The Way of Being (little book)

Copyright © Anil Mitra, 1986-2023

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The Way of Being—contents and summaries

Plan

To work on now

Projects

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Informal summary

Prologue

The little book focuses on realization and the background knowledge essential to it. The technical material it has is essential to full realization. On the other hand much metaphysics is not included. For example, there is no treatment of space-time-matter, detail is sparse, and, while care has been taken to be precise, rigor is ‘under the hood’ rather than up front.

The main sections have formal and informal essences and informal summaries. While they both provide a snapshot of the way, the informal essences are designed for accessibility.

Formal essence

The aim of the way of being is to discover and realize the ultimate in and from the immediate world. We find received worldviews useful but limited. We will find the universe and its beings to be limitless and this implies that our cosmos with its laws is one amongst limitlessly many against a background of void (nothingness). We have real but not absolute limits, and the way develops paths to transcend the limits and realize the ultimate.

Informal essence

The aim of the way of being is to know and realize the greatest possibility.

To estimate the greatest possibility, ask What is the greatest conceivable possibility? It is that the universe is limitless—i.e., that any non-contradictory conception is realized.

We will find (a) that the universe is indeed limitless (b) that our real being is limitless (the contrary would be a limit on the universe) (c) in the ultimate we merge as the peak being of the universe.

But is this not impossible? On account of the non-contradiction condition, it is not.

And what of our obvious limits—is the claim of limitlessness absurd? It is not, for we will show that (i) our experienced limits are real but not absolute (ii) we do not overcome the limits in this world but (iii) from limitlessness, the universe is limitlessly many worlds and beings of limitless variety that are interconnected but temporarily isolated (iv) it is across the entire universe in its times and spaces that we achieve peak being (note—it is not contradictory that our separate beings realize peak being if we merge in the realization).

The way of being is not a faith system, new or traditional, for it is founded in reason. It is therefore not a way or pathway to be merely followed. It requires participation. From limitlessness pleasure, pain, and suffering are given and cannot be avoided—there is no ultimate state of pleasure or of suffering. The way develops an approach to negotiating these issues.

Abstraction and system

Formal essence

We begin with an abstract framework for the way. To abstract is to retain in our concepts only those aspects that are precise (thus such abstraction is not remote but real where the concrete is only an approximation). Further, since concepts themselves are real, concepts include concepts of concepts—and thus of knowledge and its method. Therefore, abstraction may yield perfection with regard to knowledge as well as method (which includes reason and logic). This possibility of perfection is shown to be realizable and realized. Thus, with metaphysics conceived as (true) knowledge of the real, the abstract or ideal framework developed below is (perfect) metaphysics.

Later, in ‘the real metaphysics’, the real framework is filled in with pragmatic knowledge and the entire system is shown perfect in a sense that is consistent with the aim of the way. This, too, will be metaphysics.

It will have been shown that metaphysics as a join of perfect and pragmatic knowledge of the universe is possible and realized (the pragmatic side will not be complete but ever in process for limited beings).

Informal essence

How is limitlessness of the universe shown and how is the way developed? Two ingredients are ‘abstraction’ and ‘system’.

Abstraction begins with a ‘concrete’ idea—a concept with an object, removes what is distortable, which results in a perfect ‘abstract’ (idea), which is immediate, not remote, and simpler, even more concrete, than the original idea. What is more, concepts and arriving at concepts (inference), are in the world, too, and are (found) capable of abstraction. The abstract is perfect but is it a significant or complete concept of the world (universe)? A system of ideas, itself an idea, is found, that is a complete abstract of the universe. It is complete in framing the universe but not all its detail. The framework includes that of the limitless universe above.

Then, the framework is filled in with concrete knowledge of the world. Though the concrete is limited in terms of its own criteria, it is always the best we have in the moment and, since the framework guarantees perfection, the join of the concrete and the abstract is perfect relative to the aim of the way. This is perfection while we are limited beings. It becomes perfectly perfect in realization of peak being.

