The Unfoldment Agency: Navigational Map Part 3

The Cosmic Necklace

Oh the Origins

So lets start this narration with a beginning, an Origin Event if you will. Although the categories of “time” and “space” will be used to help make sense of an uncontextualizably (?) distant event, they're to be seen as narrative conveniences that don’t pertain to the actual event in contemplation. "Time” and “space” gain their meaning in relation to some reference point, but if all-that-is comes into existence at once, then what is the reference point? Itself?

My view on the whole idea of an Origin can be clarified through metaphor. A book doesn’t begin with the first letter on the first page, rather it begins in the immaterial flashes of insight within the writers being. Likewise, universe doesn’t begin with the first “letter”, rather it begins in an immaterial sea of potentia within some writer’s being (God? Quantum Fluctuation Being? etc. etc.). With this in mind, the measurable universe is seen as emerging from non-existence into existence, no-thing into every-thing, and infinite potential into finite actuality because of the dramatic inflation and vibrational fall of an infinitesimal, infinitely dense high-energy cosmic symmetry into a less dense, lower-energy asymmetry roughly the size of our current Universe in about one millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second.

Whew. It takes, simultaneously, no time and an instant (a no-time instant?) for this vibrational Fall from Edenic Perfection.

Breaking Symmetries

So, continuing with the biblical metaphor, in the beginning was the word, and this word was the actualizing of an immaterial creative potential. The resulting “book of universe” can be seen as the reiteration and further unfoldment of this “beginning word”. The immaterial creative potential that proceeded the origin was a Perfect Symmetrical Oneness. This can be seen as the highest possible state of love, for love is often felt as a deep connection with some-thing or every-thing. The different expressions of love have their unique feel because their density of connections vary --- the more dense the connections, the deeper the love and vice versa. The densest possible instance of connections seems to be “the big bang” in which everything was contained and connected in a hyper-dense infinitesimal point. This symmetry is a state of Perfect Love --- and the universe-we-are is birthed from it!

All manifest forms can be traced back to this perfect symmetry, for it is the initial algorithm emerging from the primal void. Very quickly after emerging it begins to grow, a gigantic number of forms follow a small number of growth-algorithms and expand outwards while inwardly maintaining the same initial symmetry.

Creation is a fractal. It's a mathematical relationship between information that holds a self-similar pattern regardless of size, thus explaining why Universe seems to emulate itself at all levels of scale. Change and Evolution occurs by re-iterating the initial iteration.

That symmetry of Perfect Love rapidly breaks and the cosmic superforce collapses into four assymetrical forces -- the electromagnetic, gravitational, weak nuclear, and strong nuclear.

(A Brief aside: Why does this symmetry break? Perhaps universe “chose” to break its perfect symmetry in order to know itself more fully and then regroup into a newer symmetry later on)

So it takes an immense collapse to birth an alive and profoundly creative universe. Why did this expansion and collapse happen? This is another way of rephrasing the perennial question, “why are we here?” Although it might evade exacting answers, pondering these questions provide an experience of mystery -- a worthy end in itself. Judging from the collapse “reverberations”, including the emergence of atoms, galaxies, stars and eventually us, it seems that a drive to finitely actualize an infinite potential has been the fiber connecting the long beaded necklace of existence.

The Atomic Balance

One of these forms, the atom, expresses the infatuation with balance that universe seems to emulate at all levels; with this structure comes the archetype of polarization that all life-patterns build upon. The bulk of its mass lies in the unifying, non-charged neutron occupying a central spot that the positively charged proton and negatively charged electron orbit around. Here we have the Trinity in atomic form.

These invisible trinities permeate universe for an unimaginably long, and boring, time. During their journey's, they collide and fuse with other traveler’s and new creative wanderer’s emerge: the elements. The periodic table from hydrogen to iron forms during this stellar adolescence before the first deaths begin. Eventually, like all biotic forms, the life-energy of certain stars drains and in an explosive display, they shed their stellar skin, contract, and implode within themselves. From this inward movement comes rebirth as a hyper-dense, undetectable black hole that dematerializes all known structures. In this state is where it produces an immense gravitational field that can rotate a galaxy consisting of millions of stars. This process of shedding common skin-attachments, moving inward, and becoming an undetectable yet immensely strong presence seems analogous to paths outlined by many wisdom traditions.

Cosmic Breathing

And so the cosmic theater continues, reiterating the archetypal movement of breath, inhaling and contracting forms into focused energetic size and then exhaling and expanding the energy outwards, for billions and billions of years. Some acts trudge along with the slow monotony of Godot while others burst with frenetic inspiration. Around 4.6 billion years ago our solar system “comes into existence” as a sort of insignificant routine within the multi-billion star (and already 8.6 billion year old) Milky Way galaxy.

The act goes a bit like this: a spherical, energetic orb spins rapidly causing a unique interplay of attractive-opposing-unifying patterns. A dense center emerges and distinguishing itself through its fusion technology. This bold pioneer forms the attractive center of creativity that the remaining energetic kin (once they form their own identity) circle around so obediently. This initial period that resulted in the positioning our local cosmic architecture was deeply creative --- novelty abounds in the first phase! A creative inertia operating at the start of cycles seems to permeate all levels of the fractal universe and provides a rough parameter to mold further development. Within five-hundred million years, enough circling debris within this massive energetic orb attractive itself into an identificable collective we now call Earth. Recapitulating the rapid development of an zygote to a fetus, or a newborn to a preschooler, the basic essence of the earth -- that which distinguishes itself from what surrounds it -- forms within 10 to 20 million years, a cosmic heartbeat. It’s through self-sacrifice and trauma that this process can occur; immediatley during “birth”, the earth is bombarded with extraterrestrial information in the form of meteor’s and possibly a large proto-planetary body crashing into its developing body. Part of the tellurian collective, the planetary identity, was shot into space where it formed the vital moon ensnared within the gravitational pull of earth.

