Transpersonal Journal

[Anderz]

I'm already back because I wanted to document an idea I got. I love the simple graph for reality that they use as the foundational model in the Wolfram Physics Project. It's similar to my view of reality. They use a hypergraph but that can be converted into an ordinary graph I learned and Indra's net is an infinite complete and full graph, so the Wolfram graph is a subgraph of Indra's net. And the Wolfram graph models all of our physical reality.

Consciousness I think of as the infinite graph observing the always finite manifestation of itself (the future is infinite). And the graph can be represented as information and there is something called Kolmogorov complexity.

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"... More formally, the complexity of a string is the length of the shortest possible description of the string in some fixed universal description language (the sensitivity of complexity relative to the choice of description language is discussed below). It can be shown that the Kolmogorov complexity of any string cannot be more than a few bytes larger than the length of the string itself. Strings like the abab example above, whose Kolmogorov complexity is small relative to the string's size, are not considered to be complex." - Wikipedia

So, assuming that the Wolfram graph including its initial condition can be represented by a relatively simple description, that's low Kolmogorov complexity. It's true that simple rules can produce infinite complexity such as the Mandelbrot set and Wolfram's Rule 30. Even Pi = 3.14159265... can be seen as infinite complexity yet it's low Kolgomorov complexity since Pi, the Mandelbrot set, Rule 30 etc can be defined with simple formulas.

One possibility is that our reality is ever increasing Kolmogorov complexity. How did lifeforms arise out lifeless matter? From a nodual perspective there is no difference between living and non-living matter but already in the relative context of all of reality there is a huge difference. Lifeforms have vast complexity. And evolution is a process of increasing complexity. Also, there are emergent phenomena in nature and leaps into higher orders of complexity.

With Kolmogorov complexity as a measurement of the level of complexity, the Wolfram graph then only describes the basic physical properties of reality and not the whole of existence. And that's analogous to how at the personal stage of development we cling to low Kolmogorov complexity in order to be able to make sense of reality. At the transpersonal stage a more comprehensive sense of reality emerges where what previously was experienced as disorder (entropy) becomes recognized as actually being complexity (order).

The fundamental struggle at the personal stage is then a result of only being able to deal with the simpler forms of Kolmogorov complexity. Things like human laws, money and even language are reductions of the full and increasing complexity into simpler forms of order. That's useful and it's also a higher second order form of complexity, so that's an advanced form of progress, yet it's too simple and rigid order to be able to fully deal with reality which results in struggle, friction and conflict.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Anderz

[Anderz]

Kolmogorov complexity is an incomplete definition since full randomness will appear as high Kolmogorov complexity. The definition I use is therefore that complexity is information structured as holons. A holon is a whole that at the same time is a part, e.g. an atom in a molecule, is whole which at the same time is a part of the molecule.

And my guess at the moment is that a simple formula, such as the Wolfram model, is unable to produce holons. Compare with the Mandelbrot set for instance, which has infinite complexity but that's not holons. So that's not the kind of complexity I mean. I will try to figure out if my definition of complexity requires high Kolmogorov complexity which I believe is the case.

At the personal stage of development the individual is a holon as a part of society and the environment. At the transpersonal stage there is a leap into a larger holon that includes all of the world. If that's true then the transpersonal stage is already an embryonic form of a collective consciousness. Bruce Lipton has described evolution as reaching higher levels of holons.

 

[Anderz]

I think that Bruce Lipton's fractal evolution makes sense. Manifested reality evolves into larger and larger holons. What we have today is planet Earth as a holon, but at the personal stage of development. Instead of earth being a whole organism it's today more like a Frankenstein's monster or a golem. It's not even that since humanity is still in a divided state of being.

If the nations are like organs in a body, then in a healthy body the nations would function to globally work as a whole harmonious organism. Instead what we have is nations fighting other nations, groups of people against other groups of people, individual against other individuals and so on. That's like if in a human body the liver was at war with the kidneys and the left hand in conflict with the right hand.

It depends on how it's defined but the transpersonal stage as I define it means earth as a conscious holon, a single organism emerging out of the fractured personal stage of development collectively. And that precisely fits with how Bruce Lipton explained our next evolutionary leap as a planet.

[Anderz]

Hmm... Wait a minute. Maybe I have found a solution to the holon vs complexity vs Kolgomorov complexity problem. Take for example two binary strings A = 01 and B = 11. When those strings are combined (concatenated) then the result is when starting with A: 0111. That's not a holarchy! That's just a larger binary string.

What is required for A and B to become holons is that they need to be represented in a larger binary string that can identify them as separate units and connect A and B into a larger whole. This still doesn't resolve the question about whether that inevitably results in an increase of Kolgomorov complexity or not but it's a good start I think.

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"A holarchy is a connection between holons, where a holon is both a part and a whole. The term was coined in Arthur Koestler's 1967 book The Ghost in the Machine." - Wikipedia

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Anderz

[Anderz]

Oh, crap. It looks like it's impossible to prove that complexity in the form of information structured as holons always leads to high Kolmogorov complexity. Because how is it possible to know if for example the constant Pi can't produce an infinite holarchy? Really tricky!

