501. It's hard to make a living as a professional victim.
502. We are defined more by what we leave behind than by what we take along.
503. The simpler the truth, the less bigots will understand it. Or to get Biblical about it, "And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:5
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Friday, August 8, 2014
D
491. English faces this same demise in a time more likely
measured in years than in centuries.
492. It is likely that the next great advances for humanity
will come from third world countries with minority languages. If these
countries are forced to Anglicize their tongues in order to co-exist in the
modern world, we may forfeit our chances for survival and for advancement.
493. There are some things that we can do to combat the
stagnation of our culture The first suggestion is to teach bilingualism to our
children. In fact, multi-lingualism would be better. Ideally, all humans would
speak at least three languages. These would consist of a major popular
tongue—essentially English, Russian, Chinese—a classical language—for example,
German, French, Spanish, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese—and an emerging
language such as Farsi, Thai, Korean, Afrikaans, etc.
494. By schooling our people in this way, we impart to them
the past, present and future. They will see the classical concepts that are
engendered in our modern thinking and have a truly dynamic grammar with which
to create.
495. Alternatively—possibly simultaneously—we should be
inventing new grammars and new words. Words should be invented even before
meanings are found for them. Then let people strive to define them with their
experience.
496. Whole new structural systems for communication should
be invented to encourage expanded thinking. If we can invent multi-dimensional
forms of geometry; can create massive computer systems of ones and zeroes; can
fly to the moon; then surely we can utilize new grammars to conceptualize new
ideas and to experience new events, emotions, and thought processes—perhaps even
new senses.
497. A god must never allow its limits to be tested, for
once tested it is confined to those limits, unable to grow, and therefore
doomed to die.
498. To state that a god must
never allow its limits to be tested is to limit the god just as effectively
as testing them; therefore it is the creation’s inherent responsibility not to
test the limits of its creator/god. To do so defines the limits of its god,
thereby making the god less than god.
499. Boredom is a
substitute for deciding what to do, for creating, inventing, and thinking. If
all the bored people in our world decided to do something creative (anything!)
we would colonize the universe before the end of the century.
500. Final paradox: Frenetic activity may equally be a
substitute for or a cover for ones boredom with oneself, ones inability to
create, or ones incapacity for love.
And for good measure:
501. It’s hard to make a decent living as a professional
victim.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This ends The Book of Wesley—his five hundred (and one) points of philosophy. The original writing was completed September 16, 1985. The editor has attempted to transcribe and correct Wesley's manuscript without over-editing, though occasionally sentence structure was changed to clarify concepts. The book does not reflect changes in society or our world over the past thirty years. Sometimes, however, his concepts are frighteningly on target.
J. Wesley Allen was a character created in my first novel, Behind the Ivory Veil which has never been released, though hope still exists. I proudly finished the manuscript and gave it to a trusted friend to read. He handed it back (all 120 pages) and pronounced it "Freeze-dried. If you added a little hot water it would be a whole book." Walking home that night I started going over all the questions I would ask of this character if I were interviewing him. I clearly heard him say, "If you'd shut up, I'd tell you how the world is. The entirety of that which exists has being only because it has been remembered . . ." Thus began The Book of Wesley. It was the first time (but certainly not the last time) one of my characters took over a conversation in my head and basically ignored me from that point on. Perhaps one day, Wesley will speak again.
XD
481. The fact of absolute zero—a temperature below which
nothing may fall—should be indication enough that real numbers are all positive.
The negative is a convention which only shows direction or relativity but has
no bearing on reality.
482. An interesting cycle of events has occurred in the
development of language. The words, phrases, sounds arise from the need to
communicate. They augment and are augmented by gestures. The combined effect is
useful in communicating between individuals when both are present.
483. If through my voice alone I am unable to get my message
across, I can repeat it with different words or sounds, more emphatic gestures,
etc. But my success or failure to communicate is immediately apparent.
484. When the race has advanced to a point where other
people are deemed to exist even when they are not seen, heard, smelled, tasted,
or felt, they might be able to communicate with others at times when no
immediate feedback is possible. In other words, by writing. We develop an
elementary grammar in which certain shapes represent certain sounds; or the
shapes may represent objects/actions/concepts that have no sound as yet. This
first grammar is strictly symbolic.
485. The second grammar is logic. In this grammar, the order
in which the symbols are placed adds to the meaning. “House cat” and “cat
house” refer to widely different concepts. “Run home” and “home run” cannot be
interchanged. At this point the grammar is formalized and conventions come into
play.
486. Conventional grammar is also order oriented but varies
from culture to culture. “I see the dog” and “The dog I see” mean the same
thing. In English, however, the former would be acceptable while the latter is
stilted and awkward.
487. Finally, to expand on a word-short grammar, multiple
meanings may be assigned to the same symbol (word) which can only be understood
from their context. “Charging a purchase,” “charging a battery,” “charging a
criminal,” and “charging the enemy” each assign different meanings to the
symbol “charging.” Within the grammar, it is our only outlet for expanded
concepts.
488. Paradoxically, the grammar which was born from the need
to communicate begins at this point to limit communication. As it limits our ability
to communicate new ideas, concepts, or experiences, it also begins to limit our
ability to experience things which lie outside the grammar.
489. The limitation of experience also limits creative
expression for, if anything, new artistic creations precede and build upon the
experience of the artist/thinker.
