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From: Jeffrey W. Travis <Jeff.Travis@gsfc.nasa.gov>
To: moq_discuss@moq.org
Subject: Re: MD Mysticism and levels
Date: Thursday, May 06, 1999 7:57 AM
Hi, Ken --
Been meaning to tell you about this for a while; your recent post
was enough of a nudge to get me to do it.
I recall at one point you referred to Dynamic Quality coming into
existence at the time of the Big Bang. But why stop/start there?
I'd like to recommend to you a book by John Gribbin, titled "In the
Beginning (Birth of the Living Universe)". The basic premise is
an extension of the Lovelock/Margulis "Gaia Hypothesis"; i.e., that
the universe as a whole is a living entity, which was born in the
Big Bang and may someday die in the Big Crunch (although recent
findings are calling that into question, I believe).
Further, that the universe we can observe may be just one of any
number of coexistent universes (in "superspace"), that these compete
with one another, reproduce, and evolve, just as any other living
organism does.
Sounds pretty out-there, I admit; and obviously there's no direct
evidence to support the conclusion. But I found it fascinating,
nonetheless -- a very creative interpretation of cosmology as
it is currently understood by science.
Cheers,
Jeff Travis
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Jeff and squad,
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have read the books that you mention. I
read everything along these lines that comes my way. I have always been
fascinated by the Universe and our place in it. Did you catch the news bit
a while back to the effect that another solar system has been discovered
that has planets in it? Wonder how many billions of other systems similar
to ours is out there. Too bad the speed of light is so slow as to prevent
communication.
While I have your ear, I have the feeling that the most of the squad's
interpretation of Dynamic Quality is not what Pirsig intended. I can't find
the quote from Lila right now but my understanding of what Pirsig meant by
Dynamic Quality is the interplay of all of the input from the total
experience of the universe (including us and all other forms of life)
acting subliminally below our level of awareness to produce our static
understanding of our immediate place in the scheme of things.
I have seen several times people using the examples of Dynamic Quality
that Pirsig gives in Lila, for instance listening to the music fade from
Dynamic Quality to static quality, as instances of the operation of Dynamic
Quality. This is true in hindsisght but most of us seem not to realize that
our whole realization and discussion of incidents similar to this is purely
dependent on static quality. We are not aware of the DQ aspect until after
the situation has been organized into static quality.
I am still persuaded (wish I could find that quote) that Dynamic Quality
is still the same DQ that was brought into existence at the beginning and
that we can not be aware of the operation of DQ except statically. In view
of Pirsigs "Many Truths" idea nothing else makes sense to me. To my mind DQ
can only affect us, and the universe through sq and it makes no sense to
speak of DQ and sq except in this sense. We can never be aware of DQ until
its results have been presented to us through sq. Ken
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