play of opposites which is not just “mind”, although various traditions talk about many types of
“mind” such as higher mind and lower mind, and often in Buddhist theory Heart
and Mind are lumped together.
Doing
this misses an important opportunity, a key point, in fact. Let’s explore the polarity of positive
and negative a bit, and examine the relationship of this Yin and Yang duality. Consider Positive as a Masculine
creative principle and the Negative as a Female principle. We dive into a whole topic. In Vedic culture there is the A-U-M,
the three principles of existence: the Creative, the Maintaining, and the
Destroying, all very important, all happening continuously.
So,
contemplating the Positive and the Negative, with a Neutral balance in the
middle, and ascribing Male and Female principles accordingly, we also
might want to explore a basic aspect of so-called mind, because Mind and Heart
are in fact two very different things, and even relate to different approaches
to awareness, and even to different spiritual paths toward enlightenment. And this duality of Mind and Heart
intersects the continuum of “Matter to Spirit” right at the midline, at the
point of human mind-body consciousness. So we draw a cross, which can have various meanings in metaphysics, but
proposed here is that this one is of particular importance, that it is a
fundamental pattern.
When
we take two oppositional axes and justapose them perpendicular to each other,
we have the foundation of Classical Physics, upon which Isaac Newton built
Calculus and the mathematics of motion, acceleration and force. This is the basic format for square
forms, used today to design floorplans, work with spreadsheets, and create
matrices in mathematics. If
we perform the operation of multiplication of two perpendicular axes, we obtain
the surface area of the square section thus enclosed, which is no small step-
there are all kinds of implications, this is a fundamental mathematical
principle. And, extending the model
to three perpendicular directional axes, we have the cube and cubic geometry,
which is the traditional Cartesian Geometry that
enabled the Master Painters of the European Renaissace era to paint spacial
perspective so realistically. It is the full framework for Classical
Mechanics, within which Maxwell’s Equations of Electromagnetism operate, and this
is the canvas that is literally stretched by Einstein’s theory of Relativity.
Returning
to the theme of two perpendicular axes drawn on our flat sheet of paper, we
thus return to exploring two
important dialectics:
Matter – Mind – Spirit
And
Mind – Heart
Now for Matter-Mind-Spirit, we can consider a continuum from gross to subtle, thus
Spirit
|
Mind
|
Matter
And we have the Primary Cross, an ancient symbol found in almost
every culture on Earth:
Note
that in the Qabalah there are three vertical pillars, white black and grey,
representing three different approaches to enlightenment / higher mastery. While the Qabalah has its polarities of
the horizontal direction, the core of the I Ching is more closely represented
fully by this basic mandala.
Sky
/ Spiritual
 |
Mind
/ Yang / Masculine Heart
/ Yin / Feminine
Earth / Material
Thus
it is proposed that this Primary Cross represents a fundamental metaphysical
building block. As it is used with
the I-ching and various mandala forms of different traditions including Native
American and aboriginal Australian, it is also the basic framework for the Seed
Logos mandala. As a fundamental,
it is a building block to greater complexity.
From Seed
Logos: Path to Unity Consciousness, by Varadaan
“The implications of this relationship between two of
what we might call one dimensional variables, quickly enables fairly high
degrees of complexity. When there
is a continuum of values for one variable, say from +1 through 0 to –1, then
two such variables can define a plane of interaction, such as might be
described by the Primary Cross above. In the case of modern computers, with their simplified binary on-off
switching, we see how binary operations can ultimately yield a digital realm of
high complexity, such as the system I am using to write this text. In the case of a variable with a
continuum of values, we are considering an analog situation. Both analog and digital types of
complexities are found in the natural world, though usually, there is an analog
aspect, even when the digital nature is present, as would be the case with a
DNA protein strand. The following
digression should help elucidate how complexity emerges even from the most
simple of initial geometries. 2x2,
also 22, is the geometry shown above with the Primary Cross, while
of relevance is that 25 = 32 = (2x2x2x2x2) is the order of
complexity sufficient to create a self replicating polypeptide chain, define
all manifestation of the first ten orders of vibration in music or physics, or
describe the full Tree of Life
[1]
,
which means the 10 Sephiroth plus the 22 paths, which correspond, incidently,
to the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the 22 Major Arcana of the Western Tarot. Note 26 = (2x2x2x2)x(2x2) = 64 is the order of complexity of
the I Ching, foundation to much Eastern metaphysics.