490. The result is a stagnation in society and an ultimate
death to the language. Perhaps the most notable example of this is the
displacement of Latin as a spoken language, even in the church where it proves
inadequate to express or translate religious experience. With the death of that
language came also the fall of the world’s greatest empire.
Sunday, June 22, 2014
CDLXXX
471. The second phenomenon has to do with
absorption/dilution/solution. The nature of light is such that darkness breaks
it down and absorbs it into itself. This is the same thing that occurs when you
drop a lump of sugar into a cup of coffee. It dissolves and permeates the
entire cup.
472. It is important to notice that the second phenomenon
changes the character of the darkness. Just as having sugar in a cup of coffee
changes the character (taste) of the entire cup.
473. As in a true chemical solution, the light does not
“settle out” of the darkness, but stays attached to it, traveling through the
darkness more by osmosis than through a propulsion of any sort. Thus it
permeates the entirety of darkness, constantly moving toward an area of lesser
concentration.
474. Unlike light, we have learned methods of keeping and
storing heat. Heat must be viewed from the same perspective as light. It
displaces cold; ultimately it is absorbed by cold, changing the character of
cold.
475. An important difference between heat and light is that
we have defined and isolated absolute cold—that temperature below which nothing
can fall. We have not evolved a measurement or definition of absolute dark.
476. We have also learned to introduce a source of heat into
an insulated chamber and that chamber will stay heated long after the source of
heat has been extinguished. We have not learned to insulate a chamber in such a
way that it stays lit after we turn out the source of the light. This should be possible.
477. Finally, we have learned to extract heat from our
surroundings and use it—the process of breaking down a solution into its basic
elements. The heat pump will theoretically extract heat from its surroundings
down to a temperature of absolute zero—in other words, until no heat is left in
the coldness. There must also be a means of creating a light pump which can
extract light from darkness down to a lumen of absolute dark.
478. It should also be noted that since light ‘travels’ by
osmosis, the speed of light is dependent on the rate of absorption into darkness.
Since the absorption process indicates a movement from an area of greater
density into an area of lesser density, the speed of light would be greatest
when introduced to the area of greatest darkness.
479. A match lit in absolute darkness would be absorbed so
quickly that it might not be seen by the human eye at all from several yards
away. A powerful beam of light might take millions of miles of darkness (light
years) to be fully absorbed.
480. A “light sail” could be created with which one could
direct the force of a light beam during its absorption, driving a vehicle
forward through the darkness.
Sunday, June 15, 2014
CDLXX
461. If you travel perpendicular to the current—in other
words, orbit the center—you experience time at its absolute rate, no matter how
fast or slow you go.
462. This makes possible the theory of currents and
short-cuts through space. The experienced space sailor will tack before the
winds; pull out of strong currents; perhaps take cross-currents through space.
If one actually found a whirlpool of space, conceivably one could use it to
come out at a time before one went in and not suffer from the classic
contradiction of existence. Perhaps that is what black holes are all about.
463. Among the first subjects treated in this work (43-45)
is that of multiple relationships—assumed to be on any mental or physical basis
with which the parties are comfortable. This appears to be as Utopian a philosophy
today as it was when H.G. Wells first wrote of it.
464. Such relationships may never be possible in some
societies where monogamy is so deeply seated that the results are an immediate
guilt response, insecurity, and jealousies. However, were such a situation to
prove possible, it would still be possible only in relationships which are
completely, mutually open and honest. The alternative, of course, is that it
will work in non-relationships in which nothing done by either party makes a
difference to the other.
465. Typically, the relationship in which this is tried and
fails is one in which one or both partners fail or refuse to recognize that
anything they do might have any effect on the other partner. Therefore, their
own acts are viewed as isolated and unrelational.
466. Honesty is empowering. (180-181) If Diogenes were to
complete his search for an honest person today, he would find a person
empowered to affect his or her own destiny.
467. An adjunct to self-empowerment is an inescapable power
to effect other people’s lives. The self-empowered person (completely honest)
must recognize and accept his or her ability
to affect other people’s lives and accept his or her responsibility for the effect. Failure to accept the ability and
responsibility will ultimately undermine the honest and the power. Failure to
accept is dishonest.
468. A careful distinction should be noted in that honesty
generates power to, not power over.
469. We tend to view energy like heat and light as mystical
phenomena. This comes from our rational senses. You can’t touch light. You can’t
see heat. You can’t smell or taste or hear either one. You can’t put a quart of
light in a bottle and store it for use later.
470. There may be an advantage in assuming a physical nature
of heat and light. I’m suggesting that light does not travel. Instead, two
other physical phenomena occur. First is displacement. If you drop a stone in a
glass of water, you raise the level of the water. Similarly, if you introduce
light into darkness, you raise the level of dark or push it outward, away from
the source of light. This forces a compression of the darkness at the edges of
its container or simply forces it ever outward if there is no container. Theory
of the ever-expanding universe—the more light that is introduced, the further
out the darkness is pushed. You can see this effect in a darkened room when a
light is introduced. Objects near the light are illuminated, but those farther
away stay dim. The darkness resides in the shadows.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Even after expounding on relationships, Wesley returns to Light and Darkness. One wonders if that is how he defined his relationships.
Sunday, June 8, 2014
CDLX
451. Let’s try the whole concept of the speed of light and
time over again in a different light, so to speak. As a child in school, I was
told to imagine myself on the surface of the imaginary planet Alpha, orbiting
the North Star. On Alpha, I am equipped with an extremely powerful telescope—so
powerful, in fact, that I can actually see events happening on the mysterious
planet, Earth.
