I came to the realization not too long ago that the Level of Being of any single one person is defined by the first law of thermodynamics. For the ulterior-skeptical, I will keep out of this discussion any religious dogmas and abide by a series of simple definitions, cultural factoids and cited sources from different origins. Any references to modern scientific postures will be cited. Of course, I will venture and state this dissertation is beyond philosophical, scientific. You will have to put some of your skin in the game and put the equation into practice as a means of experimenting yourself, otherwise, how would you know? Introduction The first law of Thermodynamics speaks to the conservation of energy – it is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. But I take into consideration the 2nd Principle of Manifestation from Hermetic Science that states “as above, so below” as the core of this thinking. Allow me to explain. Taking in consideration that our galaxy is one of many in a Supercluster called LANIAKEA (meaning “immeasurable heavens”) where most galaxies trend to converge at a dense core within some region of our universe called THE GREAT ATTRACTOR , I postulate that Man, as an OPEN system (that makes transactions of energy and matter with its surrounding universe) also chooses to make a progression towards achieving a state of oneness towards its own “great attractor”, his Being, God, or grand creator source, as anyone would choose to refer to. From that perspective, we focus on the first law in terms of the Internal Energy of Man, namely his Level of Being; DU = Q + W Where; DU is the change in the Internal Energy (the Level of Being) of the System (Man); Q is the Heat applied to the system (the ‘Fire’ applied to Man); and W is the Work done on or by the system (the Work done on Man himself or by Man on the environment). To Start: The Level of Being – The Level of Being is a concept easily discernible from the fourth Principle of Manifestation of Hermetic Science – The Principle of Polarity. “Everything is Dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled.”–The Kybalion. The Level of Being of any one person is rhetorically observable in a vertical scale. At the top he would be one with the Universe, one with the source of all creation. At the bottom, he would be one with the anti-universe. There would be an infinite amount of intermediate steps in between. For the sake of mental imagery, the top of the scale would be Brahama, God, Osiris, or however you may choose to call it, and as we descend (in no particular order but the one of your choice) we would see the likes of Jesus, Krishna, Lao Tse, Kukulkan, Gautama Sakiamuni, Mother Theresa, Saint Francis of Assisi, St. Theresa of Avila, Ghandi, Mandela, JFK, Martin Luther King, this or that Pope, altruists, philanthropists, you, me, thieves, criminals, murderers, (may I say) ISIS Militants, all the way down to what social consciousness would unmistakably call the Devil. Evidently superior Levels of Being are desirable for Man itself and for his surrounding universe and we equate them, according to the first law of thermodynamics as “the change in internal energy” or DU. Let’s talk about Q – the amount of heat applied to the system To first understand this, we need to understand that man, as a living organism abides by the same principles that underlie life in all of its diverse forms in compliance with the Molecular Logic of Life. The human organism is chemically complex, transforms and uses energy from the environment and through the activity of reproduction, it undergoes processes of precise replication. The transformation and use of energy from the environment are of particular interest in the development of this topic as that energy (heat) comes from either external fuels as well as from the Sun. Philosophers once answered that living organisms were endowed with a mysterious and divine life force (called ‘vitalism’) , but of course this doctrine has been firmly rejected by modern science, not because of mere desire, but in my consideration because of the limitations imposed by the 5 senses to correlate various scientific findings, together with the associated time-lag between the emergence of a scientific intuition and the ability to create equipment that generates hard, tangible evidence in its support. An example of this would be the correlation of the effect on the physical body by affecting the Vital Body (as some know it, the “aura”). Some people today consider the aura to be an element of fiction and fantasy or a topic of conversation among new-agers, yet the Vital Body was first photographed in the 1930’s by Semyon Kirlian and back then, they named it the “bioplastic body”. Examples of treatments directly involving the vital body would be magnet therapy and acupuncture, both effective, yet considered pseudoscientific alternatives by most. The principle of ‘Vitalism’ dates from antiquity and it highlights that within the elements that make up the human machine, there