When the Student is Ready
When the Student is Ready
3 angels are on stage. John and Colleen are senior angels. This is Jennifer’s first day on the job.
John: (Looking at a book in front of him). Well to start with we have the teacher named Doug in a small town in Canada. I can’t quite make out the name of the town.
Colleen: (looking at the book). I think it's Peterborough, John.
John: Thanks Colleen. And we have the student in France, Bordeaux France named Yann. They need to meet. How are we going to make this happen?
Jennifer: (in a very breezy voice) Well, that should be easy. “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.”
Colleen: (looking at John and rolling her eyes). Holy cow. A real beginner. Jennifer, you are about to see just how much work we have to do to achieve the inevitable.
======================================
Angela and Doug are in the kitchen of their Bed & Breakfast in Peterborough Ontario.
Doug is reading an email on the computer screen
Doug: Angela, we just received an email from a guy in France. He says that he is coming to a conference in Peterborough in November and needs accommodation for 4 nights.
Angela: Do we have a room available?
Doug: Let me check. (He refers to a binder). Nope. Too bad. I’ll email him and suggest another B&B.
Angela: That's too bad – we could have used the money. What kind of conference is it?
Doug: His email says that it is a Physical Anthropology conference. I think Anthropology has to do with the evolution of the different species including humans. But I don’t know what Physical Anthropology is. It sounds interesting and I‘ve always wondered whether humans came from monkeys. I know there is a huge debate in the U.S. between Creationism and Darwinian evolution. I’ll check Wikipedia and do a Google search later. It’s a shame he can’t stay with us – I would have loved to talk to him. Well, I’ll reply to his email.
(Doug starts clicking on the keyboard. Angela looks over his shoulder at the booking page in the binder.)
Angela: Just a minute Doug. If we move the Watson couple to the Moffat Suite we can put Yann into the Luscombe room for the 4 days.
Doug: You're right love – that will work. That’s great. I’ll email him and offer him a discounted rate and ask for his credit card number.
The next day. Same kitchen.
Doug: Well we got an email from Yann this morning. He says we are too expensive even with the discount I offered. I guess I could offer him an even lower rate.
Angela: Go ahead. You really would like to meet him and talk to him.
Doug: Okay, I will.
1 weeks later. Same kitchen.
Angela: Did you ever hear back from Yann?
Doug: Nope. I guess he booked somewhere else.
Another week later. Same kitchen.
Doug: Angela, I just came upon an email that Yann sent to us 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately he sent it to the wrong email address. He is interested in staying with us or at least he was interested. I’ll email him and find out.
Later that day. Same kitchen.
Doug: Yann has accepted and sent his Visa card number. That’s great.
Angela: I’m happy for you love.
============================================
Our 3 Angels are on stage.
Jennifer. I am starting to see what you guys were talking about. How did you pull that off John?
John: Well Colleen was the brains behind this so far. But let’s see how the story develops. We are far from finished.
======================================
Same kitchen. Doug is at the computer. Angela enters.
Doug: Hi love. I’ve been researching Physical Anthropology. This is the area of University study that specializes in the question of how we human beings came to be. That is exactly the area that I am most interested in. This is a fascinating co-incidence. We move to a small town and the experts from across Canada and the world come to our doorstep. I am going to see if I can register myself for the conference. I think I would enjoy it. I can already see that the official Anthropology position is evolution along the lines of Darwin. The current version is called the “modern evolutionary synthesis”, also called neo-Darwinism. It is opposed to Creationism and the most modern version of Creationism called “Intelligent Design.” And there is the older discredited "Lamarckian" theory which theorized that an individual can evolve through their behaviour in their lifetime and pass this on to their offspring.
Angela: Well this conference is a chance for you to hear what they have to say. And you have to drive a full 5 minutes to get there.
Doug: Even when I was in University years ago I could not quite believe the Darwin theory. It always seemed to be unlikely, but the official establishment supports it and you have to be pretty strong to stand up to them.
Angela: (smiling) Well, that sounds just up your alley Doug.