452. Today, as I look through my telescope, I see Columbus
landing in America. I see this, even though in “reality” the people on earth
are preparing to land a man on the moon. The reason? It has taken 450 years for
the light to travel from the earth to Alpha.
453. If you have difficulty picturing reflected light,
imagine that Earth is a gigantic movie projector facing Alpha. The movie
started hundreds of years ago, and on Alpha, you are watching it as the
projected images reach you—450 years after they have occurred.
454. As far advanced as Alpha is, you now have a space ship
that will travel near the speed of light. You load your incredible telescope in
the spaceship and blast off toward Earth, following the direction of the
projected movie. Consistent with the theory that an object must pass through
all intervening points in order to travel between two points, you will
intercept all the projected images from Earth that have been sent from the one
you were seeing at blast-off (Columbus) to the one being projected when you
land.
455. Since the trip has taken over 450 Earth years, you see
everything from Columbus to your landing time, sometime in the 25th
century. You have encountered 900 years of history!
456. But what time has passed for you on this remarkable
journey? You step out of your space ship, set up your telescope to receive the
projected images from your home planet Alpha and watch events occurring just
after your blast-off. By your reckoning, on Alpha almost no time has elapsed at
all.
457. Now the tricky part. Having proved that you could
travel the 450 light years to Earth in almost no time at all, you turn around
and head back to Alpha. On your return voyage, you encounter everything that
has been projected from the time that you left with that same super spead that
you viewed Earth with as you approached it. Your ship returns nearly a millennium
later to hits home base.
458. Reversing your telescope to look again at Earth, you
see the scenes of the day after you left, just reaching you. How much have you
aged? By making the round trip, you are over nine hundred years lder, both by
Earth standard and by Alpha standard. Does your own velocity keep you from aging?
If anything, you have experienced nearly 2,000 years of history.
459. Now, let us extend the illustration one step further.
Suppose that there is an absolute center of all that is—the cosmos if you will.
Let us suppose as scientists have conjectured that all things originated at
this center in a big bang and that they are forever expanding outward from the
center. Time, in the absolute sense, necessitated by Einstein’s theory and the
Lorenz transformation, originates at that center and radiates outward as a
by-product of the expansion of the universe.
460. As you travel in your superoptic spacecraft, you will
slow time down as you travel away from the center and speed time up as you
travel toward the center.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This section and the one that follows shows
Wesley in a new light. He has expounded theories and expostulated suppositions
for 450 points, but in this he engages with the reader as if a student. He is a
teacher, but the validity of his lessons remains to be seen. It appears that his
logic could prove anything. It is his non-rational thought process at work.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
CDL
441. Luvus chattelia:
This is the love of a possession, or more appropriately of possessing. It is an
emotion attached to an object simply because it is owned and like Luvus sexus, makes no distinction
between animate and inanimate, though a case may be made for defining Luvus chattelia as referring only to
animate subjects and Luvus objecta as
referring specifically to inanimate objects, as in ‘I love my house,’ or ‘I
love my car’ as opposed to ‘I love my dog,’ or ‘I love my wife.’
442. Luvus dominatus:
Sometimes confused with Luvus chattelia
and frequently accompanied by it, Luvus
dominatus is the type of love that describes a ruler’s relationship to the
subject Where Luvus chattelia is
objective, Luvus dominatus is
subjective. Both of these two are straight-line loves that describe a superior’s
relationship to an inferior. ‘The King loves his country.’
443. Luvus seductia:
The conquest. Contrary to common opinion, coitus is not normally the ultimate
goal of Luvus seductia. Coitus
happens merely as a means of keeping score. What counts in the seduction, or the
conquest, is winning. Fair object of heart’s desire is overcome, submits to the
conqueror. Like a good sting operation, the good seduction leaves its object at
least satisfied with if not proud of its part and ending state. The subjects
ending state may be described as Luvus
worshipa. Many other types of love may be defined before we can hope to
have a complete taxonomy.
444. Eintein’s theory of relativity (242, 285) implies a
state within the universe or a point in complete stasis. At that point or in
that state, a meter is a meter and time is constant. When placed in motion
(when velocity is introduced) the measuring stick shortens and is less than a
meter. The clock slows and time is dilated.
445. The earth, traveling at 30 kilometers per second is
already in an insignificant time dilation of .99999995, Approximately 3.145
seconds per year.
446. If one travels away from the earth and back at the same
speed as the earth, time remains relatively real. The same amount of time will
be created by the earth’s velocity as by the traveler’s velocity.
447. If one traveled from the nearest star (approximately
4.5 light years) to the earth at the same speed as the earth, it would take
several thousand years to make the journey. But the same time frame would have
passed for both traveler and earth.
448. Proposition: As the traveler from this star increases
velocity, it is not time for the traveler that slows down, but rather time on
the earth that speeds up. So the traveler is stalemated. It will take that
traveler just as long to reach the earth as the earth time that passes.
449. The Lorenz Transformation would indicate that traveling
from that star at 90% of the speed of light would take the traveler five years
but on earth, 21 years and ten months would have passed. Conversely, if the
traveler reached earth in five years of earth time, the traveler would have
been in transit only one year and two months, negating the speed traveled. The
paradox of the timeframes would result in both the traveler and earth having
the same amount of time pass.