Do paths to the ultimate neglect our world? No—for the path to the ultimate is in and from the immediate and good pathways attend to the quality of the immediate, i.e., of this world, this life.

Being and beings

Formal essence

The essence is in the later section, ‘being and beings, an effective conception’.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

The possible

Formal essence

Possibility and necessity are fundamental to the framework for the way. Something—an event, a state of affairs, and so on—is possible if its obtaining is ruled out by neither by its intrinsic nature nor the nature of the world. The intrinsic is conceptual or logical possibility and the nature of the world defines real possibility. Physical possibility in our cosmos is an example of real possibility. The conceptual is the greatest possibility, which cannot be exceeded by real possibility. If the universe is limitless, as is shown later, then real and logical possibilities are identical in what is allowed—i.e., for the universe the real and the possible are identical.

Informal essence

It will be shown that the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility. But what is possibility and what is the meaning of the ‘greatest’ possibility?

Given concept of, e.g., of an object or state of affairs, it is possible if nothing rules out its existence. In some cases, possibility is ruled out by the concept itself—e.g., the concept of a square circle. Conceptual possibility obtains when the concept itself does not rule out existence. Conceptual possibility cannot be exceeded.

World or cosmological possibility obtains for a given world or cosmos obtains if the nature of the world or cosmos does not rule out existence. Real possibility obtains if existence is not ruled out by the nature of the universe. Cosmological possibility is a case of real possibility.

Real possibility requires conceptual possibility. Therefore, conceptual possibility is the greatest or most permissive possibility. And the following are the same (i) the universe is limitless (ii) the universe is the realization of conceptual—the greatest—possibility.

We are experiential beings

Experience—the concept and its significance

Dimensions of psyche

Formal essence

With experience understood as awareness in all its forms, we are experiential beings. Experience is relational. Experience is in effect the place of our being and sense of having significance (or significant meaning). It is also the place of concept and linguistic meaning and of knowledge.

The apparent difficulty of explaining that there is experience in material terms suggests but does not prove that the universe is experiential. But what could that mean? It is often taken, at least tacitly, to mean that the elements of the universe, as we conceive them, are conscious in the way that animals and other ‘higher beings’ are, and if it meant that, experientiality of the universe—panpsychism—would be absurd. However, it does not mean that. It would mean that the elements have elementary properties, which, when they combine to form higher beings, constitute the consciousness of the higher beings. And under this meaning, experientiality of the universe is not absurd.

But, since it is not yet proved, we must still ask—Is the universe experiential? Two cases in which it is are (i) in a cosmos that has a single kind of fixed element or ‘substance’ that constitutes it (our cosmos is or at least seems approximately so) (ii) if the universe is limitless (for in this case everything must have experientiality and even where its value is zero, it is not null), and we will find the universe to be limitless, and therefore also experiential.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Being and beings, an effective conception

Being and beings

What has being?

Formal essence

Something exists if it is the real refence of an idea or concept. Thus, Sherlock Holmes does (did) not exist because the reference is ‘as if’. On the other hand, we hold the moon to exist because the reference is not as if (and because we hold it not to be mistaken).

A being is an existent (plurals—beings, existents) and being is existence.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

The universe and the void

Formal essence

The universe is all being; the void is the absence of being; a law is a pattern for a being (typically a cosmos); the universe, the void, and laws are beings; the universe contains all beings including itself (all beings are parts of the universe); the void contains no beings; there are no laws in the void.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Limitlessness of the universe and its beings

Formal essence

Since the void has no laws, all possible beings emerge from the void. That is, the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility—i.e., it is limitless (not merely infinite). This demonstrated (proven) assertion is named ‘the fundamental principle of metaphysics’ or just the fundamental principle (since possibility is logical in a sense generalized from inference to include establishment of fact, it must be self-consistent and consistent with the nature and facts of the universe).