Doug: I’m looking forward to meeting Yann. I hope he’ll have some time to talk.
==============================================
(The day that Yann arrives.)
Doug: You must be Yann. Welcome to Peterborough. My name is Doug and this is my wife Angela.
Angela: Hello Yann.
Yann: Nice to meet you. My English is not great but I do my best.
Angela: Well you are probably tired. Would you like me to show you to your room?
Yann. Merci, yes thank you.
(Yann and Angela move offstage left.)
=================================================
Later that evening. Yann enters the kitchen where Doug is working on the computer.
Yann: Hello Doug.
Doug: Good evening Yann. All settled in?
Yann: Everything is fine.
Doug: Good. I have signed up for the conference myself. So I will be driving over tomorrow morning. Would you like a ride with me?
Yann: That would be nice. Thank you.
Doug: If you have some time I would enjoy talking to you about Physical Anthropology. I have been reading and thinking a lot about the Darwinian theory of evolution – and things like natural selection and the random mutation of cells. As I understand it, random mutation of cells can produce offspring that are different than their parents. And if these offspring are better suited to their environment then they are more likely to live, mate and pass on their genes. This is how over vast periods of time a species becomes better adapted for survival
Yann: Yes that is true and includes the evolution from one species to another.
Doug: And in this evolution there is no intention, no mind behind the scenes directing things.
Yann: Right. There is no need for anything but the physical processes themselves. Everything can be explained physically.
Doug: And what do you believe Yann? Are we just very intelligent animals?
Yann: I believe that evolution occurs by chance, by chance events that lead to the species adapting to its environment through natural selection and survival of the fittest.
Doug: Is the species itself a living organism?
Yann: You mean like when birds in a flock all move in synch for example?
Doug: No. I mean are all the individual members of the species part of one being, part of the body of one living organism.
Yann: No. Only the individual members exist. And they pass on their characteristics through inheritance and sometimes through random cell mutation.
Doug: So you and I are the products of chance. Here is what I have trouble with. There is so much intelligence built into us including our eyes and hands and particularly our brains. Can we believe that these occurred by chance?
Yann: That is what the theory says. And even if it does not explain everything yet, it is still the best theory by far. And with neo-Darwinism we have included new genetic evidence that supports the Darwinian Theory.
Doug: Well tomorrow we should head out a bit early for the conference. We need to register and that will take some time.
The lights fade.
================================================
3 angels on stage.
Jennifer: Well it looks like this will not go very far.
John: Oh, I’m not so sure.
Colleen: Did you not hear the clue that Doug placed into the conversation. Roll the tape back will you please John.
=============
Doug: “Is the species itself a living organism”?
=============
Jennifer: Sure I heard that and I understand the significance of it. But it had no effect on Yann.
John: So far.
Colleen: (smiling) Perhaps it will evolve over time.
=======================================================
Doug and Yann are driving to the conference.
Doug: So I was thinking Yann about what was required for us to meet. (Doug recounts the difficulties they worked through for Yann to be there.)
Yann: And there is more to it than that. Here is how I came to be at the conference. I have a friend in Portugal who learned of this conference in Canada some months ago. He applied to give a presentation. He was accepted and he suggested that they might be interested in my paper. They contacted me and I applied and was accepted.
Doug: And on my side if I had not bought the bed and breakfast and moved to Peterborough I would not be in a position to meet you either.
Yann: Very interesting!
Doug: Lots of links had to work together for us to be here talking.
Yann: Yes.
Doug: It reminds me of the whole idea of evolution.
Yann: How so?
Doug: Well in evolution there were an innumerable number of changes, modifications and links that were necessary for us humans to be here.
Yann: Yes, but Nature was acting blindly. The Universe certainly doesn’t care whether we are here or not.
========================================================
3 angels.
Jennifer: I am starting to see that their meeting required huge efforts by you guys for months.
John: Yes. Are you beginning to see how our world intersects with their world continuously?
Jennifer: I’m starting to get some idea.
Jennifer: So how did you get Doug and Yann together?