450. This is completely consistent with the Einstein theory
and with the constancy of the speed of light in a vacuum. In fact, it is this
that would indicate that instead of light going faster or slower when you
approach its source at an increasing velocity, it changes color.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The editor wishes to return to the taxonomy
of love, which was at least partially understandable.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
CDXL
431. There are many English words that may be classified as
definitions of love; therefore, I propose the following taxonomy. Disclaimer:
There is no hierarchy in this list, nor is any intended. Religious philosophers
of a future generation can have at it.
432. Luvus accompanada:
Common attraction. This type of love is identified by the simple pleasure of
being in another person’s company. It is sparked by the immediacy of the
person’s presence. It explains why people sit or stand where they do in groups.
It must be carefully distinguished from Luvus
attracta.
433. Luvus attracta:
The desire to be in another person’s company. The distinguishing marks of this
type of love is its internal motivation, not being dependent on a direct
stimuli as the former. Subtypes A and B of Luvus
attracta are differentiated only by whether or not the desire is directed
toward a specific individual or is simply a desire to be accompanied in
general.
434. Luvus affecta:
Commonly called affection. This type of love is distinguished by the impulse to
fawn, pet, or otherwise come in contact with its objective. This is equally as
valid when the object of affection is a dog as it is when it is a person,
therefore, Luvus affecta is not a
purely sexual desire.
435. Luvus philea:
Yes, this is brotherly or sibling love. This type of love is obligatory. It
defines a socially acceptable mode of behavior attached to the relationship of
the individuals. It is externally motivated and provides a framework for civil
relations in the most unloving relationships. Luvus phelea is love based on the accident of birth.
436. Luvus cynthia:
To the objective eye this may appear the same as Luvus philea as it also describes a sibling love that complies with
social standards. Its difference is that it is internally motivated regardless
of any apparent external pressures or prescribed behavior. Thus Luvus cynthia may properly be described
as a hybrid of 433 and/or 434 with 435.
437. Luvus sexus:
This is the object love generally felt at or near the moment of sexual
fulfillment for any person or object facilitating it. Luvus sexus does not distinguish the facilitators from each other,
cannot differentiate between the animate and inanimate, and does not grade for
quality.
438. Luvus romantic: This is an environmental type of love,
frequently brought about by appropriate lighting, looks, soft words, and music.
It has the ability to affect a person’s judgment abilities and should may be
closely related to Luvus seductia.
439. Luvus erotica:
This type of love is a stimulus response. It acts on the central nervous system
by way of neural centers located near the surface of the body. At this
stimulus, the remainder of the body seems to respond involuntarily, marked by
increased heart rate, engorged sexual organs, and rapid breathing.
440. Luvus parenta:
Only a parent can love a child and thus this species describes the unique bond
that exists between parent and child. Unlike many types of love, Luvus parenta describes a two-way flow
of emotion and therefore may mutate into other forms if that flow is disrupted.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wesley continues in the next section with
three more types of love and then professes this to be only a partial list.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
CDXXX
421. Artists typically deal in nth dimensional
concepts in a world whose terms of reference are (n-1)th dimensional
or less.
422. Agreeing to play football implies an agreement to play
by the rules of football. (195)
423. A body in motion tends to eat at every available
opportunity.
424. Food is frequently substituted for deficiencies in a
variety of areas, i.e. affection, success, security, honor, sex.
425. The key ingredient to thinking irrationally, or in
attempting to explain irrationality, is that nothing makes sense.
426. Opportunity is never convenient. If it were, no one
would pass it up.
427. Love is a generic term which is used as a catch-all for
a great many concepts. The ambiguity of its definition is one basis for
emotional trauma. If I assign to one word a multitude of meanings, I increase
the likelihood that I will be misconstrued when I use the word.
428. The Greeks used three words to describe different kinds
of love in their ancient language: erotic, filial, and agape; to which
Christian philosophers mis-assigned the overall meanings of animal, human, and
god. The, then, compose a hierarchy of love. One’s goal should always be the
highest.
429. The unChristianized Greek concept was actually only a
little better, describing the dichotomy of the individual rather than
humanity’s relation to the gods. Greek gods did not behave much differently
than Greeks, after all.
430. This dichotomy would separate the individual into three
parts: the physical, the emotional, and the mental or spiritual. Here again,
church philosophers have split the mental a spiritual from the single Greek
word, psyche. It seems that it has always been considered wrong to apply mental
processes to spiritual concepts.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wesley seems to have had a number of short
quips to get off his chest before he started redefining what everyone believes
about love. The diatribe on love will continue for another couple sections
before he exhausts himself on this one.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
CDXX
411. A complete destruction of the hope for escape—from our
world, our solar system, our time, or our bodies—would result in a new
pacifism. Energy would be directed toward co-existence rather than
co-extermination. It is not only the hope of an afterlife, but the promise of
death that drives our consumptive inhumanity.
412. The difficulty with treaties (234; 297) is that the
treators seek constantly to create a document which exempts themselves from
compliance while binding the other parties to a subordinate and inevitably
vulnerable position.
413. Therefore, it is only to illiterate peoples (to whom
the spoken word is binding to the intent of the agreement) that treaties with
any true meaning can be negotiated. Advanced literary societies with complex
legal systems cannot be expected to ever reach agreement.
414. To fully define the term in context with the world
today: A treaty is a document in which the greater power subjects the lesser
power to its will.
415. The most primitive artistic expressions of humanity’s
relationship to the cosmos are geometric patterns.