That is, the universe is far greater than seen in our empirical models (the big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory)—(i) if matter is as understood in those models, the universe is more than matter (from the fact of experiential beings, it is shown in the detailed narrative, that the universe is experiential) (ii) the universe has identity (iii) the universe and its identity are limitless in extension, duration, variety, peak, and dissolution (iv) the universe has limitlessly many varieties of ‘physical law’, each with limitlessly many cosmoses (v) limited beings, e.g., human beings, realize peak being and dissolution (vi) the realization begins in this life and, where there is no immediate connection, it takes place across the universe.

As seen, all beings inherit this limitlessness (for the contrary would be a limit on the universe). It is also implied that our cosmos with its laws is one amongst limitlessly many against a background of the void. Further, many limits we experience as real, are real but not absolute. ‘Pathways to the ultimate’ develops and presents paths to transcend the limits and realize the ultimate. From limitlessness, there must be pleasure, pain, appreciation of being in the world, and dissatisfaction, striving and failure; all this is labeled ‘enjoyment of process’, which, if we value it, provides an imperative to be on a path. A ‘proper’ path will experience enjoyment without its excessive cultivation, and will not compulsively avoid pain, whose best resolution is in being on a path which includes therapy and is itself therapeutic.

Informal essence

Imagine nothingness. Think of the laws of nature—they always apply to ‘something’. That is—no laws apply to or in nothingness. In other words, there are no constraints on nothingness. That implies that all possibilities come from nothingness. It follows that the universe is limitless.

That is, the universe is far greater than seen in our empirical models (the big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory)—(i) if matter is as understood in those models, the universe is more than matter (from the fact of experiential beings, it is shown in the detailed narrative, that the universe is experiential) (ii) the universe has identity (iii) the universe and its identity are limitless in extension, duration, variety, peak, and dissolution (iv) the universe has limitlessly many varieties of ‘physical law’, each with limitlessly many cosmoses (v) limited beings, e.g., human beings, realize peak being and dissolution (vi) the realization begins in this life and, where there is no immediate connection, it takes place across the universe.

All beings inherit this limitlessness. Therefore, there are paths to the ultimate. But limitlessness implies that there must be pain and pleasure. Pleasure is essential and the path is most effective when it emphasizes pleasure-at-being-on-the-way. Pain and suffering and cannot be avoided—and some severe suffering seems pointless, e.g., the pain of a sick infant, the pain of terminal cancer or war, or the deprivation of poverty. The best address of pain is to attend to it therapeutically as part of sharing the way or path. With ‘enjoyment’ as appreciation of all experience, we ought to seek enjoyment-on-the-way. This is a fundamental value or ‘imperative’.

The real metaphysics

Formal essence

The ideal framework developed so far shows the ultimate but not how to achieve it. To that end, we may employ the best in our traditions as pragmatic. Even though the pragmatic is not perfect by its own criteria, as the best we have so far, its join (understood to be in process) with the ideal has perfection relative to the aim of the way. This join is named ‘the real metaphysics’ or just the metaphysics.

The ideal side is perfect. Though the pragmatic can be in error, error can be corrected, and, in any case, the fundamental principle provides that the ultimate will be realized (and what we do is perfect, if it attempts to be the best or, at least, good enough). The metaphysics is perfect and consistent (internally and externally) in an in-process sense.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Doubt

Formal essence

Even though the metaphysics has been demonstrated true and consistent, doubt will and ought to arise on account of the nature of the proof as seeming trans-empirical (it is not, for the foundational and essential assertions such as that the universe is a being is empirical and necessarily true), and on account of the magnitude of the consequences of the metaphysics.

One may and should doubt the demonstration. In that case, given consistency, other proper and foundational attitudes to the fundamental principle may be held (i) as a fundamental postulate &or (ii) as an existential principle of action.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Metaphysics and method

Formal essence

On the abstract side, since knowledge is in the world, metaphysics includes knowledge of knowledge and method. Though knowledge and method are generally pragmatic (here in the sense of having no absolute foundation), the elementary knowledge and reason regarding the abstract are perfect. That is, on the abstract side, method is part of the ideal metaphysics and is perfect.