Gaia's Birth

And thus begins Gaia’s birth, a simultaneously mundane and miraculous event. Or at least it’s one narrative, weaving a bit of prose (I hope) with science. The validity of the scientific facts seems to rest upon a group of trained people interpretating the measurements of another group of trained people who chose to focus on and observe some qualities of this 93 billion light year wide room we call the observable universe using human made instruments. No doubt there is room for fallibility, so take it with a few grains of salt. Just because we can see so incredibly far, doesn’t mean there isn’t incredible things farther than we can see; the end of our telescopic gaze isn’t the end of “what is”.

Gaia is a living being, continuously moving and morphing (I assume; although all this movement and morphing could be an illusion as well!). This seems to pose considerable challenge to the mapping mind, the fixed category psyche that needs manageable chunks to contemplate. So to aid this desire, various people have divided the long life of Earth into four major phases determined by profoundly salient planetary changes. The level of salience seems arbitrary and subject to change, determined solely by consensual agreement.

Where Does Life Come From?

The initial “completion” period described above, when earth sacrifices bits of herself, falls under the Hadeon Eon, from roughly 4.54 billion to 3.8 billion years ago. Two major conditions arise from this Eon of collisions: a volcanic environment and large sheets of residual ice. This is the time of the primal uumph, when creativity gains an inertial hold and moves. Then the ice melts, oceans form, the environment cools, and the humble replicating molecules emerge --- life begins; welcome to the Archeon Eon lasting from 3.8 to 2.5 billion years ago.

How does life begin?

Shit, I thought you were going to answer, because I have no idea.

It seems panspermia, or extraterrestrial seeding if you will, is more possible than a strictly terrestrial emergence, but this lies firmly in the realm of great mystery. From the relatively simple geometry of molecular organization comes a profusion of biotic organisms, all stemming from this ability to replicate. Eukaryotic cells with genetically-filled nuclei arise, landmasses spread, and novel species tweaked to utilize the repurcussions of the Oxygen Catastrophe -- rather than being killed by oxygen (anaerobic) they learn to be lived by oxygen (aerobic)! This occurs during the period of the Protozeroic Eon lasting from 2.5 billion to 542 million years ago.

From 542 million years ago unto the present and forseeable future we’re inhabiting the Phanazeroic Eon. All, or at least, of what we now experience develops during this time. The creative imperative births (and kills) a profusion of new terrestrial subjects.

Two authors I’ve come across summarize this growth as such...

From Waking Up in Time by Peter Russell: Image a 108 floor building representing all of life: street level is the formation of our planet 4.6 bya, the first living cells ~3.6bya arrive on 25th floor, photosynthesis arrives at 50th floor, aeorobic bacteria arrive 60th floor, complex cells with sexual reproduction capabilities & central nucleus arrive 70th floor, multicellular organisms arrive 80th floor, crustaceans on the sea arrive 94th floor, dinosaurs from 104-107th floor, mammals arrive on top floor, homo erectus walks a few inches from the top of the top floor, nearndarthals appear in last quarter-inch of 108th floor, Pharoahs of Egypt 1/50th of inch, Greeks & romans 1/100th of an inch, Renaissance is 1/1000th of an inch (less than thickness of a layer of paint!), and all modern history is the thickness of microscopic bacterium....time is speeding up, and it took 99.9% of life’s journey to reach the beginnings of humanity in homo erectus!

From The Web of Life by Fritjof Capra: If at 12:00 midnight on Sunday the earth was created, the first bacterial cells wouldn’t be around until about 8 am on Tuesday. By Thursday midnight, the microcosm has evolved and now regulates the planetary system. Around 4pm Friday, sexual reproduction is invented. On saturday: 1:30 am--first marine animals, 9:30 am--first plants come ashore, about 10pm the first primates arrive, 11:40 pm--the great apes appear, 11:56pm--first human species, homo habilis, appears, the modern humans appear in Africa and Asia 11 seconds before midnight, in Europe 5 seconds before, and the total written human history takes place 2/3 of a second before midnight.

Distillin'

And so this short foray into the vast history of creation leads me to distill a few unique patterns. Number one is semi-autonomy: the part-whole status of every- “thing”. Every new pattern (solar system, galaxy, an atom etc.) has a certain degree of autonomy, a sort of boundary that delineates “self” from “other” and allows for a unique type of internal creativity. This boundary is permeable though, and oftentimes part-wholes revolve around larger part-wholes; the former is often birthed by the latter and is bestowed with the gift of semi-autonomous creativity by the latter. This pattern is acknowledged in the gnostic mythos of Sophia, who is given her self-organizing wisdom by the Pleroma. Number two is to never underestimate the small, the infinitesimal. From some “thing” much smaller than the tiniest spec of dust we can percieve with naked eyes, emerged an unimaginably vast universe. Number three is the fact that some phases of a creation will be much more creative than others; typically in the beginning stages of something new (a fetus in the womb or a planet in a solar system), there is a high degree of novelty, complexity, and experimentation. Change occurs rapidly here, other times, typically when it’s been around for a bit (a little mid-life blues?), change occurs at an excrusiatingly slow rate.

We’re one of the newer passengers on Spaceship Earth, and Spaceship Earth herself is a relatively new passenger in Spaceship Universe, so we’ve hardly scratched the surface of what’s going on. We know precious little (and each discovery confirms that!) about the treasures here, so lets not destroy it before we can really get to know her, and our, selves.