Gnostic Gospel, Pt 9 -- Characteristics of the Deficiency

Notice: There is now a separate blog dedicated to the New Gnostic Gospel. You can get there by clicking here.

The virtues of the original aeons did not remain within the Boundary, but fled to the Fullness when Logos retreated from the Deficiency, leaving behind small, weak, imitations of the original. These phantoms of the Imitation did not exist from the beginning, and so they possessed neither the love of the Father nor the originating consciousness of the Son and the ALL.

Over the course of illuminating the Gnostic Gospel, the Simple Explanation has designed a series of visual metaphors representing facets of Gnostic and Christian belief. For the fullest understanding of this article, you may wish to read the entire Gnostic Gospel Illuminated series from the beginning.  If you would prefer to first read the "Simple Gnostic Gospel, Part One: The Father, The Son, and the Birth of The ALL," click here.

Those of the Imitation do not know the hierarchy of the Fullness, nor do they have assigned roles and places there. Lacking the ALL’s cooperative design, they exist in a state of perpetual disturbance, driven by self-centered ambition, “exalting themselves in lust for dominion, each one of them according to the magnitude of the name of which he was a shadow, fantasizing that he would become greater than his fellows” [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 79].

These phantoms represent values contrary to the originals in the Fullness:

Those of the Imitation give rise to “fighters, warriors, troublemakers, rebels” and other such disobedient types, driven by the will to dominate [The Tripartite Tractate, v. 80]. Left to their own feeble devices, those of the Imitation strive against each other in a state of darkness, woe, and misery.

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Those readers who are put off by the name "God" or other religious words like the "Father," the "Son," and the "Holy Spirit," are free to continue using more modern memes like "consciousness" and "self-awareness," "algorithms" and "fractals." You may study these same topics in my Simple Explanation blog and book. However, if you are already familiar with Hebrew and Christian memes, then you will understand these Gnostic writings without needing to first dip into the Simple Explanation, and so you may skip the following translation.

The Simple Explanation of Absolutely Everything claims that a person's set of beliefs influences how we behave in the world. We carry these memes around like our own personal bundle of beliefs. This meme bundle overlays our Self's otherwise perfect Unit of Consciousness and becomes a filter through which we view the world.

You can see how one who holds to the left side of the list above would behave very differently than one who embraces the virtues on right side of the list. The content of one's meme bundle determines not only their beliefs, but how they view others and the values they impugn to others' motives. In other words, if I am a liar and a cheat, I believe everyone else is either a liar and a cheat or a sucker. If I am patient and generous, then I hope and trust that good will arise from my patience. 

"Hope springs eternal" is a meme from the right side of the list. "Screw you. It's a dog-eat-dog world," arises from the meme bundle on the left. 

If you find yourself dwelling on darkness, woe, and misery, then this is a clue that you are embracing the wrong memes. The Simple Explanation recommends shedding unhelpful memes from your bundle so that the light of the Universal Unit of Consciousness can shine through.

The meme shroud overlaying our otherwise perfect unit of consciousness.
torus art by Richard Keely

When the memes are stripped away, only love remains.

Understanding President Trump

Previous blog articles have discussed how the Simple Explanation is a meme-based information theory. We all hold our own unique bundles of beliefs. These sets of beliefs define who we are and who we get along with. We get along best with others who hold similar meme bundles. The further apart our sets of beliefs, the less we have in common and the more we tend to distrust the Other.

We cannot force others to agree with us. The only way we can get along with those with whom we disagree is to adopt the basic meme of "Live and Let Live." "Live and let live" allows us to sit at the same table with others who hold different memes than we do. The opposite meme of "live and let live" is something like, "My way or the highway." 

"Live and let live" is a fundamental meme of democratic societies. In order to promote a civil society, we must be able to live with others who hold different memes than we do. 

We must realize that despite our apparent differences, most well-adjusted, healthy people hold certain memes in common, whether those people are Liberals or Conservatives, Atheists or Believers, Climate-change-Deniers or Mainstream Science Memers. (meem-ers--I just made that word up: "holders of memes")  

These common memes are called Universal Human Values. Our common values include rights of personal freedom, liberty, and equality, tolerance, and love of family. No matter our meme bundle differences, we can count on the fact that our bundles overlap when it comes to universal human values. For Americans, we also share memes related to our common history, the values of our laws, and the beliefs contained in our Constitution.