On the pragmatic side, metaphysics and method are perfect in the senses stated earlier.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Dimensions of experience

The details of this section remain to be written.

Dimensions of being

The pure dimension

Pragmatic dimensions

Formal essence

Dimensions of being are ways or modes (of description) of the real that are intrinsic to and instrumental in realization in this world and beyond. For the essence, let us merely state the dimensions.

The pure dimension or character of ultimate process may be described as experiential being in form and formation as the world on the way to the ultimate (superposed on a background of limitless process, which includes randomness, transience, and null experientiality).

The pragmatic may be chosen from cultural tradition. Here, we choose ideas from western materialist thought (which, however, have interpretation in other systems, western and eastern). The chosen local and pragmatic dimensions are the natural, the social, and the universal.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Paradigms of form and formation

On paradigms

Sources of paradigms

The paradigms

Formal essence

A paradigm is a system of explanation and understanding, particularly for form and formation of beings, especially cosmoses. A paradigm is certain, if it employs certain premises to infer certain conclusions (if it is not certain, it may be likely or probable). An ultimate paradigm is one that requires no assumption, and absolute if it is ultimate and certain (derivation of the ideal metaphysics is an example of the absolute).

Paradigms of necessity or certainty include necessary metaphysics as logic; the conclusion to existence of the void and the fundamental principle exemplifies absoluteness.

Paradigms of likelihood include mechanism and cumulative incremental change by variation and selection, which are paradigms from science. While they have immense application within our cosmos, they otherwise go toward explaining likely means of formation and population of near symmetric forms. Emergence is related to variation and selection; so far as our cosmos—any cosmos—is a substance cosmos, it explains and is a way of emergence of complexity but not of kind; in the limitlessness of the universe, it can also be a way of emergence of kinds. There may be—and are—higher experiential beings. However, since experience is relational, and relation of relation is relation, there are no higher kinds than experience.

Paradigms of thought are derived from the ideas of creativity and criticism are both paradigms of being (thought is in the world) and how to arrive at paradigms of being.

Informal essence

From the real metaphysics all possibilities obtain. The metaphysics is a paradigm of necessity (necessary occurrence).

But what kinds of world and beings are stable or not merely transient and what is the population of such cosmoses and their sub-kinds in the universe? Such paradigms are paradigms of form and formation. To answer the question, we appeal to what has been learned from experience, especially science. Physics suggests the paradigm of mechanism—of form and formation or structure and change within our cosmos (which may be deterministic or probabilistic). Evolutionary biology suggests a paradigm of variation and selection, which may be applied to form and formation of cosmoses. It also suggests why formed cosmoses effectively dominate the population of the universe (especially, given that knowledge of a cosmos requires experiential beings). The application is not by analogy, but its application is required by the metaphysics. Therefore, that the paradigm applies in a given case or that it determines populations in a given region is at most likely.

Paradigms of thought are models of thought that lead to valid conclusions (they are also paradigms of form and formation since thoughts are real in themselves over and above there ability to capture the real). Valid thought requires (i) imagination or concept formation, without which there is no thought at all (even repeating thoughts requires formation, guided by recall) and (iii) criticism to ensure that the thought is valid (in scientific criticism an essential element is eliminating incorrect thought, while, in ideal metaphysics, as we have seen here, thought is correct by construction). Two kinds of paradigm of thought are, therefore, paradigms of construction or creativity and paradigms of criticism (which interact in application to knowledge of the world and of thought itself).

The Way of Being

Its aim

On the way of being

Formal essence

The Way of Being is not a prescription. To be on the way is to be engaged at least in negotiating a shared path, based in the real metaphysics. However, to be fully engaged, is to be also engaged in developing pathways, and understanding and, where needed, to correcting and further developing the real metaphysics (there is a vast amount of formal work that may be done, e.g., in developing logics, sciences, technology, e.g., of exploration of the universe and of artificial being, and in exploration of experiential worlds via yoga and its practice of immersion in the world in all its significant aspects).