exists a Vital Force that governs via an intelligence that regulates all interactions and all transactions; macro- and micronutrient processing, biochemical reactions, metabolism, reproductive processes, and other processes of higher nature. This intelligence responds to a series of universal (meaning all-encompassing), Cosmic Laws. The term ‘cosmic’ is not meant to evoke mental images of galaxies and solar systems a la Carl Sagan, but instead it is applicable in the context of “orderly arrangement” and “organization” , as in the “laws that enable the organization and orderly arrangement within creation”. This Vital Principle was coined the élan vital during the early 20th century , but it has been known since ancient times as associated to the akash, the fifth element (beyond the known fire, air, water and earth) and source of the ether; but not the chemical ether representative of carbon groups connected via covalent bonds to an oxygen atom, but ether as the primordial substance from which tangible creation – as we know it – emerges. This ether substance is of a bluish tone, and is still studied by some Physics at the Quantum Aether Dynamics Institute , yet it has been present in ancient writings, in particular those of a philosophical and mystical nature. In its Indo-European root it means “burn, shine”, which intuitively evokes the image of fire. According to the Upanishads of the Hindu tradition (that date to the 6th century BC) akash is related to prana, which is the “vital, life-sustaining force of living beings, present in all natural processes of the universe” . Prana itself is considered among ancient traditions as “the breath of life” and prana is found within the ether. This ancient knowledge suggests the breath of life is found within the substance of creation. If we correlate these notions together and use modern science to state that every living organism extracts energy via the oxidation of an external fuel source or from sunlight, then it becomes safe to say that as humans, we fuel our existence not only from the food we eat, but from the circumstances that surround us and the prana we receive with every breath. Beyond the necessary oxygen to enable aerobic processes and satisfy the biochemical needs of the body, the prana we consume enables the physical system to remain in a dynamic steady state out of equilibrium with its surroundings. Out of equilibrium implies that our physicality is capable of maintaining concentrations of chemistries, nutrients, saccharides and proteins that ARE NOT in equilibrium with its environment. Nobody dissolves when they walk into a pool or when they sit on a couch. Yet once that prana source of energy is removed (i.e. at the time of death), then other cosmic laws of nature that enable an orderly arrangement and organization become active leading the organism to fall into equilibrium with nature, as its components will in turn become nutritional sources for more simpler organisms (i.e. decomposition). In our most fundamental unit, we are all the same; conglomerates of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen with smears of other elements, imbibed with a consciousness. This implies then that prana, as an external energy source, can be used to our advantage, and we do. Ancient and current practices of Chinese HAM-SAH, Egyptian PRANAYAMA, meditation, as well as hatha-, agni-, gnana-, raja-, bakti-, and other types of yoga involve harmonious, mindful breathing techniques and their benefits are backed by some in the scientific community , logically implying that the relaxation induced by mindful breathing and adequate postures not only enable optimal flows of energy through the body, but also help provide the necessary oxygen to satisfy biochemical needs and helps the body eliminate toxins. Needless to say it also saturates the body with the ‘fire’ that infuses life. Looking back in time, it becomes easy to see this. Ancient cultures venerated the Sun as a symbol of the Cosmic Chrestos and the source of all life; the monoliths in Easter Island all face East as if waiting for the rise of the Solar Logos; the Egyptians venerated RA, for the Aztecs it was Huitzilopochtli, for the Incas it was INTI, the Mayas venerated AK KIN, SUNNA was the Sun God for the Nordics, SAMMAS for the Sumerians, and HELIOS among Greeks. It easy to find rituals and practices that took place in the early morning hours, at the time when the landscape is still bluish in nature (meaning there is a high concentration of ether). These rituals involve the singing of prayers (mantras in reality) and harmonious, mindful breathing, such as the Nordic Rune Exercises and the Tibetan Exercises for Rejuvenation. These exercises purposely infuse the practitioner with ‘the breath of life’, prana, and those who practice them claim to have “great benefits” . Yet there is another source of ‘fire’ that cannot be discarded and that is the ‘fire’ that comes from our transactions with others, particularly those that lead us to react adversely. If we