I still think it's a useful definition of complexity though. And the personal stage of development is simply a result of the complexity of our reality not having reached a high enough level yet to form a larger evolutionary holon in the form of the planet as a conscious organism. At least from my perspective although some people may already be in such planetary consciousness.

[Anderz]

I have an idea that might seem crazy and could be wrong, but it explains the transpersonal stage as a larger holon. As an example, when we eat a donut, first it is outside our body then after having eating it it's inside the body. At the transpersonal stage I suggest, the donut is in our body all the time since our "body" is then the whole world.

And this gets pretty wild from a personal perspective. With the transpersonal body being the whole world, my money for example is in my body. It would be crazy at the personal stage to say that my money is in my body, unless I had eaten some coins or bills. And it gets even wackier because for example Donald Trump's money is also in my body at the transpersonal stage.

[Anderz]

The idea of one's body being the whole world is actually consistent with many spiritual nonduality teachings. One common claim is that the whole world is an appearance in consciousness. And if so, is there really a difference other than as an appearance between our physical human body and the outside world? No, there isn't!

It may just be that in the personal stage we are so heavily conditioned to experience our physical body as a separate object that we hardly can think of it being in any other way. Even spiritual teachings make a distinction between the body and the external world which is almost as divisive as in the ego stage. And as outrageous as it may sound, that could simply be a consequence of our world still being very "young" and in an early stage of development.

[Anderz]

I now have an almost funny proposal for a practice. When we are babies we learn how to move our body, grasp with our hands and use our five senses. Similarly when going from the personal stage to the transpersonal stage it's like being "born again" and we need to learn how to use our larger body which now is the whole world.

I will take this practice somewhat seriously and experiment with it. Such as when eating a donut, the idea is to question where the donut exists before and after eating it (and maybe even after having pooped a day later). The test is to see if experiences like that can actually be actualized as happening within the same larger body of the entire planet.

Edited September 21, 2020 by Anderz

[Anderz]

On a second thought maybe many spiritual teachers do experience themselves as the whole world. And that it's just that when we are at the personal stage of development we don't recognize it. Spiritual teachers often say that they don't experience themselves as separate from other people.

And it's also that collectively the world is still utterly dominated by the personal stage and the spiritual teachers reflect that precisely because they are one with the external world.

[Anderz]

One burdensome possibility is that the tensions in the crystallized ego are connected to and a part of all the tensions in the world. That would explain why the tensions in the mind and body are so enormous and deep. It's almost ridiculous how difficult it is to melt away the tensions in oneself. When one layer of tensions has dissolved it reveals deeper tensions and so on in a seemingly endless hardness of tensions.

At the same time that can be a powerful realization and used together with the practice of expanding one's sense of self to include the world, to actualize the Self that Ramana Maharshi talked about. So that's definitely something I will investigate and experiment with in practice. A simple practice is to feel the tensions in oneself and then feel how and if those tensions relate to the external environment.

[Anderz]

What is the root cause of the ego tensions? One thing I do which seems very rare among spiritual traditions is to examine the possibility of overcoming physical death. It's almost as if it's a taboo topic. I go at it full force, haha.

And that can be an important and even necessary approach. Why? Because in my estimation, the death drive in the ego, also called thanatos, consists of the ego tensions. So the death drive is not some separate instinct or something like that. The death drive and the ego tensions are one. And that's the root of those tensions.

[Anderz]

Isn't the belief in overcoming physical death ridiculous or even insane? No, I don't think so. Compare with the belief centuries ago when people believed that there was an end to the ocean and if you sailed too far you would fall over the edge of the world. So nobody dared to explore going too far out into the sea.

Sure, it could be a delusional belief like many of the New Age beliefs. But there can also be truth to even some New Age beliefs and even to my idea of overcoming physical death. And as Leo said in this video, sticking only to the mainstream beliefs in society might seem safe but it's actually not. Because as history has shown, mainstream society has been very delusional in the past and what makes us believe that today's mainstream beliefs are safe?

 

[Anderz]

Why the need for the personal stage at all? It's a part of evolution. Biological evolution is only limited part of the whole evolution of the universe. Human knowledge, technology, politics, art, language and all the other human inventions are a part of evolution, not separate from it. Evolution is a process of increasing complexity leading to larger and larger holons. Starting with smaller holons in the form of physical particles evolution over time connects smaller holons into larger and more complex holons.

The individual at the personal stage is a very complex holon. However society as a larger holon is on earth still incomplete. And the massive process of connecting all humans into a planetary organism involves a history of violence, struggle and conflicts. It may seem that human conflict is a constant and will continue in the same way as in the past. That's a false view. Steven Pinker has shown that violence has steadily declined throughout history which to me is a sign that we are moving towards the development of the world as a larger holon.