Further essence is in the earlier section, ‘limitlessness of the universe and its beings’ > ‘formal essence’ of the section.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Ways of being

Primal

Traditional

Secular

Modern transsecular

Formal essence

The Way of Being is not a prescription. However, some ‘followers’ may wish to supplement their worldviews, paradigms, and practices from tradition through the current time. This section summarizes some pertinent information about traditional systems.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Pathways to the ultimate

Sources

Foci of action

Everyday activity and template

Universal action and template

Formal essence

The generic character of the programs encourages more than just following—it encourages negotiation and development of ways and pathways and, so, full engagement in realization.

The everyday normal daily routine consists of intrinsic and instrumental activities, each with sufficient attention to material needs, to quality of life in the immediate, and progress toward the ultimate. An away routine emphasizes travel, immersion, exploration, discovery, and learning.

A universal program focuses on (a) being-in-the-world (the everyday routine) (b) dimensions of being (nature, society, and the universal) approached immersively and instrumentally (c) being in the universal (d) projects in these areas of focus that are concrete and goal oriented.

Comprehensive and detailed programs may be developed from ‘templates, dedication, and pathways (see the resources)’.

Informal essence

The following repeats the everyday routine and summarizes the universal.

A normal home daily routine may be constructed: rise, review the day and the way, dedication, breakfast (meals are an occasion for community) develop the way yoga (yoga in action continues into life; yoga is not just a discipline or practice) work (immediate or ultimate focus) tasks and lunch exercise and exploration of nature evening—review, preparation for the next day, shower, supper, options to continue development, network (including relationships), relax (with entertainment) sleep.

An away routine can be constructed. It would be similar to the home routine, but would deemphasize ‘maintaining’ while emphasizing immersion, exploration, discovery, and learning.

The normal and away routines are intended as flexible and may be written in greater detail and in table form (for details see the sources above in pathways to the ultimate, above, and the resources below).

Being in the world—yoga practice and action, retreat and renewal, community; and development and execution of the way.

Becoming—the pragmatic dimensions for our world—nature (a source—‘beyul’, portal, and inspiration), civilization (the dimensions of social activity above economics, politics, ideas and culture, art, religious-spiritual sources, immersion in and attention to challenges and opportunities of our world). Civilizing the universe (via yoga, science, and technology of exploration and simulated being or artificial intelligence).

Pure being and the universal. Realizing peak being in the present—appears to be rarely achieved in this life which is a beginning that is continued beyond death. The immediate means are the items immediately above, the everyday template, and retreat; wide-ranging means are the metaphysics, and the way and their development, which are open.

Projects—the following are a sample of significant projects for the way—(1) being in the world, (2) the way of being, (3) yoga—development, practice to action, for the world and beyond, (4) politics and economics—instrumental and immersive, pragmatic focus and focus on ‘world challenges and opportunities’ and ‘world problems and opportunities’ (see ‘resources’), with considerations on ethics—the right, the good, and the virtuous—and its nature, (5) ideas, culture, and art (emphasis to be defined), (6) civilizing the universe, and (7) ways of realizing peak being in the present and beyond.

Retreat

Formal essence

Worldviews may be held intellectually, but to be effective they should inform the depth of one’s being—should be ingrained in one’s characteristic way of thinking and acting (to say this is not to deny the importance of explicit imagination and criticism). This is sustained by reflection, practice, and community. Reflection is an aspect of meditation and practice a part of yoga. But world communities are almost exclusively anchored in received secular or transsecular views.

Retreat is an occasion to reinforce the way via isolation from world community, perhaps also in communication with reinforcing community and nature as inspiration to and source for the real.

Informal essence

The purpose of retreat is to renew attitude to the world and path, and to reinforce the truth of the way where it goes beyond what is valid in ‘ordinary truth’.