416. If a viewer is deeply moved by a work of art—is impelled
into an emotional awareness of the artwork—it is likely that the viewer is
experiencing a residual of the exact same emotional impetus that went into the
creation of the work in the first place. (141-143)
417. The chemical geometry of humanity is essentially the
same from person to person. If this were not true, the concept of blood transfusion
or organ transplant would be impossible. A significant difference in the
chemical geometry might differentiate a mammal from a reptile, but not blue
eyes from brown eyes.
418. From the moment of conception, our existence is defined
in terms of three dimensions—the length, breadth, and height of the womb and
the body that contains us. If one professes to live in a world of four or more
dimensions or to have nth-dimensional experience, how can that experience be
communicated in three-dimensional terms of reference? How can we transcend our
own definitions of reality?
419. It is the chemical geometry we share that allows us to
create art that transcends three-dimensional terms of reference to communicate nth-dimensional
experience directly to the hearts of viewers. The viewer becomes a participant
with the artist in the emotion of the work.
420. In artwork, this communication from artist to audience
may transcend millennia as the viewer of a Grecian urn may still experience the
emotion of the creator.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wesley hits three themes in this section
that, at first, look unrelated. But when combined, all three focus on communicating
something that transcends the bounds of language. One can surmise that Wesley
might return to the subject by suggesting that treaties be captured in artwork and
music rather than words.
Sunday, May 4, 2014
D--The Book of Wesley
The Book of Wesley
Being an Inconcise
Compendium
of Irrational Thought
in the Fields of
Science, Language,
Philosophy, Music, and
Theology
Which
Borders on Truth—
Most of the Time.
By J. Wesley Allen
MCMLXXXIV
Introduction to the Fifth Hundred
Sometime referred to as “Wesley’s 500”, The Book of Wesley
enters the last discovered 101 points. The existence of point 501 indicates
that Wesley had intended to continue, but either lost interest or became unable
to go on. This may have coincided with his “rescue” from the dimensional trap in
which he had been held for over twenty years. He must have had a sort of Rip
Van Winkle experience as he re-entered contemporary society. His concluding
point, therefore, becomes a touchstone for the hundred that lead up to it. “#501:
It is a hard thing to make a living as a professional victim.” Wesley spends a
great deal of his time in this final hundred contemplating love in all its
varieties.
Nathan Everett, editor
August 11, 1986
CDX
401. All things are forever temporary.
402. There can be no healing where there is no injury.
403. Many believe that falling is the penalty for breaking
the law of gravity. Actually, falling is the penalty for obeying the law of
gravity. When you break the law of gravity, you do not fall.
404. Many of our laws extract a more severe penalty for
obedience than for disobedience.
405. While it may be noble to maintain a respect for
prophecy, no matter what the faith, we are all endangered when we place in
authority a person who believes in the imminent destruction of the world or the promised rescue of a savior.
406. Prophecy itself is frequently the cause of its own
fulfillment.
407. Violence is a byproduct of assuming the infinite.
408. Humanity has always assumed the possibility of escape:
over the mountain, across the ocean, to the moon, to the stars.
409. This ability to go elsewhere inevitably leads to a
cavalier attitude toward the treatment of the present environment.
410. The religious notion of a hereafter reinforces the
temporal nature of the present. Even nihilists assume they will escape from the
present.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
CD
391. If it is true that emotion is experience-able only in a
time-space relationship (154) then it is little wonder that our pictures of
eternity are painted with oblivious smiles of non-feeling.
392. The Nirvana mindset is one of non-feeling, not one of
all-feeling or emotion Christian heaven has no variance in emotion, being
all-praise and all-joy. Being locked into a single emotional state for all
eternity can be no different than having no emotion at all. The difference
between heaven and hell is lost.
393. In ancient Judaism there was no expectation of
significant change in the afterlife, but that afterlife was closely linked and
bound to a single space on earth, not a different dimension.
394. Those who believe that witchcraft died in the seventeenth
century, need only watch the sidelines of a modern sporting event for disproof.
395. The whole shape of modern sporting events in which two armies
of warriors oppose each other as their spiritual guides on the sidelines step
through intricate dances while reciting carefully cadenced rituals which serve
to whip the worshippers into a spiritual/emotional frenzy, is not at all unlike
any primitive spiritual encounter.
396. Modern sporting lacks only the deistic ingredient to
rank it as equal to the great witch workings of magic of the 15th,
16th, and 17th centuries.
397. Imagine, for example, the overt symbolic magic which
would be represented were we to dress our prison inmates in the uniforms of enemy
armies, to be slaughtered on a field of combat by the forces of our native land
to work sympathetic magic against our foes on the battlefield. Or, more
profoundly, consider the socio-economic prestige gained by the conquerors in Olympic
competition. Here, the priestesses have been denied admittance for the working
of their ritual magic, leaving the fate of their tribes to hang on the prowess
of the warriors alone.
398. Who invented the idea that 5,000 troops carrying
automatic high-powered weapons, barricaded behind barbed wire fences, and
plopped down in the middle of a country in which they do not even know the
native language can possibly be called a peace-keeping force?
399. A multi-national super-corporation of civilians
should be created for thepurpose of
creating peace in war-torn countries. They should be funded by a world fund,
dedicated to establishing an economic recovery of the nation. The corporation
should be production-oriented, custom made from the affected country, consumed
internally, or for export.