We already know the Left's meme bundle is radically different than the Right's meme bundle. In the past, Left and Right have been able to work together by focusing on their shared values and memes. It seems to me that the deep fear and distrust the Left has of President Trump boils down to their belief that Trump does not share their basic human values. We hear evidence of this mistrust every day as politicians and various mediated talking heads make claims that despite the President's declarations of good intent, he actually is a liar and holds no honorable human values. 

By continually discounting the Administration's declared goals and intent, the Left has cut out the middle of shared memes. And once you discount the Other's basic human values, even Trump's and Trump's voters, you have effectively marginalized them to inhuman status. Sadly, this denial of Trump's shared humanity strikes terror in the hearts of those who believe it. Actual terror. And unbridled hatred, because who would want an evil madman as their leader? 

However, it is my belief that these horrible emotions are not actually caused by Trump's words, policies, and actions, as uncouth or unsavory as they may appear to be, but by the ideological mindset of the listener that interprets and misinterprets his intent, and then ascribes malevolent motives to his every move. They have fashioned for themselves a frightening world. No wonder there is hatred and fear.

Why Is the Left Terrified of Trump?

President Trump strikes terror into the hearts of Liberals and Progressives. This terror manifests itself as anger clothed in the garb of righteous indignation. Every news cycle prompts fresh rounds of hand wringing and tears of frustration from the Left. Each new Presidential tweet provokes apoplexy. You can see the fear and anger on the faces of Progressive marchers, town hall protesters, and pop culture icons. You can hear it in the strained questions of reporters at press briefings and the opinions of pundits at round-tables. 

The target of this Trump-terror is broader than the President and his staff--it affects every one of us. Those who voted against Trump have not settled down post-election, but continue to rage, rage, rage against the Trump machine. Those who voted for Trump now stand in for the Administration as localized whipping boys of Liberal indignation, buffeting wave after wave of hyperbolic sidewalk insults. Ask anyone who wears a certain red ball cap how it feels.

One of my best and dearest friends said a ridiculous thing to me at my brother's funeral. After many touching tributes to David's selfless devotion to others, my friend said to me, "I'm surprised your brother was so active in charity work and the mission field--I thought he was a Republican." Tempers quickly flared, words like "Trump" and "racist" were exchanged, and he and his partner left in a huff.  By the time I got home, there was an email cancelling an upcoming visit, signed "Best Regards."

David Puett teaching orphans in Brazil.

David Puett repairing water pump at Malawi orphange.

David Puett and his buddies at Malawi orphanage.

No doubt about it--the schism between Left and Right is deep, and we can make sense of it in terms of the Simple Explanation's meme exchange dynamics. 

First, a simple explanation of memes:  memes are simply the meaning of bits of communication, whether the meaning is carried by a word, an image, or any other way we communicate meaning to one another.  If you need a better explanation of memes, please read the "When Meme Chords Collide" article from 2015 .

The memes we cling to form sets of memes that I call "meme bundles." The totality of our meme bundles form the belief system we hold. The more your meme bundle overlaps with someone else's meme bundle, the more kinship you feel with that other person. The less your meme bundles overlap, the less you have in common and the greater your distrust of one another.

Oftentimes, belief systems, or "meme bundles" aren't held by individuals alone, but are shared with other people and with institutions we belong to. Not only do we share memes with others, it is the job of institutions to maintain the integrity of their meme bundles by keeping believers in and non-believers out.  From my 2011 article, "Meaning is in the Memes": 

"I realized the other day that each and every cultural institution we belong to (family, workplace, church, mosque, tribe, nation, etc.) not only comes with its own bundle of shared memes held in common by its members, it also comes with a filter that prevents members from acknowledging or adopting incompatible memes. Memes are even more important to an institution than its members in the sense that members come and go, but memes persist." 

"Institutions are defined as much by their excluded memes as they are by their included memes. An exclusive institution holds tightly to the identity provided by its memes; its border is strong and its filter powerful. An inclusive institution allows members more latitude in the memes they may hold; its border is less defined; its filter less opaque. An "open-minded" institution acknowledges the fact that there are memes out there in the greater culture that may have value, and is willing to consider new memes; its border is permeable and its filter thin." 