consider these transactions give us psychological nourishment (no one would argue that hardship + adversities + age = wiser), then the invitation made by Luke makes sense when he stated “and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also” which is of course not an invitation to become subjects of abuse, but an invitation to not react before the actions of others, to not engender violence out of violence, but rather to learn to be humble and submissive. To sum up, two sources of fire; PRANA - The more we consume (through these mystical practices) and INTERACTIONAL - the more ‘heat tolerant’ we become in our interactions with others, the higher contribution can be made into reaching a higher level of internal energy and thus, a higher level of being. To the contrary, the lack of that tolerance eventually “burns us”, leading us into equilibrium with the environment, of course via the catabolic forces of nature. Now Let’s Talk W – the work done on the system or by the system Thermodynamics teaches us that the control volume is defined as the boundary of the system we wish to study and relevant to the concept of Internal Energy (or Level of Being), there are then two systems that must be considered: the Universe and Man. Whether the universe is the result of infinite permutations as suggested by the Theory of Evolution or the result of Intelligent Design is irrelevant. It remains factually puzzling that there is an inherent intelligent principle (i.e. the fire of life) that responds to a series of laws that enable organization and the orderly arrangement of creation (i.e. cosmic laws) and this principle enables the adaptation of all forms of life to specific realms of creation. If for example we add the right proportions of Oxygen and Hydrogen to a closed flask, we will die of old age before we get to see the generation of water. It is only after the addition of a spark (fire) that the elements will combine and the formation of water will take place. Yet, we cannot rely exclusively on the spark itself as the source of that transformation. We must take in consideration the intelligent principle leading to the generation of the spark, as that intelligent principle became the volitive mechanism of action to exert work in the system. But we must simplify the concept of the Work. We will refer to the work done on the system AND the work done by the system as “positive (+)” if the work done is meant to sustain the principles of compassion, kindness and the elimination of Man’s own inhumane nature. We would call it “negative (-)” if the work done is against compassion and kindness and in favor of Man’s inhumanity: desires, fears, ambitions. Any work done IN the system (in the Man itself) as an attempt to satisfy a total revolution of the consciousness would enable a higher Level of Being. There is much positive to say about the creative aspect of eliminating hatred, resentment, animal passion, greed, ambition for power, desire for recognition, jealousy, worries, conceit, lust, gluttony, etc. Any work done BY the system (meaning Man working in benefit of others), akin to sacrificing and serving humanity, feeding the hungry, dressing the poor, sheltering the homeless, etc., would also contribute to a positive (+) effect towards a higher Level of Being. On the other hand, any enabling of the inhumanity of man, drunkenness in passion, and the strengthening of lust, anger, pride, greed, envy and any activities that would otherwise hurt others, would contribute negatively. Putting it all Together Just like galaxies naturally tend towards a convergence at THE GREAT ATTRACTOR, so do some men long to unify with their source. So to reach the highest achievable Level of Being, meaning the highest change in Internal Energy (DU); Man must strive to gain energy from his environment by harnessing prana and learning from the interactions with others (+Q) as well as become capable of eradicating from his psyche his own inhumane nature while still serving others (+W). The greater these two are, the greater would be that change in his Level of Being and the closer he will emulate the source, thus DU = Q + W As a corollary, those centered in themselves as self-sufficient and independent entities, doing the very least to eradicate from their psychology their own inhumanity and who neither do service to others nor tend to relief the misfortune and the suffering of others, they would also experience a great change in level of being, but negative, away from the virtues of compassion and kindness, becoming closer to what the social consciousness would easily classify as a devil-like form. So my good friend Asdy is very correct, this is a matter of transformation, destined only to the ones who are moved by an internal fire to becoming true Humans. Because as the word implies, a true HUM-MANAS is the one who has achieved a perfect balance between Mind and Spirit.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 20:30:48 +0000
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