John: Colleen began her part of the work when the whole course of history had already resulted in Doug and Yann being on planet earth – one in France and one in Canada. And we were instructed to get them together.
Jennifer: “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.“
Colleen: Right. I knew that Yann was a Physical Anthropologist. We have quite extensive records as you can imagine. So I worked on persuading the Canadian Physical Anthropology Association to have their conference in Peterborough. I did that by inserting that idea in a couple of people’s minds. They thought it was their own idea of course. But even before that I needed to work on the man from Portugal. First, I arranged for his parents to live in Canada so that later on he would have the required Canadian link. Then when he moved to Portugal and became friends with Yann the stage was set for him to make the link between Yann and the conference. Then, I had to give Yann an incentive for coming to Canada. I did this by arranging for him to have a job interview in New York and I made sure they scheduled it for just after the conference. That way Yann could persuade himself that he could afford to come to North America because it could lead to a job in his field. I also had to make sure that he was unemployed. That part is always easy. In fact the Devil helped with that part.
Jennifer: The Devil helped?
Colleen: Surprising isn’t it.
Jennifer. I am starting to see that there is a lot more here than I first suspected.
John: Lots of people on planet earth think that we just strum our harps up here and laze around. As you can see that is far from the truth.
Jennifer: I do. Why do we want Yann and Doug to get together?
John: That is a very long story Jennifer, but luckily we have eternity to tell you. But let’s get back to Doug and Yann and you may start to see where this is going.
Jennifer: Sounds good to me.
============================================
Yann and Doug have returned from the first day of the conference.
Doug: The conference today was great Yann.
Yann: (smiling) I noticed that you asked the presenters a whole lot of questions.
Doug: Yup. And at the breaks I went and talked to most of them one on one. It was just fantastic. But I was surprised that no one was talking about the debate between evolution and Creationism. I managed to steer my questions toward that debate even if that was not their particular topic.
Yann: Are you a Creationist Doug?
Doug: I’m probably closer to a Creationist than a materialist but I would like to reconcile the 2 positions. That is one of the reasons I wanted to attend the conference and talk to you.
Yann: Well I believe that all of this happened randomly. There was no plan. Nature is not aiming toward some particular outcome. Humanity just happened to be on planet earth and you and I just happened to meet.
Doug: I wonder if there could possibly be a reason for us meeting, perhaps the Universe wanted us to get together
Yann: I doubt it.
=============================================
Our 3 Angels are on stage.
John: Well we have brought Yann and Doug together. Now we need to set the stage so that Yann can begin to hear what Doug has to offer. We all know the Zen story. (Colleen smiles. Jennifer looks perplexed).
Jennifer: The Zen story?
Colleen: A young man comes to a Zen master for instruction. The Zen master takes him to the gazebo in the monastery’s garden for the ritual tea. It is truly a beautiful setting. They talk for a short while. The Zen master pours tea into the young man’s cup till it is full. But the master keeps pouring. The young man becomes distraught as the cup overflows and the tea starts to run down on the floor. But the master keeps pouring and pouring. Finally the young man asks the master what he is doing.
John: What do you think the master says Jennifer?
Jennifer: Let me think. Is this a koan? One of those Zen puzzles like the famous “what is the sound of one hand clapping”?
John: Perhaps. So what do you think he says?
Jennifer: (Thinking intently for a few seconds) Well, if the cup represents the young man himself then the Zen master may be demonstrating that the young man is already so full of his own opinions and sure of his own rightness that the master has no way of saying anything that will penetrate him. The young man will have to empty himself first.
(Colleen and John nod – very pleased.)
Colleen: We have a young angel with potential here John. We will need to put that in the report.
(Jennifer is all smiles.)
===================================================
Doug and Yann are talking the next day at breakfast.
Yann: Still enjoying the conference Doug?
Doug: Yes, very much. Can we talk some more?
Yann: Sure.
