However, I will start by making an unfamiliar term, familiar: "the archesoma". "Soma" refers to any living creature with a sense of its condition and a sense of its environment. The term, archesoma, refers to the underpinnings of all living creatures' sense of existence. It's based on four universal functions:
ATTENDING | REMEMBERING | INTENDING | IMAGINING
The TetraSeed (four-part origin of experience)
The TetraSeed (four-part origin of experience)
We start with Memory, as I believe it to be the most accessible to you, friendly reader.
MEMORY
Memory is nothing but the persistence of things. No persistence, no memory. If you can find it, it's persistent somewhere and in some way.
Memory is the persisting of the impression of an experience after the passing of the experience.
That definition applies even to computer memory or memory metal (used in eyeglasses): computer memory retains patterns of ones and zeroes; it is the pattern that it retains. Another medium than silicone wafer circuits could just as easily, and perhaps even better retain a pattern of ones and zeros. The medium doesn't matter; it's the pattern.
Memory metal exhibits similar behavior of pattern-retention: it retains its form, returns to it even when distorted by force. It's pattern, retained. The behavior of memory metal is a lot like the behavior of humans. Ever have anyone try to make you do what you don't want to do? or argue you into another opinion of something? You tend to want to "keep your own form", don't you.
Does that bring it home, for you?
Memory is persistence of a pattern of some sort, even a persistence of a pattern of patterns, of movements, the corresponding sensations, patterns of function, patterns of behavior, patterns of relationship, of experience, of habits, of destiny.
That leads us to the next Element.
IMAGINATION
Imagination is open-ness to being strangely attracted in some direction. Another term for this is, eros.
Thanks to Walt Disney, imagination has been brought before the public; he pointed to imagination as something alive. He highlighted it.
Thanks to Walt Disney, imagination has been brought before the public; he pointed to imagination as something alive. He highlighted it.
He was a pioneer of the animation of the imagination in his cartoons and the feature movies released in his lifetime.
He set a direction.
Imagination is about change, or "newness"; newness is an abstraction because, although the word usually awakens an intuitive impulse to move attention (doesn't it?), it has no content, in itself, does it? "Newness", in this sense, means, "something previously unknown", whether internal/subjective or external/objective.
Imagination is always a movement from the known ( memory ) into the unknown. If it isn't moving outwardly from memory, it IS memory, not imagination.
Imagination is a pregnant pause. Imagination is like a woman: she may be beckoned by our patient receptivity, primed by our attention, but never yields to our immediate insistence -- and then comes unexpectedly. Imagination is like that. Imagination doesn't come "from" us; it comes "to" us, to our openness. We may then hold it by making the imagining tangible by some creative action, which is to say, persistent. We make the imagining persist, and when we do that, it becomes, Memory.
Anciently, this feminine personage of the imagination has been given the name, "muse", an inspiring female who arouses great things of a human's potential, which the person must then bring alive, make tangible, make persist, bring to life. Muse and music: where do they come from?
Pregnant Mystery
Pregnant Mystery
Thus does IMAGINATION feed into MEMORY.
Feel the light go on? That may have been your first feeling of "synergy", occurring. That feeling of synergy is the appearance of a "strange attractor" in "psychic space". And what it attracts is . . . . .
ATTENTION
Attention locates strange attractors; a strange attractor is a center of experience, whether subjective or object.
Strange Attractors have a "smell" (or flavor). Attention is like a nose. Yes, a nose, and it sniffs out Strange Attractors, the way a truffle pig sniffs out truffles.
Strange Attractors have a "smell" (or flavor). Attention is like a nose. Yes, a nose, and it sniffs out Strange Attractors, the way a truffle pig sniffs out truffles.
Follow your nose. Follow your nose. You do. You do. Don't you?
In fact you can't help but follow your nose.
Even if you follow your ear, you end up pointing your nose the same direction and your nose leads the way. And if you follow your nose, you really follow your nose.
Things that go in your nose really get attention. Don't they? Chanel #5, the smell of pork barbeque? a gnat? We'll let that be that.
Attention is a pointer. Attention locates. Always, attention locates.
What does attention locate? anything with a location, in terms of any of the senses.
Any other function attributed to attention (or attending) actually comes from the other of the focal points of The TetraSeed.
Attention is a locator-pointer.
However, attention may be either waveringly or steadily "ON-OBJECT",
attention may be narrow and intense
attention may be narrow and intense
or open and lightweight
or diffused
or dissolved
or dissolved
or highly coherent (attention steadily cohering ON-OBJECT)
or scattered.
In "ADD" or "ADHD" attention is scattered.
or scattered.
In "ADD" or "ADHD" attention is scattered.
INTENSITY of ATTENTION is related to INTENSITY of INTENTION.
The primal intention is, activity (experienced as existence).
What we call, "being" is really, "becoming".
No activity, no existence. Absolute zero.
The Center of the Black Hole,
The Center of the Black Hole,
no communication out or in.
Activity is Existence and Existence is Activity.
Intense attention yields more detail,
remembered and also recognized by memory.
remembered and also recognized by memory.
Attention selects the impressions made upon memory.
The more intense the attention,
the more deeply, more densely
the more deeply, more densely
the more intense the impression made on.
Activity is existence and only activity is existence.
ATTENTION consolidates MEMORY according to its INTENSITY
INTENSITY may occur in a single incident or may accumulate in multiple incidents (repetition) -- or a combination of intensity and repetition.
INTENSITY may occur in a single incident or may accumulate in multiple incidents (repetition) -- or a combination of intensity and repetition.
Feel that? another synergy, another strange attractor
sniff, sniff, sniff
INTENTION
Intention intends movement, activity, or change.
(sniff, sniff, sniff)
Intention has no momentum of its own; that is supplied by memory/persistence.
Intention has no direction of its own, of any kind,
until aimed by imagination, imagination perhaps bolstered by memory.
until aimed by imagination, imagination perhaps bolstered by memory.
(sometimes not so bolstered by memory, as dreams that evaporate as we awaken).
Intention is the synergetic emergent of
ATTENDING TO, "REMEMBERING IMAGINING".
To do all three, simultaneously, spontaneously activates intention.
another synergy
(sniff, sniff, sniff)
You've activated all Four. How do you like it? Want some more?
I thought you would.
Now, you know what goes into the TetraSeed transformation procedures: The Four, inner and outer.
I thought you would.
Now, you know what goes into the TetraSeed transformation procedures: The Four, inner and outer.
Look at the diagram. See the colors? They indicate correspondences. Feel how they correspond. They reinforce each other.
Every feature (e.g., "intending") connects with every other feature (e.g., "persistence"). Feel how they connect (e.g., "intending persistence"). They add with each other to create familiar kinds of experience and unfamiliar, emergent, experiences (to be captured by MEMORY).
Every feature (e.g., "intending") connects with every other feature (e.g., "persistence"). Feel how they connect (e.g., "intending persistence"). They add with each other to create familiar kinds of experience and unfamiliar, emergent, experiences (to be captured by MEMORY).