[2]
”
The
Black, White and Grey pillar paths in Qabballah relate to the three paths of
enlightenment identified in Vedic culture, and map to the above as shown here:
White Pillar Grey
Pillar Black
Pillar
Mind Body Heart
Masculine Neutral Feminine
Yang Balance Yin
Path of Study Path
of Power Path
of Mysticism
Path of
Asceticism Path of Action Path
of Prayer
Jnani Yoga Karma
Yoga Bhakti Yoga
Path of
Inquiry Pranayama+Asana Worship and Devotion
Advaita/Zen Kundalini Yoga, Martial Arts Tantra
For more details on this topic, refer to more of my writings
including “Returning to the Fountain” found at http://www.varadaan.org and also to the
section on this site devoted to a more detailed discussion of the Sacred
Geometry of the Seed Logos.
http://www.sustainability.org/resources/sg_of_sc.html
Beyond two polarities is the concept, from Hegel, of a third. In the Hegelian Dialectic there is the
opposition of two and then their synthesis, yielding a third. This is actually the theory underlying
successful consensus process,
where the conflict between two or more different views are integrated and
considered, and a ‘third way’ is developed, an answer for the whole that
everyone can agree to or at least live with.
But this ‘synthesis’ actually is hinting at an entirely different
type of geometric construction of a two dimensional world. It is quite relevant that the strongest
two dimensional structure is an equilateral triangle, the shape of the teeth of
the great white shark. So in the physical world, equilateral triangles are
found to be the most economical form. A sheet of paper can be neatly divided into tiling patterns of two uniform regular
geometric shapes: squares or hexagons, and hexagons are groupings of
equilateral triangles. In the physical
chemistry of solids, we see sheets of hexagons in the graphite of the pencil I’m
not using to write at the moment. Layered dense packs of sheet
structures, either in cubic or hexagonal forms are the basic structure of metals. For more about this
try the internet of go right to -
http://www.ncl.ox.ac.uk/icl/heyes/structure_of_solids/Lecture1/Lec1.html
Here is a local version of this page,
if the link above does not work
/RE-solidstructure.html
And thus we see the dense packing in sheets goes right into dense packing
in 3D, so we have materials in cubic geometry and also tetrahedral
geometry. And for the metaphysics
buffs, note that as the tetrahedron emerges, so too does the “flower/seed of
life image from Egypt presented by Drunvalo Melchizedek and others
And in addition, on the subject of triangles, tetredrons and the
like, note that Buckminster Fuller’s Synergetics proposes a new mathematical
model based on a triangular system for relating items to each other. While his approach did not directly
revolutionize mathematics, it is true that a more versatile and open
mathematics has taken physics by storm. Modern String theory proposes between 11 and 13 different dimensions
which are believed sufficient to describe all phenomona relativistic and
quantum from the most macrocosmic to the most microcosmic. Meanwhile, as an amateur, Varadaan
during his last year of identification with mind, found that the additional
coupled dimensions of the
“imaginary” planes which are invoked with the equations of electromagnetism and
quantum field mechanics suggest a linkage of cubic and tetrahedral space, which
suggests the geometry of how photons arise from the collapsing fields of
electron orbitals. The details are
beyond the scope of this material, but should become available through
Varadaan’s home page http://www/varadaan.org at some point in the future.
In two dimensions, note the profound synergy of tri and quad, in
the twelve around one found in the zodiac, the clock face, and the Seed Logos
Mandala. 3x4=12.
So let’s review the seed logos mandala one more time:
|
Each axis has particular meaning, representing a particular
polarity. The Seed Logos with its twelve sectors, was created by Varadaan, and then incorporated into the "Peace Room" project. Note how Marshall
Lefferts and friends working on the Barbara Marx Hubbard's Evolve project in Santa Barbara have
chosen to merge point 8 with point 2, the axis associated with communication,
planning and earth stewardship. The additional association of communication and media with point 8 seems
a welcome enhancement. Although for me, the act of community land use planning
feels more appropriate in the lower left quadrant, relating closely to
resources, mind and government; and the values that should drive a healthy
version of this activity certainly are appropriate in the upper right
quadrant. Thus Earth Stewardship
is the activity of those who campaign for their governments to do the right
thing and buy open space, select suitable conservation/development plans,
etc. Enlightened government will
engage its land use activities cohered by a clear value
of Earth Stewardship, which may be a cultural value of that society, informed
by even more clear and more lofty spiritual principles. Note especially the polarity of
“values, ethics and spirit” with “economics”, and contemplate for just a moment
on how it is that modern banks often resemble Greek temples. . . Does modern civilization worship money?
Review the Seed Logos diagram and contemplate each axis, and then,
learn more about the Primary cross but also how the equilateral triangles in
the diagram are there for a reason.
http://www.sustainability.org/resources/sg-of-sdlogos.html
• • • • • • • • •
Multiple Dimensions of the Seed Logos
The Seed Logos 12 Sectors diagram
The Eight Levels of Spiral Dynamics
The Seed Logos Mandala - 12 Sectors of Sustainable Culture