the Mind (Page of Swords)

This is what happens when we forget that the mind is meant to be a servant, and start to allow it to run our lives. The head is filled with mechanisms, the mouth is ranting and raving, and the whole surrounding atmosphere is being polluted by this factory of arguments and opinions.

"But wait," you say. "The mind is what makes us human, it's the source of all progress, all great truths." If you believe that, try an experiment: go into your room, shut the door, turn on a tape recorder, and give yourself total permission to say whatever is "on your mind." If you really allow it to all come out, without any censorship or editing, you'll be amazed at the amount of rubbish that comes spewing forth.

The Page of Clouds is telling you that somebody, somewhere, is stuck in a "head trip." Take a look and make sure it isn't you.

---

This is the situation of your head: I see cycle-handles and pedals and strange things that you have gathered from everywhere. Such a small head...and no space to live in! And that rubbish goes on moving in your head; your head goes on spinning and weaving - it keeps you occupied.

Just think what kind of thoughts go on inside your mind. One day just sit, close your doors, and write down for half an hour whatsoever is passing in your mind, and you will understand what I mean and you will be surprised what goes on inside your mind. It remains in the background, it is constantly there, it surrounds you like a cloud. With this cloud you cannot know reality; you cannot attain to spiritual perception.

This cloud has to be dropped. And it is just with your decision to drop it that it will disappear. You are clinging to it - the cloud is not interested in you, remember it.

level 0 Tao: the Tao of Physics

"The philosophy of Descartes was not only important for the development of classical physics, but also had enormous influence throughout the Western way of thinking to this day. Descartes's famous phrase "Cogito ergo sum" has led Western man to identify with your mind rather than the whole organism. As a result of the Cartesian separation, modern man is aware of itself, in most cases, isolated as I live "inside" of your body. The mind is divided from the body and has been given the task of redundant checks, and that resulted in the appearance of a conflict between conscious and involuntary instincts. Everyone has been further divided into the activities, skills, feelings, opinions, etc., in a large number of separate compartments, unquenchable in conflicts which generate a constant confusion and metaphysics as much frustration. This inner fragmentation of man mirrors his view of the world "outside," which is seen as a set of separate objects and events. This view is further extended to the unitary company, which is divided into different nations, races, religious and political groups. The belief that all these fragments - in ourselves, in our environment and our society - they are really separate can be seen as the root cause of all the current crises, social, ecological and cultural. It has alienated us from nature and our fellow human beings. It caused a incredibly unjust distribution of natural resources, creating economic chaos and political wave of violence, both spontaneous and institutionalized, which grew, and a hostile environment, polluted, in which life has become physically and spiritually unhealthy. The separation made by Descartes and the mechanistic conception of the world have therefore increased at the same time benefits and damages, have proved extremely useful for the development of classical physics and technology, but have had many harmful consequences for our civilization"

"The correspondence between the suggested scientific experiments and mystical experiences may seem surprising, given the very different nature of these modes of observation. Physicists perform experiments that require a complex teamwork and a highly sophisticated technology, whereas mystics obtain their knowledge simply through introspection, without any machine, isolation of meditation. Scientific experiments also appear to be recoverable at any time by anyone, while mystical experiences are unique to a few individuals in particular situations. A closer examination shows, however, that the differences between the two types of observation consist only in how they tackle the problem and not in their reliability or their complexity. Anybody want a repeat experiment of modern subatomic physics must take many years of study and training. Only then can ask specific questions to nature through experiment and understand the answer. Similarly, a profound mystical experience generally requires many years of operation with an experienced master and, as with the scientific background, the time devoted to learning alone does not guarantee the result. However, if successful, the student will be able to "repeat the experiment". The repeatability of the experience is indeed essential for all learning and mystical teaching is the real purpose of spiritual mysticism. "

the Teh of Tao

- 4 -

The Tao is like a well:
used but never used up.
It is like the eternal void:
filled with infinite possibilities.


It is hidden but always present.
I don't know who gave birth to it.
It is older than God.

Tribute to Tao (1920-1994)

«I spent close to two hundred people and I could not see a single human being

open Tao/closed Tao

The introduction by Bertalanffy's concept of open system in 1968 did make a major step forward to solve a contradiction discussed at length by biologists in 1900s.

Every physical system in thermal equilibrium with the environment at a given temperature is governed by the laws of Classical Thermodynamics, particularly the Second Law, set out in 1824 by Sadi Carnot and later developed by Rudolf Clausius and Ludwig Boltzmann in the framework of Statistical Mechanics which introduced the concept of Entropy.

In the statistical formulation entropy is a measure of the order of the system, and the IInd Law states that the entropy of a system can only increase over time, defining an irreversible process of the system towards thermodynamic states of increasing disorder, until the so-called Heat Death of the system.

This is clearly contrary to what is observed in living biological systems, which draw more order from the disorder, as in the classical ORDO AB CHAOS


This contradiction is resolved whereas the classical thermodynamics applies to systems in thermal equilibrium with the environment, while biological open systems are far from equilibrium. The development of an off-equilibrium thermodynamics that take into account and applies to living systems has been made by the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1977 Ilya Prigogine in the 70s

Earthly Heaven in Tao

Jeroen Anthoniszoon van Aken called Hieronymus Bosch

the Master of Hertogenbosch

Garden of Earthly Delights, left panel

(ap. 1450–1516)

Prado Museum, Madrid

artificial/mental/conceptual/natural/living Tao

A classification of systems is needed in relation to their reference context.

The Artificial systems are generally those designed and built by man, and have the physical level 0.

Natural systems are those occurring in nature regardless of human presence.

The Conceptual systems are designed and built by man but without a physical level. They are the so-called systems of thinking or ideas, the same systemic theory is a conceptual model. A further distinction between these systems are formalized systems, such as mathematics, or non-formalized, such philosophical systems. This is a longtime debate between the so-called hard sciences and soft sciences, and in Italy, the endless and exhausting conflict between Humanism and Science.

Mental systems are generally those produced by the brain, but in general were observed characteristics of mental processes in both artificial engineered systems, particularly there is a discipline devoted to this, Artificial Intelligence, and both in natural and living systems, and of corse in conceptual systems.

Living systems are those which exhibit the characteristics of life, and in this sense are disjoint from those artificial, with a few special achievements so far.

Particularly interesting are overlapping areas between the various classifications, for example between mental and conceptual systems and natural and living.