400. This peace-making corporation must be made up of highly
trained and skilled individuals, not the least of which training should be in
the native language. For only by learning the language can the peacemakers hope
to understand the people. Peace will not precede understanding.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
CCCXC
381. Regarding the problem of sentience and the existence of
a soul. Inevitably the philosophical/theological question will be asked
regarding whether or not life forms found outside the human-occupied solar
system are sentient or, being so, whether or not they have a soul.
382. There is no clear-cut definition as to what sentience
is, nor is there any clear-cut proof that such a thing as a soul even exists,
let alone having it defined however, it is normally assumed that a being must
be sentient in order to have a soul.
383. A commonly propounded test for sentience is the ability
to make (that is, to invent) and use tools. This limiting definition rules out
the potential for may possible forms of life; for example, disembodied
sentience or beings which are not physically equipped with limbs and appendages
that an deal with materials in a similar manner to homo sapiens.
384. The ability to make and use tools, it should also be
noted, reduces by extrapolation the existence of a soul to terms of common
engineering.
385. This test, however, when applied to any species
utilizing a form of vehicular transportation, would be adequate evidence on
which to base the assumption that any species encountered traveling in space
would necessarily be sentient.
386. It is herein proposed that the definition of “sentient”
be simplified to “self-awareness.” The sentient being, therefore, must be
tested only on its ability to communicate that self-awareness.
387. When necessarily removed from a homo sapiens monotheistic
theology, we may redefine “soul” as “super-self-awareness;” that is, the
awareness of the self of others in relation to oneself.
388. The supra-self is that which bonds all sentient life
forms into common unity.
389. Therefore, our own supra-self mandates that we
acknowledge the “soularity” of all sentient life forms.
390. The price one pays for a rite of passage is to leave a
part of oneself behind.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In his own round-about way, Wesley
acknowledges the fact that people are very slow to recognize the humanity of
others. Slavery in America, in which Africans were deemed to be not quite
human, or the American push into the West that reduced vast populations of
natives because they were merely animals are two examples. Wesley projects this
into encounters with other living creatures on earth and into his imagined
encounter with aliens. Or, perhaps Wesley had some experience with aliens. ???
Saturday, April 19, 2014
CCCLXXX
371. All higher mammals (including humans) have an
inclination toward addiction. It is very easy to addict them to almost
anything.
372. In some circles this is known as training.
373. Addictions are of two principal varieties: physical and
emotional. An addiction to earning money or to love is every bit as compelling
as a chemical dependency.
374. Our ravaged immune system is our only defense mechanism
against both types of addiction.
375. An example of the expanded possibilities resulting from
changing from a geometric system of x dimensions to a geometric system of x+1
dimensions is to be seen in the ancient problem of trisecting an angle, or
creating a new angle of exactly 1/3 the radians of the original. In Euclidean
plane geometry (2-dimensional) it is impossible to construct such an angle.
376. It can be demonstrated, however, that moving to a third
dimension makes the trisection a theoretically simple procedure. It further
poses the challenge, however, of creating the tools that enable us to model in
three dimensions with the ease of a straight edge and compass in two
dimensions.
377. Three planes, as defined in Euclidean systems, which
share a common intersection—that is a single point shared by all three
planes—will create three intersecting lines, defined by the intersections of
each pair of planes. These lines define the x, y, and z axes of 3-dimensional
solid geometry, which divides space into octants.
378. It is not necessary that the intersection of the axes
form 90 degree angles in every relationship. It is, however, necessary to
select an octant in which the three angular relationships of the axes are equal.
These angles shall be called the angles of origin in the primary octant.
379. It is possible, utilizing the basic tenants of
Euclidean geometry, to bisect any of the angles of origin of the primary octant.
The resulting ray is always equidistant from the primary axes that it bisects;
such a ray is a secondary axis.
380. If any two of the angles of origin the primary octant
are so bisected, the angle formed at the intersection of the secondary axes
will be 2/3 of the angle of origin. The secondary angle, when bisected, will
yield an angle 1/3 that of the angle of origin, or one trisection of said
angle.
EDITOR’S NOTE: A true genius like Da Vinci would have filled
sketchbooks and notebooks with drawings illustrating what he was talking about
and allowing a reasonably intelligent person with a background in the subject
to deconstruct his logic. Not so with Wesley and thus it is impossible to
determine if he had a moment of genius level clarity in this writing or if
these are the ramblings of an idiot. There are no drawings or sketches to go
with these notes. Wesley did everything in his head and thus even his
theoretical planes may have been bent to his will. Perhaps a computer modeling
program might be devised to follow Wesley’s descriptions, but Wesley himself,
wrote in the early 80s before computers had become accessible to ordinary
humans.
Sunday, April 6, 2014
CCCLXX
361. The tesseract, now liberated from its antiquated bonds,
can best be defined in metaphysical terms as any multidimensional system that
may be supported by linear logic but which surfaces in quantum leaps
independent of a logical process.
362. This, of course, is most applicable to philosophy,
including its branches of mathematics, science, theology, etc. We must assume
added dimensions of thought, skipping from peak to peak without bothering with
the linear logic of the matter.
363. Tessering, far from the fantasaical riding of time
waves through the universe, is a thought process that jumps across the peaks of
concepts, connecting seemingly unrelated subjects and generating new creative
ideas.
364. In this way the major thesis of the tesseract is
preserved: The shortest distance between two points is not necessarily a
straight line.
365. The difficulty with philosophical tessering is that it
frequently leaves linear logic obscure at its best. It may take years for a
technician to trace the logical course of an idea generated through tesser
thought, thus slowing its implementation in the scientific world by decades.