Doug: I wanted to discuss an analogy concerning physical dimensions. This analogy was beautifully presented years ago in a small book called “Flatland” written by Edwin Abbott. In the Flatland story, a 3 dimensional person comes upon a world of only 2 dimensions and the creatures that live in that world. You can imagine that world as a very large sheet of paper and the creatures live flat on the top of the paper. They are intelligent but they are limited by their 2 dimensional senses. So for example when I push my 3 dimensional hand through their 2 dimensional world they see my hand as a series of unconnected 2 dimensional circles changing over time. They do not see that their sense perceptions over time are in fact all related to the same living hand that exists outside of their 2 dimensional world. With their 2 dimensional senses they cannot see that my hand exists in its totality right now. But we can see this. What they see over time is our present moment.
Yann: That’s complicated but it makes sense.
Doug: Now turning to the world we live in, we see 3 dimensional objects that exist over time. We do not see a 4 dimensional world. Yann, do you think that there might be a higher dimensional world.
Yann: Well I have not given that much thought, but I know that in some areas of science there is the idea of higher dimensions, for example in “string theory” in Physics.
Doug: Yes. So let’s do a thought experiment. Let’s imagine what our experience would be like if we were in fact living in a 4 dimensional world and only seeing a 3 dimensional representation of it or projection of it.
Yann: Okay. That sounds interesting.
Doug: First we would realize that what we learned about our 2 dimensional friends applies exactly to us as we go up a level. Each 3 dimensional object that we see is a representation of an invisible 4 dimensional reality. For example, the life of any particular elephant follows a pattern determined by the 4 dimensional elephant. For example, the life span of any physical elephant and the growth stages it goes through are determined by the qualities of the higher dimensional elephant. We can think of the 4 dimensional elephant as the mold from which all physical elephants are formed. To put it another way, each physical elephant we see is an expression of the 4 dimensional elephant “spirit”.
Yann: So each individual elephant represents or expresses the “elephant spirit”?
Doug: Right. With our 3 dimensional senses we do not see the higher dimensional world. We do not see the one, unified, living elephant there. We see merely a series of apparently unconnected, physical elephants in 3 dimensions. We do not see the “elephant spirit” that exists right now in its totality in a higher dimensional world, beyond our 3 dimensional perception.
Yann: Wow! It stretches my mind to think of this idea.
Doug: In our 3 dimensional view we conclude that a "species" evolves. What is really interesting is that what we call a "species" is in fact the living, 4 dimensional being I have been talking about.
Yann: That's interesting. The "species" is a living being, or organism. And it is right here, right now in its totality, which we could perceive if we could extend beyond our 3 dimensional perception and thinking.
Doug: Yes. And this gives us a new foundation for conceiving and interpreting what we observe in all the sciences including Physical Anthropology.
Yann: That sounds very interesting. But now it is time for us to head out.
Doug: I’m ready whenever you are.
===================================
Our 3 angels.
Jennifer. Now I see why Doug asked Yann earlier whether a species is itself a “living organism”.
Colleen: Right. When we see elephants, what we see with our higher dimensional eyes is what Doug is calling the “elephant spirit”. Unfortunately for humans they do not see as we do. With their 3 dimensional senses they see only the individual physical elephants over time.
Jennifer: I had forgotten that humans do not see elephants as we do. How in the world will Doug lead Yann to see “the great elephant” or the “great human being” for that matter?
John: Let’s continue to roll the tape.
=================================
Doug and Yann on the last day:
Yann: The ideas you have been talking about are whizzing around in my head.
Doug: That' great. If this idea leads you to think and search, perhaps someday you will find a way to perceive that higher dimensional world and the “great beings” that exist there including the ”great human” of which you and I are expressions.
=================================
3 angels.
Jennifer: Can you tell me now why you wanted Doug and Yann to get together?
Colleen: Let me try. Doug has something of value to give Yann. Something that can help Yann to think in a new way, to think beyond himself. So that Yann can awaken to the reality of himself and to the reality of the “great human” of which he is a reflection. This “great human” is the entire human species. We call it the “human spirit”.
John: So we come to the end of our work with Doug and Yann. Now we see why we led Yann to Doug.
Colleen: The seed has been sown. Now it is up to Yann, and the reader of our small story, to water that seed if they wish.