When you view politics through the lens of the Simple Explanation's theory of meme exchange, today's turmoil begins to make sense.  Seems obvious, but here it is:  The Left and the Right hold different meme bundles that appear to be mutually exclusive.  In other words, if I like people who like the memes I like, then I am made uneasy by people who reject the memes I hold. And vice versa. And the more polarized politics becomes, the less my meme bundle is likely to overlap your meme bundle. 

Furthermore, Conservatives have less permeable boundaries than Liberals--it is their function to "conserve." Liberals have more open, permeable boundaries because it is their function to welcome new memes. Conservatives are less likely to welcome foreign memes and those who hold foreign memes. Conservatives expect newcomers to adopt American memes. The open/closed aspect of Right and Left is not a moral short-coming of either side; it is their essential character and mandate. 

I think the extreme emotionality of politics today stems from not respecting one another's meme bundles.  Does holding exclusive meme bundles bring the end of civility? Not if we allow one another our beliefs.  Clashes over meme bundles only occurs when others are forced to adopt memes they do not hold. "Live and let live" is the only motto that assures peace among those who disagree. 

"Live and let live" acknowledges that there is more than one way to view reality. "Live and let live" acknowledges that someone else with another point of view may actually have a respectable meme bundle--just not one you happen to hold.  In other words, it is possible to disagree with someone, yet still respect their moral integrity and their right to their beliefs.

"Live and let live" is a meme that ensures civility amongst competing institutions.  "My way is the only way--death to all others" is a meme that ensures strife and warfare. Totalitarianism is the attempt to eradicate all meme bundles (and their believers) that differ from the tyrant's.

This American election cycle has brought an unprecedented level of mistrust between the Right and Left because they no longer appear to have anything in common. But is that really true? Not really.  We all share the same basic memes in common--Truth, Justice, Love, Family Values are just a few of the memes shared by the Left and Right. Most importantly for our country, we all agree that we want a functioning federal government and laws fairly applied all. We all, Left and Right, sign on to the Constitution and the Bill of Rights--which are our founders meme bundles written down. What we fear from the "other side" is that they don't really believe those founders' memes. And it is that fear that inspires such mistrust.  

The reason for the mistrust is the rhetoric, not the reality. The Left says terrible things about President Trump. The hyperbole, the exaggeration of fault, the accusations of treachery--these are rhetorical devices designed to emphasize Trump's supposedly crazy, self-centered meme bundle. The problem with this rhetoric is that it paints an unrealistic version of Trump's memes that are over-the-top evil. In the vacuum of Trump's vaguely-defined policy memes or omissions of fact, the Left impugns the President with memes of pure devilry from their own imagination. It is important to realize that the rhetoric is not the reality--it is an interpolation of imagination borne out of fear.

I wish there were some way to reassure my friends on the Left that most of what they fear is hyperbole and not fact. Time will tell whether the Administration's motives lie in their public declarations or not. The proof lies in a "wait and see" approach. It's my belief that the gap between the Left's meme bundle and the President's is not nearly so large as they fear. 

Nested Rainbow Slinky Torus

Wow. Here's a pretty torus sculpture Gary and I just created.

Nested rainbow Slinky torus

Step one involves bending the Slinky around into a torus and securing the torus with a plastic connector. Figured that part out about a year ago.

This morning we took three different-sized Slinky's and stacked them.

Sorry this is sideways--can't get the darned picture to stay flipped!

Then we pushed the top two Slinky's down into the large rainbow-colored Slinky. Voila! Triple nested Slinky torus!

Nested Slinky torus sculpture by Cyd and Gary Ropp

There is a third Slinky nested inside the center. From the top it looks very much like a flower.

Here's a very cool one-minute video that shows all three Slinky's.

You would think that the Slinky toruses would have a difficult time nesting into each other, but the opposite is the case. It threaded itself perfectly as it clicked easily into place. You try it!

Three nested slinky's from the top.

I put the camera up against the outside Slinky and it looks like you're inside a giant torus! Magical!

A Simple Explanation of Seth and the Responsibility Assumption Doctrine

In 1963, American psychic Jane Roberts began dictating a series of seance sessions to her husband that continued until her death in 1984. Roberts believed she was “channeling” a dis-incorporated spirit from another dimension, known as Seth.The resulting dictated manuscripts are known as the Seth Material. According to Wikipedia, the Seth Material forms one of the cornerstones of modern “New Age” philosophy, and all New Age philosophers promote one or another of Seth’s declarations.