366. Still, it can be seen that through the ages, most
brilliant discoveries were made not through logical scientific investigation or
process, but rather by the quantum leaps made by tessering from peak to peak of
the thought process.
367. If the logic of tesser thought is difficult to follow,
the pattern of a person engaged in tesser talk is even more difficult unless
all the participants in that conversation are tracking on the same sine wave or
thought process, frequently banking on the thoughts and ideas expressed by
others.
368. In sum, the philosopher should avoid linear logic and
engage in the quantum leaps of tessering in order to truly be of service to
humanity. Leave logic to technicians whose responsibility it is to prove the
theories of the tesserist.
369. Stupidity is its own excuse.
370. A wise man knows he cannot see his own mistakes. Women,
too.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
CCCLX
351. We constantly intercept history as we move. The light
of the star that we reach tonight may be the million-year-old relic of a
reality that no longer exists and which has not existed for a longer time yet.
EDITOR'S NOTE: It seems likely that Wesley's concept of a tesseract was influenced or even created by Madeleine L'Engle in the book "A Wrinkle in Time." Ms. L'Engle also was never exact in stating how one might fold time in order to skip along the wrinkles. Thus, we find one of those points at which Wesley builds a pseudo-scientific theory based on a science fantasy novel.
352. All socio-economic political systems are based on the
premise that there is an inadequate amount of wealth to provide a comfortable
living standard for all people. Therefore, each socio-economic political
system, i.e. capitalistic, socialistic, communistic, etc., is based on how that
wealth is to be distributed among the world’s peoples. In other words, Who will
live in comfort and who will not.
353. The basic premise is false.
354. Ergo: The socio-economic political systems of the
world, based on a false premise, are collectively and individually irrelevant
responses to world government.
355. Trust is not earned; it is placed.
356. We recognize the definition of the word “tesseract” to
be the fourth dimensional analog to a cube. This was created in a world based
on mathematics that does not allow for the modeling of more than three
dimensions.
357. Since normal Euclidean geometry did not take into
account any physical possibilities of more than three dimensions, it was assumed
that a fourth dimension must refer to a non-physical element of time.
358. The tesseract was conceived based on a sine wave model,
units of which were measured by the crossing of the x axis.
359. It was further assumed by this model that short-cutting
along the peaks of the sine curve might result in skips of time, distance,
spatial relationships, etc. How this could be accomplished is still in
question.
360. Since tetrahedronal geometry does allow for physical
models of four dimensions, and in fact of five and six dimensional equations,
we must redefine the concept of a tesseract.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
CCCL
341. If you reduce the size/volume of a body of reference
to a non-dimensional point, the ultimate inside/outside relationship is
revealed. Outside no longer exists. The entire universe can be defined as lying
inside any given point of reference and is therefore finite, bounded on all
sides by the same point.
342. Thus, just as the universe lies in all directions from
any given point in that system, any given point lies in all directions from anywhere in the
same system, contains it, and puts a finite boundary around the universe.
343. It might be suggested that a proponent of tetrahedronal
geometry may as well increase the number of axes at will—develop a
five-dimensional, six-dimensional, etc. system. There is nothing saying this is
not possible.
344. The four axes approach, however, is the simplest model
that can account for all spatial relationships without employing negatives.
Fewer axes can define only a portion of space; more become redundant. If five
axes are used, for example, one must always be defined as exerting null force on
the point being located. Otherwise, any given point may be defined with an
unlimited number of non-proportional coordinates. Thus, each point would lack a
defined orientation. Normal Euclidean solid geometry actually uses six axes to define space, but the coordinates of three of those axes is always null. x and -x are two of the axes, etc. A point cannot have a coordinate on both axes.
345. To change one’s orientation in the universe, one must
either “go there” or “be there.” The process of being takes no account of a
time-lapse. The speed at which you go defines how much time is created in the
interval.
346. Rationale for the development of a numeric/geometric
system with no negatives: In a three dimensional spatial system, only
one-eighth of the universe is “real” or having +x, +y, +z coordinates. Yet, by
definition, that one-eighth is infinite.
347. The other seven-eighths of the system—also each deemed
infinite—attempt to measure at least one coordinate as less than nothing. In
reality, in order to deal with that quadrant, we must assume that a point
within it lies a positive distance from the origin along a fourth, fifth, or
sixth axis which we have arbitrarily defined as being negative. In fact,
however, negative distance does not exist. Nor does negative space.
348. To go “outside” our system is equivalent to going a
negative distance. Outside is, thus, a non-reality, all of our universe being
defined as being inside our system, therefore finite, defined by any single
point in the system.
349. Our strength is frequently defined in terms of what we
cannot do rather than what we can do.
350. When there is motion, motion preempts simultaneity. Our
moving, rotating, revolving globe cannot be perceived relative to other
realities, but only relative to where realities have been. (17)
EDITOR’S NOTE: Wesley almost lost me as I attempted to parse
his first point in this section. There is a mathematics joke—which I have on
good authority that Wesley had never heard—that goes: Three mathematicians were
looking at a flock of sheep. The first said, “The smallest linear footage of a
fence that would enclose the sheep is a square. It has the greatest area inside
for the linear footage.” The second said, “The smallest linear footage would be
a circle as the square would waste interior space.” The third drew a circle
around himself and said simply, “I define myself as being outside.” In essence,
Wesley has posited the same theory. A point, having no dimensions, can have no
inside and outside. Wesley holds that inside and outside are the same.