3 angels are on stage. John and Colleen are senior angels. This is Jennifer’s first day on the job.
John: (Looking at a book in front of him). Well to start with we have the teacher named Doug in a small town in Canada. I can’t quite make out the name of the town.
Colleen: (looking at the book). I think it's Peterborough, John.
John: Thanks Colleen. And we have the student in France, Bordeaux France named Yann. They need to meet. How are we going to make this happen?
Jennifer: (in a very breezy voice) Well, that should be easy. “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.”
Colleen: (looking at John and rolling her eyes). Holy cow. A real beginner. Jennifer, you are about to see just how much work we have to do to achieve the inevitable.
======================================
Angela and Doug are in the kitchen of their Bed & Breakfast in Peterborough Ontario.
Doug is reading an email on the computer screen
Doug: Angela, we just received an email from a guy in France. He says that he is coming to a conference in Peterborough in November and needs accommodation for 4 nights.
Angela: Do we have a room available?
Doug: Let me check. (He refers to a binder). Nope. Too bad. I’ll email him and suggest another B&B.
Angela: That's too bad – we could have used the money. What kind of conference is it?
Doug: His email says that it is a Physical Anthropology conference. I think Anthropology has to do with the evolution of the different species including humans. But I don’t know what Physical Anthropology is. It sounds interesting and I‘ve always wondered whether humans came from monkeys. I know there is a huge debate in the U.S. between Creationism and Darwinian evolution. I’ll check Wikipedia and do a Google search later. It’s a shame he can’t stay with us – I would have loved to talk to him. Well, I’ll reply to his email.
(Doug starts clicking on the keyboard. Angela looks over his shoulder at the booking page in the binder.)
Angela: Just a minute Doug. If we move the Watson couple to the Moffat Suite we can put Yann into the Luscombe room for the 4 days.
Doug: You're right love – that will work. That’s great. I’ll email him and offer him a discounted rate and ask for his credit card number.
The next day. Same kitchen.
Doug: Well we got an email from Yann this morning. He says we are too expensive even with the discount I offered. I guess I could offer him an even lower rate.
Angela: Go ahead. You really would like to meet him and talk to him.
Doug: Okay, I will.
1 weeks later. Same kitchen.
Angela: Did you ever hear back from Yann?
Doug: Nope. I guess he booked somewhere else.
Another week later. Same kitchen.
Doug: Angela, I just came upon an email that Yann sent to us 2 weeks ago. Unfortunately he sent it to the wrong email address. He is interested in staying with us or at least he was interested. I’ll email him and find out.
Later that day. Same kitchen.
Doug: Yann has accepted and sent his Visa card number. That’s great.
Angela: I’m happy for you love.
============================================
Our 3 Angels are on stage.
Jennifer. I am starting to see what you guys were talking about. How did you pull that off John?
John: Well Colleen was the brains behind this so far. But let’s see how the story develops. We are far from finished.
======================================
Same kitchen. Doug is at the computer. Angela enters.
Doug: Hi love. I’ve been researching Physical Anthropology. This is the area of University study that specializes in the question of how we human beings came to be. That is exactly the area that I am most interested in. This is a fascinating co-incidence. We move to a small town and the experts from across Canada and the world come to our doorstep. I am going to see if I can register myself for the conference. I think I would enjoy it. I can already see that the official Anthropology position is evolution along the lines of Darwin. The current version is called the “modern evolutionary synthesis”, also called neo-Darwinism. It is opposed to Creationism and the most modern version of Creationism called “Intelligent Design.” And there is the older discredited "Lamarckian" theory which theorized that an individual can evolve through their behaviour in their lifetime and pass this on to their offspring.
Angela: Well this conference is a chance for you to hear what they have to say. And you have to drive a full 5 minutes to get there.
Doug: Even when I was in University years ago I could not quite believe the Darwin theory. It always seemed to be unlikely, but the official establishment supports it and you have to be pretty strong to stand up to them.
Angela: (smiling) Well, that sounds just up your alley Doug.
Doug: I’m looking forward to meeting Yann. I hope he’ll have some time to talk.