 

[Anderz]

Survival at the personal stage of development is about struggling as a separate individual. Even collective egos like the family unit, nations, political parties, sports teams, religious groups and protest movements, those are individuals too. 

At the transpersonal stage survival is guaranteed. That's how I see it because if there is an individual having to survive, that's the personal stage of development. I don't know yet what that means in practice, but I will take a look at Leo's videos about survival again to get a sense of survival at the personal stage. Here is the first part:

 

[Anderz]

What would Jesus do? Well, Jesus taught about the transpersonal stage, which ironically often gets interpreted by Christians at the personal stage of development as the opposite of what Jesus actually was saying. Christians want to preserve the family unit. Jesus came with a sword to break up the family unit:

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"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’" - Matthew 10:34-36

Survival through clinging to the family unit is the personal stage of development. Some Christians often also talk about survival through stockpiling food and gold. Jesus taught the opposite:

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"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21

To store treasure in heaven can be seen as personal development instead of storing material things. And working hard to earn a living, is that kind of survival consistent with Jesus' teaching? Eh, no.

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"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:25-34

The pagans represent the crystallized ego at the personal stage of development. And worrying about tomorrow is what the crystallized ego does.

[Anderz]

Jesus even taught about not being angry. Trying not to be angry as a form of obedience to Jesus is the personal stage of development. That's just more manipulation leading to further inner conflicts. Jesus was talking about transcending anger which is the transpersonal stage.

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"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell." - Matthew 5:21-22

The "fire of hell" means remaining stuck at the personal stage of development, not a place with burning sulfur. And of course this makes no sense to a person at the personal stage:

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"You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." - Matthew 5:38-42

Jesus was here presenting a radical pointer to the transpersonal stage where there is no conflict, no "if" about being slapped, nor someone trying to take things from you or force you to do things.

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"You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." - Matthew 5:43-48

To be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect is the transpersonal stage. Even the crystallized ego at the personal stage is perfect but it's an undeveloped stage where imperfections are experienced. And to be 'children of your Father in heaven' is also the transpersonal stage where there are no enemies since the Self includes everybody including oneself.

[Anderz]

Leo said that we need to age and die to allow future generations to be born. To me that's actually a personal stage perspective. The reason for why people need to die at the personal stage of development is in my opinion that society needs to "recycle" its batteries. Society at the personal stage is a fricken nasty Matrix! That only cares about its own survival and doesn't care if people die and suffer as long as society as a whole survives.

My view is that at the transpersonal stage we will live forever. It's a very radical claim, I know, but at the transpersonal stage we realize that there isn't any difference between us living now and future generations. It's all one Self. And yes, there will be fewer people born, at least until we start to colonize or create other planets and places to live, but again we are then a collective "us" and not merely separate individuals.

[Anderz]

Shunyamurti talked in this video about a collective death drive. I think that's true! Because the collective death drive is simply the ego tensions we carry around in our bodies and minds. We carry the death drive of society collectively.

But then he went on to claim that our civilization will end. That's an even wackier claim than my idea about eternal life, haha. But maybe he meant it metaphorically, that it's the "death" of the personal stage and the birth of the transpersonal stage.

 

[Anderz]

Nonduality teacher Roger Castillo said in this video that spiritual teachings can seem to say different things but that in reality they are ingenious ways of untying the same knot. That's a good point. He gave an example of one perspective where a tree has grown from a seed through a process of time, and from another perspective the tree appears instantly in the now from nothing, and both perspectives are two sides of the same coin.

I even think that the example of the tree can be explained by saying that the past is real yet all the past is only information in the now. So both perspectives are correct. In another video Roger has mentioned that even within one teaching there can be levels where at first one thing is said, and then at a later stage another thing is said, seemingly contradicting the first claim!

I have experienced levels of understanding even on my own, and have gone from doing practices such as mindfulness to more and more recognizing that my doing is itself a part of the crystallized ego. And my current approach is to focus more on understanding what the crystallized ego is instead of trying to change it which is just more of ego activity.

 

[Anderz]

The most extreme nonduality teachers say that there is nobody and nothing is happening. At first that can sound super nihilistic and even crazy. But I think there is truth to it! Consider nonduality. Change is duality. Reality as a whole cannot turn into something else, because that would be what is turning into what is not. I believe that's why for example Brahman is changeless and in the Bible it says: "I the Lord do not change."

Also, there cannot be someone plus the rest of reality, so there is nobody. But surely there is something. To say that there is nothing seems false. It could be that what the extreme nonduality teachings are saying is that there is no-thing happening, so it's not the usual sense of nothing like a void or something like that. Leo has said that it's not the usual nothing he means when he says that reality is nothing. So his explanation of nothing is the same as in the extreme nonduality teachings I think.

One way of looking at the transpersonal stage is that it's a realization of nonduality plus the dissolving of the crystallized ego. And as I have mentioned before there can also be a realization of nonduality with the crystallized ego still remaining. At least that's possible in theory, and that would explain the claim that there can be spiritual enlightenment at different stages of personal development.

Edited September 23, 2020 by Anderz