Therefore, any point in the rational universe lies in all directions from any
other point. The universe is bounded by that single point.
Now my head hurts.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
CCCXL
331. This says a lot about creationist theology. (330)
332. A point, as defined by classical Euclidean Geometry, has
no dimension (length, width, depth). It has only a location defined by its
coordinates relative to a point of origin. For the moment, let us assume this
is true in tetrahedronal geometry as well.
333.
Any point in Euclidean Geometry may be the origin of an axial system
designating six directions—north, south,
east, west, up, and down. (or x+, x-, y+, y-, z+, and z-) In tetrahedronal
geometry, any point may also be an origin described by only four coordinates.
For convenience, left, right, forward, and up. (x+, y+, z+ and t)
334. Any point may be observed
from any direction ( in either system). Thus any point may be a definition of
any and all directions.
335. The point which is the
center of a sphere lies in every direction from the surface. Every perpendicular
to the surface passes through the center point.
336. The “four corners of the
earth” spoken of frequently in mythology and folk lore, are commonly
interpreted as being the four points of the compass. But, while north and south
are clearly defined by our poles, there is no such “corner” that is either east
or west. The Euclidean system would require six corners rather than four.
337. The tetrahedronal approach
to this question would assume that the origin of our system lies somewhere near
the center of our roughly spherical globe. The four spatial axes would
originate from this point. If north is considered as our constant, then the other
three directions or corners of the earth would be definable points lying on a
parallel at or somewhere below the Tropic of Capricorn.
338. Various sources have
discussed “inner space” and “outer space” as two alternatives for exploration
which are equally limitless. It may be a reasonable suggestion that our
concepts of “inside” and “outside” are reversed.
339. That space that I define as
inside my body is all that I can see, hear, feel, smell, touch. What is “inside”
is defined by my senses (or perhaps an extension of them). What is outside is
that which pumps my blood, that which supplies me with thoughts, that which propels
and which motivates me.
340. Thus, the entirety of the
universe is finite, defined by and contained within my senses. True infinity lies
only on the outside—my mind, my soul, my imagination.
Editor’s Note: What Wesley
continues to dance around, but never openly declares, is that tetrahedronal
geometry actually assumes four finite points of origin “out there somewhere”
against which all points are defined. He searches for an absolute that lies
outside the observable from which the distance to all points can be measured.
In Wesley’s world, it is assumed that this absolute (even four absolutes) is
defined as God.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
CCCXXX
321. Choosing a favorite does not devalue the other options.
322. Thus, one may love many differently and choose one to
be surrounded by, yet take none of the value, joy, or quality away from any of
the others.
323. Is there then a difference between love and commitment?
Yes, for one describes the emotion subconsciously extended past all barriers.
The other describes the choice of which love to surround oneself with. One may
be committed to that which one does not love.
324. Since at rest all things are infinite (262) we approach
a state of all-knowingness when we sleep. Thus, our dreams may prove prophetic
or give us insight into past and future events.
325. Sleep is our most creative state. If we can achieve the
plateau of rest normally achieved in sleep while we wake, our creativity is
unblocked and ideas flow unhindered. This is meditation.
326. It is also possible that we may catch glimpses of past
or future lifetimes when we encounter people or situation in our current
time/space continuum who are or will be sharers of another time/space
continuum.
327. Doubt is the birthing stall of fanaticism.
328. The residue of activity of primitive deities may still
crop up in the most modern settings. Some seeds take millennia in the soil to
germinate. Thus we may find ourselves surprised to discover a temple to the
most ancient deity disguised as the most contemporary of scientific
institutions.
329. If there are no negative (255) all numeric/geometric
functions must have a finite origin.
330. Thus, all things (our geometrically defined universe
being a numerical system) have a finite past, even if they have an infinite
future.
Editor’s note: Wesley is all over the map in this set,
including items that we must deem as relational, creative, and geometric. Into
this, he tosses a gem on fanaticism. In Wesley’s book, it is not the true
believer who becomes a fanatic, but rather the one who is plagued by doubt.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
CCCXX
11. One might state instead that this creature who writes
words upon paper is the Perfect Embodiment of the Ideal of John Wesley Allen.
He exists on no other or independent plain.
12. The generic “tree,” which stands before you is, as well,
the Perfect Embodiment of the Ideal of which you have not learned the name. Not
for Elm, Oak, or Maple, for they are still only generics.
13. The ability to call a thing by its Ideal name is a link
to the control of that thing.
14. Innocence is the greatest power.
15. We are creatures of choice and choose our own lives. We
create our own embodiment. It is unlikely that such creatures would ever choose
lives which they are incapable of living.
16. “Knowing better” is seldom a preventative, never a cure.
17. Changing your mind is not a flaw. In all likelihood, the
“mistake” you made yesterday is the foundation of your enlightenment today.
18. If what has gone before is true and 1) all things occupy
the same space at the same time (8); 2) it is possible to be in two places at
the same time (48); 3) we are simultaneously at all times (113); 4) at rest all
things are infinite (262), then . . . ?
19. Is red better than blue? Is yellow less moral than
green? Is one love ever inferior or superior to another?
20. Even if one chose to surround oneself with blue, dress
in blue, decorate in blue, one would scarcely wish the grass blue, the sun
blue, the roses blue, etc. (“Who painted my roses red?” demanded the Queen.)
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