==============================================
(The day that Yann arrives.)
Doug: You must be Yann. Welcome to Peterborough. My name is Doug and this is my wife Angela.
Angela: Hello Yann.
Yann: Nice to meet you. My English is not great but I do my best.
Angela: Well you are probably tired. Would you like me to show you to your room?
Yann. Merci, yes thank you.
(Yann and Angela move offstage left.)
=================================================
Later that evening. Yann enters the kitchen where Doug is working on the computer.
Yann: Hello Doug.
Doug: Good evening Yann. All settled in?
Yann: Everything is fine.
Doug: Good. I have signed up for the conference myself. So I will be driving over tomorrow morning. Would you like a ride with me?
Yann: That would be nice. Thank you.
Doug: If you have some time I would enjoy talking to you about Physical Anthropology. I have been reading and thinking a lot about the Darwinian theory of evolution – and things like natural selection and the random mutation of cells. As I understand it, random mutation of cells can produce offspring that are different than their parents. And if these offspring are better suited to their environment then they are more likely to live, mate and pass on their genes. This is how over vast periods of time a species becomes better adapted for survival
Yann: Yes that is true and includes the evolution from one species to another.
Doug: And in this evolution there is no intention, no mind behind the scenes directing things.
Yann: Right. There is no need for anything but the physical processes themselves. Everything can be explained physically.
Doug: And what do you believe Yann? Are we just very intelligent animals?
Yann: I believe that evolution occurs by chance, by chance events that lead to the species adapting to its environment through natural selection and survival of the fittest.
Doug: Is the species itself a living organism?
Yann: You mean like when birds in a flock all move in synch for example?
Doug: No. I mean are all the individual members of the species part of one being, part of the body of one living organism.
Yann: No. Only the individual members exist. And they pass on their characteristics through inheritance and sometimes through random cell mutation.
Doug: So you and I are the products of chance. Here is what I have trouble with. There is so much intelligence built into us including our eyes and hands and particularly our brains. Can we believe that these occurred by chance?
Yann: That is what the theory says. And even if it does not explain everything yet, it is still the best theory by far. And with neo-Darwinism we have included new genetic evidence that supports the Darwinian Theory.
Doug: Well tomorrow we should head out a bit early for the conference. We need to register and that will take some time.
The lights fade.
================================================
3 angels on stage.
Jennifer: Well it looks like this will not go very far.
John: Oh, I’m not so sure.
Colleen: Did you not hear the clue that Doug placed into the conversation. Roll the tape back will you please John.
=============
Doug: “Is the species itself a living organism”?
=============
Jennifer: Sure I heard that and I understand the significance of it. But it had no effect on Yann.
John: So far.
Colleen: (smiling) Perhaps it will evolve over time.
=======================================================
Doug and Yann are driving to the conference.
Doug: So I was thinking Yann about what was required for us to meet. (Doug recounts the difficulties they worked through for Yann to be there.)
Yann: And there is more to it than that. Here is how I came to be at the conference. I have a friend in Portugal who learned of this conference in Canada some months ago. He applied to give a presentation. He was accepted and he suggested that they might be interested in my paper. They contacted me and I applied and was accepted.
Doug: And on my side if I had not bought the bed and breakfast and moved to Peterborough I would not be in a position to meet you either.
Yann: Very interesting!
Doug: Lots of links had to work together for us to be here talking.
Yann: Yes.
Doug: It reminds me of the whole idea of evolution.
Yann: How so?
Doug: Well in evolution there were an innumerable number of changes, modifications and links that were necessary for us humans to be here.
Yann: Yes, but Nature was acting blindly. The Universe certainly doesn’t care whether we are here or not.
========================================================
3 angels.
Jennifer: I am starting to see that their meeting required huge efforts by you guys for months.
John: Yes. Are you beginning to see how our world intersects with their world continuously?
Jennifer: I’m starting to get some idea.
Jennifer: So how did you get Doug and Yann together?
John: Colleen began her part of the work when the whole course of history had already resulted in Doug and Yann being on planet earth – one in France and one in Canada. And we were instructed to get them together.
