Symmetry in Scars, Spiraling Dynamics, Holographic Universe, Cell Sacrifice, and What They All Have In Common - Vincent Lee's Midterm Essay

In the discussion of the chapter from the Book of Secrets chapter, the excerpt of Quantum Shift in the Global Brain, and Al Gore’s Nobel peace Prize acceptance speech, there is one underlying idea connecting all of them together. That idea would be that in order to progress as individual beings or as a collective race, we need to achieve an equilibrium with, simply put, everything. This equilibrium will allow us to function at our highest level and realize our potential.

Spiral Dynamics details this uphill/upward quest to achieve our potential. It states that we possess adaptive intelligences, activated to meet the challenges our environment presents. Tier 1, the tier we have existed on for much of our time here as a species, is labeled “Subsistence”. Survival. In this tier, there is a constant back-and-forth power struggle, a Pendulum of the forces of control vs. restraint, individualism vs. collectivism, Romanticism vs. Classicism. The second tier, which we are just beginning to enter is Being. In the two Memes we find a holistic joining of the once-conflicting aspects of Tier 2 memes. It could be likened to Yin-Yang. For us to truly be, exist, we must embrace each and every aspect of life. It forms a perfect circle.

Within circles we find a surprising symmetry in things. Whichever angle you take, no matter how you dig into its component aspects, there is a remarkable, well, symmetry. This perfect alignment can be seen in our very genes, as the book of Secrets shows us with its perspective on cells. They are among the tiniest units of life, but the functions they operate on are the same ones we should be operating on. They are all part of a great whole, as we are. Every cell has its purpose. They also have a sense of self-sacrifice. The whole comes before the individual. The continued survival of the whole is dependent upon the sacrifice of its parts. Doesn’t our society requires us to fill out our roles? In that sense, are we not like cells Taking things up to the “organs level”, do they not work to serve the human? And do we not work to serve our communities, which serve our cities, which serve our states, which serve our nations, which serve the world? There is a remarkable symmetry, a wondrous and beautiful chemistry to all this. It is the governing dynamic of our planet, of life, of the universe. The universe is life.

Like all other animals, we continue our existence by adapting to our environment. However, being blessed (or cursed) with a higher brain, we have the ability not just to “accommodate” ourselves to our surroundings, but to change it to accommodate us. In our day-to-day, “surface life”, the bombardment of consumerism and capitalism has lead us to forget our higher purpose. Our drive to complete ourselves has become a blurry vision, clouded by the media, by society’s “propaganda”. There is no action that doesn’t produce a reaction and our locust-like draining of our planet’s finite resource has sparked a massive conflagration that threatens to ruin us, if we don’t realize the errors of our way. Al Gore, in his acceptance speech, is voicing the concerns, the cause we must fight for, and how we should fight it. Instead of fighting for our personal desires, fighting against our perceived opponents, we must set aside our selfishness, unite with our so-called enemies, and face the real issue at hand. A dangerous disease is threatening our system, and we must, like the cells of a body, fight against it, sacrificing ourselves for the greater good. Global warming is no natural event. It is a consequence of human actions. The strain on our environment has produced this phenomenon. In our gluttony, we tipped the scales. Now it is coming back at us. Al Gore recognizes, as we also must, that we must bring balance. To survive, we must balance the pendulum. The same pendulum of spiral dynamics, the underlying concept of our core existence, the struggle for balance. Harmony is really the only struggle there is.

now that's a catchy title, there Vincent.