Epilogue

Formal essence

Though reflection is not withdrawal, it is now time for me to be in the world acting and informed by the way and its development.

Though I shall not cease to reflect and write, I will do so in parallel with a main focus—immersion in the dimensions of being and action toward realization. Of particular interest to me, over and above, the main foci of the way, is group and community action, and local and global economics, politics, and ethics.

Others—you the readers—are invited to share the process with me (amitra@horizons-2000.org).

I see all thought, writing, especially philosophical and transsecular, and significant human action—secular and transsecular—as a continuous thread. I see the history of text and writing as a web, with bold and fine threads of process. Every generation, I think, ought to summarize what has gone before, and build upon it to their ultimate vision. This process, which I call universal text, is essential to avoid the human enterprise, especially knowledge, to become so fragmented from detail and other reasons, as to be impossible to negotiate.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Resources

Formal essence

The resources provide a point of entry to the way and its development.

When the occasion and opportunity arise, the system will be expanded upon in future versions of the way.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

A catalog of beings

Formal essence

The brief catalog is foundation for a detailed system and resource in negotiating the rungs of being.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

A metaphysical vocabulary

Introduction

A first system

A preliminary essential system

Formal essence

The vocabulary is a reference to the narrative, a resource for the way, and a source for a later collection of essays that, in whole, would constitute the way of being—an alternative to writing a single systematic essay.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

The Way of Being

“The way”

Plan

To work on now

Informal = templates.

Review essential and informal outline.

Main and secondary statements.

Fair.

Hyperlinks.

Cross out.

Web and print versions.

Projects

Write dimensions of experience.

Thick = future project along with isolated essays.

This document, now

The above.

Improve then send to projects—Concepts, the essentials, reorderings (a project in the little book)—bases of simple outlines.

Improve then send to projects—List of short accounts (essays), e.g., about concepts, which are elements in the way.

Shortcuts

Comment—Alt + C

Comment 2—Alt + 0 (i.e., Alt + Zero)

Formal—Shift + Alt + 0 or Alt + )

Informal—Alt + [

Heading 1 Alt—Alt + ]

Informal summary

Prologue

The aim of the way of being is to know and realize the greatest possibility.

To estimate the greatest possibility, ask What is the greatest conceivable possibility? It is that the universe is limitless—i.e., that any non-contradictory conception is realized.

We will find (a) that the universe is indeed limitless (b) that our real being is limitless (the contrary would be a limit on the universe) (c) in the ultimate we merge as the peak being of the universe.

But is this not impossible? On account of the non-contradiction condition, it is not.

And what of our obvious limits—is the claim of limitlessness absurd? It is not, for we will show that (i) our experienced limits are real but not absolute (ii) we do not overcome the limits in this world but (iii) from limitlessness, the universe is limitlessly many worlds and beings of limitless variety that are interconnected but temporarily isolated (iv) it is across the entire universe in its times and spaces that we achieve peak being (note—it is not contradictory that our separate beings realize peak being if we merge in the realization).

The way of being is not a faith system, new or traditional, for it is founded in reason. It is therefore not a way or pathway to be merely followed. It requires participation. From limitlessness pleasure, pain, and suffering are given and cannot be avoided—there is no ultimate state of pleasure or of suffering. The way develops an approach to negotiating these issues.

Abstraction and system

How is limitlessness of the universe shown and how is the way developed? Two ingredients are ‘abstraction’ and ‘system’.

Abstraction begins with a ‘concrete’ idea—a concept with an object, removes what is distortable, which results in a perfect ‘abstract’ (idea), which is immediate, not remote, and simpler, even more concrete, than the original idea. What is more, concepts and arriving at concepts (inference), are in the world, too, and are (found) capable of abstraction. The abstract is perfect but is it a significant or complete concept of the world (universe)? A system of ideas, itself an idea, is found, that is a complete abstract of the universe. It is complete in framing the universe but not all its detail. The framework includes that of the limitless universe above.