Jennifer: “When the student is ready the teacher will appear.“
Colleen: Right. I knew that Yann was a Physical Anthropologist. We have quite extensive records as you can imagine. So I worked on persuading the Canadian Physical Anthropology Association to have their conference in Peterborough. I did that by inserting that idea in a couple of people’s minds. They thought it was their own idea of course. But even before that I needed to work on the man from Portugal. First, I arranged for his parents to live in Canada so that later on he would have the required Canadian link. Then when he moved to Portugal and became friends with Yann the stage was set for him to make the link between Yann and the conference. Then, I had to give Yann an incentive for coming to Canada. I did this by arranging for him to have a job interview in New York and I made sure they scheduled it for just after the conference. That way Yann could persuade himself that he could afford to come to North America because it could lead to a job in his field. I also had to make sure that he was unemployed. That part is always easy. In fact the Devil helped with that part.
Jennifer: The Devil helped?
Colleen: Surprising isn’t it.
Jennifer. I am starting to see that there is a lot more here than I first suspected.
John: Lots of people on planet earth think that we just strum our harps up here and laze around. As you can see that is far from the truth.
Jennifer: I do. Why do we want Yann and Doug to get together?
John: That is a very long story Jennifer, but luckily we have eternity to tell you. But let’s get back to Doug and Yann and you may start to see where this is going.
Jennifer: Sounds good to me.
============================================
Yann and Doug have returned from the first day of the conference.
Doug: The conference today was great Yann.
Yann: (smiling) I noticed that you asked the presenters a whole lot of questions.
Doug: Yup. And at the breaks I went and talked to most of them one on one. It was just fantastic. But I was surprised that no one was talking about the debate between evolution and Creationism. I managed to steer my questions toward that debate even if that was not their particular topic.
Yann: Are you a Creationist Doug?
Doug: I’m probably closer to a Creationist than a materialist but I would like to reconcile the 2 positions. That is one of the reasons I wanted to attend the conference and talk to you.
Yann: Well I believe that all of this happened randomly. There was no plan. Nature is not aiming toward some particular outcome. Humanity just happened to be on planet earth and you and I just happened to meet.
Doug: I wonder if there could possibly be a reason for us meeting, perhaps the Universe wanted us to get together
Yann: I doubt it.
=============================================
Our 3 Angels are on stage.
John: Well we have brought Yann and Doug together. Now we need to set the stage so that Yann can begin to hear what Doug has to offer. We all know the Zen story. (Colleen smiles. Jennifer looks perplexed).
Jennifer: The Zen story?
Colleen: A young man comes to a Zen master for instruction. The Zen master takes him to the gazebo in the monastery’s garden for the ritual tea. It is truly a beautiful setting. They talk for a short while. The Zen master pours tea into the young man’s cup till it is full. But the master keeps pouring. The young man becomes distraught as the cup overflows and the tea starts to run down on the floor. But the master keeps pouring and pouring. Finally the young man asks the master what he is doing.
John: What do you think the master says Jennifer?
Jennifer: Let me think. Is this a koan? One of those Zen puzzles like the famous “what is the sound of one hand clapping”?
John: Perhaps. So what do you think he says?
Jennifer: (Thinking intently for a few seconds) Well, if the cup represents the young man himself then the Zen master may be demonstrating that the young man is already so full of his own opinions and sure of his own rightness that the master has no way of saying anything that will penetrate him. The young man will have to empty himself first.
(Colleen and John nod – very pleased.)
Colleen: We have a young angel with potential here John. We will need to put that in the report.
(Jennifer is all smiles.)
===================================================
Doug and Yann are talking the next day at breakfast.
Yann: Still enjoying the conference Doug?
Doug: Yes, very much. Can we talk some more?
Yann: Sure.
