A Parable About Space and Time

This parable is inspired by a prophecy told by the Lummi people, the original inhabitants of Washington's northernmost coast and southern British Columbia. For thousands of years, they have worked, struggled and celebrated life on the shores and waters of the Puget Sound.

A parable about space and time
by Kyle Dome Doane


Before the storyteller, there was nothing to see.

The Universe was perfect
and everything was perfectly clear

There were no thoughts...

• No words
• No time
• No stars
• No planet
• No mountains
• No trees
• No animals
• No people
• No human beings

Like a perfect mirror, anyone who looked into the universe would only see their own reflection. Most human beings were afraid to look for longer than a blink. But, the Storyteller wanted to understand the Universe. The Storyteller stared unblinkingly into the reflection.

After a time, The Storyteller saw deeper than just personal reflection. Was the Storyteller in the Universe? Was the Universe in the Storyteller? The Storyteller began to see the structure and form and void of the Universe.

But, thoughts began to form, then words. A question began to materialize within the Storyteller. When the Storyteller spoke The Question, the universe shook and shattered into countless fragments.

The Storyteller gathered many scattered words and ideas and tried to fit them back together, but pieces were missing and the new story was incomplete, rough and sometimes painful to hold.

The Looker took the story from the Teller and turned the story over and over to examine from different points of view. It wasn't easy. The sharp edges sometimes cut. The Looker could see current universe story, but could only see glimpses of the Way the Universe had once been.

The Hearer accepted the story without question and without examination. The Hearer copied the story and passed it to other Hearers who, in their turn passed the story to their lineage of Hearers. Sometimes Hearers would accidentally break off parts or accidentally add their own. This was seldom purposeful creation. Each lineage was certain their Story was the Truth of the Universe.

The versions of the story began to differ. Each time the story got handed down, it became smoother. More polished. Easier to hold.

Some stories became so polished, so perfectly clear that they simply reflected the image of anyone who looked into it.

And that is all.

Inspired by a prophecy of Lummi nation.

A Prophecy of the Lummi Nation

This post is a prophesy passed down by the Lhaq'temish, the People of the Sea. The people of the Lummi Nation are the original inhabitants of Washington's northernmost coast and southern British Columbia. For thousands of years, they have worked, struggled and celebrated life on the shores and waters of the Puget Sound.

A loooong time ago, the mountains thought they were the people.

A loong time ago, the trees thought they were the people.

A long time ago, the animals thought they were the people.

Someday they will say, "A loooooooong time ago, the human beings thought they were the people."

And that is all.

I love the idea that mountains, trees, animals, and humans are responding to a universal life force, on a quest for fulfillment, all striving to become ... 

See also:

Life Force http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2013/11/links-that-lure-intrigue-nurture-kindle.html

What does it mean to be human? http://philosfx.blogspot.com/2014/08/what-does-it-mean-to-be-human.html

Comments welcome!

H/T: Kyle

What is a Metaphysician?

ISO a better understanding of what it means to be a "Metaphysician."

Metaphysics is Facts plus Hypotheses raised to the power of Intuition, Faith, and Reason

According to Google (hmmmm... is their search algorithm "meta" enough?), a metaphysician is either:

• a philosopher whose area of expertise is the study of the fundamental nature of reality and existence, or 
• more esoterically, a practicing healer/adviser that changes physical reality by working with the principles and powers and ‘things’ that underlie it, and especially the mind or psyche, or
• both 

Many writers write about subjects in which they have recognized expertise. Most writers probably want to tell a story from a position of competence. In my case, in this instance, I want to write about metaphysics precisely because I am clueless on the topic. I write as a means to discovery and understanding.

My motives:

• I just had a friend remind me that she and her husband have become metaphysicians, and I do not want to have to ask her what she meant by that
• I am wrestling with the inadequacies of religion and philosophy in view of staggering personal losses
• I am searching for meaning, that I might understand how to discern my place and purpose in the universe, and to share my process of gaining understanding
• I am thinking about pursuing a degree in metaphysics. I am only half-joking. OK, I am only half-serious. 

Basically, friends from my church left, joined a metaphysical chapel, and became metaphysicians. They have mentioned this fact in passing ("that is why we became metaphysicians") a couple of times recently, and I finally got curious enough to check into what they were talking about.

I learned that: (a) There is a Metaphysics Chapel just a few miles from my home; and (b) There is an accredited, degree-granting institution which offers a PhD in Metaphysical Humanistic Science

Institute for Metaphysical Humanistic Science

Why change?

• I am constantly seeking to know myself better, to ensure that I am honest, authentic, and transparent in my attempts to make my corner of the world a little better. But "making" the world better leads to conflict when values collide. What if simply being better and showing others how to be better is the answer? 
• I am committed to a life of service to others. But are my efforts addressing core issues or just superficial ones? Am I having the greatest possible impact as an individual and a group member? 
• I love my church, and its focus on social justice. But are churches able to do enough? Are they doing enough? Are all the churches together eliminating poverty, disease, ignorance, and hunger? If not, would a different approach work any better? If I thought a different approach would work better, would I not be obligated to try?

Despite these ongoing efforts in self-awareness, service orientation, and community focus, I can't help but wonder if maybe there isn't an even better way for me to align my talents, aspirations and goals with the most intractable problems facing the human race. I look at the types of things that I write about on PhilosFX, and I see a lot more in common with Metaphysics than business process re-engineering, statistical analysis, or other traditional operations research analyst topics.

Though I love my current job and am proud of my career, I do see problems with traditional analytical approaches to problem-solving:

• corporate money controlling research and politics, and 
• the defense industrial complex essentially manufacturing wars, and 
• traditional churches failing to adequately address social justice issues.

My years-long pursuit of a PhD in Applied Management and Decision Sciences, specializing in Operations Research is on hold. Progress stalled for a wide range of reasons. I suppose there is an important distinction to make between reasons and excuses. What if some of my "reasons" were related to a growing suspicion that I was on the wrong path? The will finds a way...

We don't need more optimization. We don't need more data. We don't need more pontification. We don't need more greedy algorithms or policy wonks. We need more healing. We need more insight. We need more understanding, empathy, compassion, and love.

The will finds a way...


Resources

• What is a metaphysician? HERE
• What does a metaphysician do? HERE
• What else does a metaphysician do? HERE
• Where is the nearest metaphysical chapel? HERE
• How does the dictionary define metaphysics? HERE
• Who were or are some notable metaphysicians? HERE
• How does one become a metaphysician (initially)? HERE
• How does one become a metaphysician (advanced)? HERE

met·a·phys·ics

  (mĕt′ə-fĭz′ĭks)

n.

1. (used with a sing. verb) Philosophy The branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, substance and attribute, fact and value.

2. (used with a pl. verb) The theoretical or first principles of a particular discipline: the metaphysics of law.

3. (used with a sing. verb) A priori speculation upon questions that are unanswerable to scientific observation, analysis, or experiment.

4. (used with a sing. verb) Excessively subtle or recondite reasoning.