Then, the framework is filled in with concrete knowledge of the world. Though the concrete is limited in terms of its own criteria, it is always the best we have in the moment and, since the framework guarantees perfection, the join of the concrete and the abstract is perfect relative to the aim of the way. This is perfection while we are limited beings. It becomes perfectly perfect in realization of peak being.

Do paths to the ultimate neglect our world? No—for the path to the ultimate is in and from the immediate and good pathways attend to the quality of the immediate, i.e., of this world, this life.

Being and beings

See the formal essence.

The possible

It will be shown that the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility. But what is possibility and what is the meaning of the ‘greatest’ possibility?

Given concept of, e.g., of an object or state of affairs, it is possible if nothing rules out its existence. In some cases, possibility is ruled out by the concept itself—e.g., the concept of a square circle. Conceptual possibility obtains when the concept itself does not rule out existence. Conceptual possibility cannot be exceeded.

World or cosmological possibility obtains for a given world or cosmos obtains if the nature of the world or cosmos does not rule out existence. Real possibility obtains if existence is not ruled out by the nature of the universe. Cosmological possibility is a case of real possibility.

Real possibility requires conceptual possibility. Therefore, conceptual possibility is the greatest or most permissive possibility. And the following are the same (i) the universe is limitless (ii) the universe is the realization of conceptual—the greatest—possibility.

We are experiential beings

See the formal essence.

Being and beings, an effective conception

See the formal essence.

The universe and the void

See the formal essence.

Limitlessness of the universe and its beings

That is, the universe is far greater than seen in our empirical models (the big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory)—(i) if matter is as understood in those models, the universe is more than matter (from the fact of experiential beings, it is shown in the detailed narrative, that the universe is experiential) (ii) the universe has identity (iii) the universe and its identity are limitless in extension, duration, variety, peak, and dissolution (iv) the universe has limitlessly many varieties of ‘physical law’, each with limitlessly many cosmoses (v) limited beings, e.g., human beings, realize peak being and dissolution (vi) the realization begins in this life and, where there is no immediate connection, it takes place across the universe.

Imagine nothingness. Think of the laws of nature—they always apply to ‘something’. That is—no laws apply to or in nothingness. In other words, there are no constraints on nothingness. That implies that all possibilities come from nothingness. It follows that the universe is limitless.

That is, the universe is far greater than seen in our empirical models (the big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory)—(i) if matter is as understood in those models, the universe is more than matter (from the fact of experiential beings, it is shown in the detailed narrative, that the universe is experiential) (ii) the universe has identity (iii) the universe and its identity are limitless in extension, duration, variety, peak, and dissolution (iv) the universe has limitlessly many varieties of ‘physical law’, each with limitlessly many cosmoses (v) limited beings, e.g., human beings, realize peak being and dissolution (vi) the realization begins in this life and, where there is no immediate connection, it takes place across the universe.

All beings inherit this limitlessness. Therefore, there are paths to the ultimate. But limitlessness implies that there must be pain and pleasure. Pleasure is essential and the path is most effective when it emphasizes pleasure-at-being-on-the-way. Pain and suffering and cannot be avoided—and some severe suffering seems pointless, e.g., the pain of a sick infant, the pain of terminal cancer or war, or the deprivation of poverty. The best address of pain is to attend to it therapeutically as part of sharing the way or path. With ‘enjoyment’ as appreciation of all experience, we ought to seek enjoyment-on-the-way. This is a fundamental value or ‘imperative’.

The real metaphysics

See the formal essence.

Doubt

See the formal essence.

Metaphysics and method

See the formal essence.

Dimensions of experience

The details of this section remain to be written.

Dimensions of being

Dimensions of being are ways or modes (of description) of the real that are intrinsic to and instrumental in realization in this world and beyond. For the essence, let us merely state the dimensions.

The pure dimension or character of ultimate process may be described as experiential being in form and formation as the world on the way to the ultimate (superposed on a background of limitless process, which includes randomness, transience, and null experientiality).