Doug: I wanted to discuss an analogy concerning physical dimensions. This analogy was beautifully presented years ago in a small book called “Flatland” written by Edwin Abbott. In the Flatland story, a 3 dimensional person comes upon a world of only 2 dimensions and the creatures that live in that world. You can imagine that world as a very large sheet of paper and the creatures live flat on the top of the paper. They are intelligent but they are limited by their 2 dimensional senses. So for example when I push my 3 dimensional hand through their 2 dimensional world they see my hand as a series of unconnected 2 dimensional circles changing over time. They do not see that their sense perceptions over time are in fact all related to the same living hand that exists outside of their 2 dimensional world. With their 2 dimensional senses they cannot see that my hand exists in its totality right now. But we can see this. What they see over time is our present moment.
Yann: That’s complicated but it makes sense.
Doug: Now turning to the world we live in, we see 3 dimensional objects that exist over time. We do not see a 4 dimensional world. Yann, do you think that there might be a higher dimensional world.
Yann: Well I have not given that much thought, but I know that in some areas of science there is the idea of higher dimensions, for example in “string theory” in Physics.
Doug: Yes. So let’s do a thought experiment. Let’s imagine what our experience would be like if we were in fact living in a 4 dimensional world and only seeing a 3 dimensional representation of it or projection of it.
Yann: Okay. That sounds interesting.
Doug: First we would realize that what we learned about our 2 dimensional friends applies exactly to us as we go up a level. Each 3 dimensional object that we see is a representation of an invisible 4 dimensional reality. For example, the life of any particular elephant follows a pattern determined by the 4 dimensional elephant. For example, the life span of any physical elephant and the growth stages it goes through are determined by the qualities of the higher dimensional elephant. We can think of the 4 dimensional elephant as the mold from which all physical elephants are formed. To put it another way, each physical elephant we see is an expression of the 4 dimensional elephant “spirit”.
Yann: So each individual elephant represents or expresses the “elephant spirit”?
Doug: Right. With our 3 dimensional senses we do not see the higher dimensional world. We do not see the one, unified, living elephant there. We see merely a series of apparently unconnected, physical elephants in 3 dimensions. We do not see the “elephant spirit” that exists right now in its totality in a higher dimensional world, beyond our 3 dimensional perception.
Yann: Wow! It stretches my mind to think of this idea.
Doug: In our 3 dimensional view we conclude that a "species" evolves. What is really interesting is that what we call a "species" is in fact the living, 4 dimensional being I have been talking about.
Yann: That's interesting. The "species" is a living being, or organism. And it is right here, right now in its totality, which we could perceive if we could extend beyond our 3 dimensional perception and thinking.
Doug: Yes. And this gives us a new foundation for conceiving and interpreting what we observe in all the sciences including Physical Anthropology.
Yann: That sounds very interesting. But now it is time for us to head out.
Doug: I’m ready whenever you are.
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Our 3 angels.
Jennifer. Now I see why Doug asked Yann earlier whether a species is itself a “living organism”.
Colleen: Right. When we see elephants, what we see with our higher dimensional eyes is what Doug is calling the “elephant spirit”. Unfortunately for humans they do not see as we do. With their 3 dimensional senses they see only the individual physical elephants over time.
Jennifer: I had forgotten that humans do not see elephants as we do. How in the world will Doug lead Yann to see “the great elephant” or the “great human being” for that matter?
John: Let’s continue to roll the tape.
=================================
Doug and Yann on the last day:
Yann: The ideas you have been talking about are whizzing around in my head.
Doug: That' great. If this idea leads you to think and search, perhaps someday you will find a way to perceive that higher dimensional world and the “great beings” that exist there including the ”great human” of which you and I are expressions.
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3 angels.
Jennifer: Can you tell me now why you wanted Doug and Yann to get together?
Colleen: Let me try. Doug has something of value to give Yann. Something that can help Yann to think in a new way, to think beyond himself. So that Yann can awaken to the reality of himself and to the reality of the “great human” of which he is a reflection. This “great human” is the entire human species. We call it the “human spirit”.
John: So we come to the end of our work with Doug and Yann. Now we see why we led Yann to Doug.
Colleen: The seed has been sown. Now it is up to Yann, and the reader of our small story, to water that seed if they wish.
posted by Light at
4:31 PM
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