I admit to not having read any of the Seth Material prior to preparing for this blog article. Furthermore, I can safely state that the Simple Explanation is NOT derivative in any sense from New Age materials of any sort. My own flavor of the Christian meme bundle forbids dabbling in the New Age. The Simple Explanation is solely derived from original source ancient manuscripts such as the Bible and the Tao te Ching, up-to-the-minute scientific discoveries, and whatever academic studies a bachelor’s in science, two master’s degrees, and a doctorate in philosophy have exposed me to.

So, here’s what a fresh reading of the Seth Material shows me. From Wikipedia:

The Seth Material says that all individuals create their own circumstances and experiences within the shared earthly environment, similar to the doctrine of responsibility assumption. This concept is expressed in the phrase "you create your own reality",^[20] which may have originated with the Seth readings. The inner self, or inner ego, is responsible for the construction and maintenance of the individual's physical body and immediate physical environment, and the unfolding of events is determined by the expectations, attitudes and beliefs of the outer ego, that portion of the self that human beings know as themselves.^[18] "If you want to change your world, you must first change your thoughts, expectations, and beliefs."^[27] Or, more succinctly: "You get what you concentrate upon. There is no other main rule"^{[28]  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Material}

The Seth Material claims that there is no objective reality that is not a projection of the individual’s mind. The tree you see is literally projected from your mind’s eye; it is not the tree being received into your eye’s sensors but the other way around. You don't "hear" the thunder; your audio nerves make the thunder:

Nerve impulses travel outward from the body, along invisible pathways, in much the same manner that they travel within the body. These pathways are carriers of telepathic thoughts, impulses, and desires containing all the codified data necessary for translating any thought or image into physical actuality, altering seemingly objective events.

This telepathy operates constantly at an "automatic" or subconscious level, providing communication to back up sensory data. Telepathy is the glue that holds the physical universe in position, so that you can agree on the existence and properties of objects. In one respect, your body and all physical objects go flying out in all directions from the inner core of the whole self. The physical environment is, therefore, as much a part of you as your own body. What seems to be a perception, an objective concrete event independent from you, is instead the materialization of your own emotions, energy and mental environment. (http://sethquotes.paradisenow.net/seth_excerpts_part_iii.html)

The natural outgrowth of this philosphy is the doctrine of Responsibility Assumption. This sense of responsibility goes far beyond the usual meaning of personal responsibility. In this Seth doctrine:

You must watch the pictures that you paint with your imagination... ...your environment and the conditions of your life at any given time are the direct result of your own inner expectations. You form physical materializations of these realities within your own mind.

If you imagine dire circumstances, ill health, or desperate loneliness, these will be automatically materialized, for these thoughts themselves bring about the conditions that will give them reality in physical terms. If you would have good health, then you must imagine this as vividly as in fear you imagine the opposite.

You create your own difficulties. This is true for each individual. The inner psychological state is projected outward, gaining physical reality - and this regardless of the nature of the psychological state....The rules apply to everyone. You can use them for your own benefit and change your own conditions once you realize what they are. http://sethquotes.paradisenow.net/seth_excerpts_part_iii.html 

This doctrine forms the foundation for the popular New Age book, A Course in Miracles. But I usually see people interpret Responsibility Assumption in a way not intended by Seth. For, according to the Seth Material, you not only create the positive and negative opportunities in your life, there really is no life beyond your imagination. The Seth Material likens reality to one’s dreams. We all accept that the objects and people in our dreams are constructions and projections of our mind, playing out in the theatre of sleep. Seth said reality is exactly the same—nothing but a projection of our senses onto a nothingness, giving us the illusion of material existance.

In contrast, the Simple Explanation theory posits a universal medium of consciousness as the ether within which our physical manifestation floats. In my theory, there is aphysical reality we all share, arising directly from the universal mind, which I call the Universal Unit of Consciousness. So in that sense, matter is a projection of mind, but the BIG MIND we all share, thus we can also share a consensual reality. It seems to me that  if one took Seth precisely, people would be totally isolated in their private material universes, with others being projections of themselves rather than stand-alone entities. Sounds lonely.

The Simple Explanation says that each Unit of Consciousness is an emergent property of the newly formed matter or aggregation of matter. Each UC is a fractal chip off the Universal UC’s block, with all possible consciousness inherent thereto. Each UC carries the formula of the universe, but it only manifests the piece of the formula important to this particular life of which it is a part. So theoretically a sub-atomic particle does indeed carry the DNA for Jill Smith in New York, but it only manifests the quark pattern of spin up or spin down. The formula’s manifestation is not mindful—i.e. even humans with all their capacity for human thought do not control autonomic processes of their organism. The organs do their jobs without any oversight from my Egoic thought. The quark just naturally manifests the appropriate action needed to spin up or spin down. It doesn’t think about it, so a brain is irrelevant to the equation.

Here’s how the Seth Material puts it:

The inner self has a virtually infinite reservoir from which to draw knowledge and experience. All kinds of choices are available, and the diversity of physical matter is a reflection of this deep source and variety.  
(http://sethquotes.paradisenow.net/seth_excerpts_part_iii.html) 

On that, we agree. But where Seth uses the vessel of human consciousness as the Creator, the Simple Explanation spreads that infinite reservoir of knowledge out to the entirety of Creation. Creation could, indeed, be called a projection of consciousness, but the Simple Explanation attributes the act of Creating to Everything created, not just to human minds. And each created thing is creator of only its personal domain, not Everything Else. I am in charge of making decisions related to my own human life only; each other entity is in charge of making decisions related to its own life, whether it’s a quark, a photon, a molecule, a cell, or a dog. It’s a complex web of interrelated material projections at every possible level of aggregation. Entities are occasionally given the opportunity to prove they carry more information than their original manifestation needed, such as when a stem cell is prodded into becoming a different sort of cell, or an annihilated particle becomes other things.

Consciousness is not a by-product of the brain. Consciousness is the ground state of being. Maybe this short youtube video will help your understanding. 

Thought is something else entirely. Ruminative thinking is a by-product of the Ego. And the Ego is a by-product of the physical aggregation of the matter that makes up anything. A rock does not have much of an Ego, because its aggregation of minerals doesn’t need to do much thinking. Life is not defined by thought. If it were, then micro-cephalic humans or people in comas wouldn’t qualify as alive.

So, when people call objects “living,” they are generally referring to the attributes of carbon-based life forms. And all of those life forms exhibit what could be called thought, albeit tiny, highly-constrained thoughts in the simplest single-celled entities. The more complex the carbon-based aggregate is, the greater its need for independent decision-making, and the greater its capacity for “thought.” Still though, the thoughts are not really necessary for survival. The bacteria doesn’t have to think, “boy, i’m really hungry!” It only has to acquire nutrition at the earliest opportunity, and it can do that with blindfolds on.

When you think about it, our human lives proceed largely on autopilot. You have the autonomic functions of our organism going on outside of thinking (breathing, food acquisition, waste elimination, etc.); you also have most of life’s daily cultural routines going on without much thought. Do you  consciously savor each bite of your food or how to cut with a knife? Do you have to decide to brush your teeth or how to take a bath? Do you pay attention to each action of your driving? ...hands on the wheel at 10 and 2, now turn 42 degrees left, now straighten the wheel, now step on the gas pedal slowly, increasing pressure....  No. You just drive and maybe chat with your passenger or listen to the radio, and expect that simple consciousness and the body will take care of the details until thought is needed.

The Simple Explanation of the Seth Material is that these represent a particular meme bundle “channeled” from the transpersonal field. The author, Jane Roberts, believed the Seth entity existed independently of her personal mind. The Simple Exlanation is that Seth could represent a discorporate Ego attached to this particular collection of memes, “living” on the non-material plane. The meme bundle exists separately from Seth, but the Seth personality is all about that bundle.

Having said that, it is my personal belief that just because an entity exists in a different plane doesn’t make everything they say correct. They could be less deluded than I am, or they could be more deluded. Discorporation does not necessarily equal truth or wisdom. It depends on the entity involved,  just as it does here on the material plane. Yes, the enlightened few may be less deluded after or between lives. But some Egos cling to their meme bundles, right or wrong, even after death. Personally, I think Seth got a lot of things right, but it also misses the mark on the subject of consensual reality. This is why "magic" is so hard to make happen--there are other variables out there in this reality we all share above and beyond my  personal will and wanting. I am not, after all, The Creator of the entire Universe. I'm just a co-creator, along with everybody and everything else. That is why we all have to pull together to help the entire ecology of which we are a part. We can't just sit and wish.