The pragmatic may be chosen from cultural tradition. Here, we choose ideas from western materialist thought (which, however, have interpretation in other systems, western and eastern). The chosen local and pragmatic dimensions are the natural, the social, and the universal.

Paradigms of form and formation

From the real metaphysics all possibilities obtain. The metaphysics is a paradigm of necessity (necessary occurrence).

But what kinds of world and beings are stable or not merely transient and what is the population of such cosmoses and their sub-kinds in the universe? Such paradigms are paradigms of form and formation. To answer the question, we appeal to what has been learned from experience, especially science. Physics suggests the paradigm of mechanism—of form and formation or structure and change within our cosmos (which may be deterministic or probabilistic). Evolutionary biology suggests a paradigm of variation and selection, which may be applied to form and formation of cosmoses. It also suggests why formed cosmoses effectively dominate the population of the universe (especially, given that knowledge of a cosmos requires experiential beings). The application is not by analogy, but its application is required by the metaphysics. Therefore, that the paradigm applies in a given case or that it determines populations in a given region is at most likely.

Paradigms of thought are models of thought that lead to valid conclusions (they are also paradigms of form and formation since thoughts are real in themselves over and above there ability to capture the real). Valid thought requires (i) imagination or concept formation, without which there is no thought at all (even repeating thoughts requires formation, guided by recall) and (iii) criticism to ensure that the thought is valid (in scientific criticism an essential element is eliminating incorrect thought, while, in ideal metaphysics, as we have seen here, thought is correct by construction). Two kinds of paradigm of thought are, therefore, paradigms of construction or creativity and paradigms of criticism (which interact in application to knowledge of the world and of thought itself).

The Way of Being

See the formal essence.

Ways of being

See the formal essence.

Pathways to the ultimate

The following repeats the everyday routine and summarizes the universal.

A normal home daily routine may be constructed: rise, review the day and the way, dedication, breakfast (meals are an occasion for community) develop the way yoga (yoga in action continues into life; yoga is not just a discipline or practice) work (immediate or ultimate focus) tasks and lunch exercise and exploration of nature evening—review, preparation for the next day, shower, supper, options to continue development, network (including relationships), relax (with entertainment) sleep.

An away routine can be constructed. It would be similar to the home routine, but would deemphasize ‘maintaining’ while emphasizing immersion, exploration, discovery, and learning.

The normal and away routines are intended as flexible and may be written in greater detail and in table form (for details see the sources above in pathways to the ultimate, above, and the resources below).

Being in the world—yoga practice and action, retreat and renewal, community; and development and execution of the way.

Becoming—the pragmatic dimensions for our world—nature (a source—‘beyul’, portal, and inspiration), civilization (the dimensions of social activity above economics, politics, ideas and culture, art, religious-spiritual sources, immersion in and attention to challenges and opportunities of our world). Civilizing the universe (via yoga, science, and technology of exploration and simulated being or artificial intelligence).

Pure being and the universal. Realizing peak being in the present—appears to be rarely achieved in this life which is a beginning that is continued beyond death. The immediate means are the items immediately above, the everyday template, and retreat; wide-ranging means are the metaphysics, and the way and their development, which are open.

Projects—the following are a sample of significant projects for the way—(1) being in the world, (2) the way of being, (3) yoga—development, practice to action, for the world and beyond, (4) politics and economics—instrumental and immersive, pragmatic focus and focus on ‘world challenges and opportunities’ and ‘world problems and opportunities’ (see ‘resources’), with considerations on ethics—the right, the good, and the virtuous—and its nature, (5) ideas, culture, and art (emphasis to be defined), (6) civilizing the universe, and (7) ways of realizing peak being in the present and beyond.

Retreat

The purpose of retreat is to renew attitude to the world and path, and to reinforce the truth of the way where it goes beyond what is valid in ‘ordinary truth’.

Epilogue

Though reflection is not withdrawal, it is now time for me to be in the world acting and informed by the way and its development.

Though I shall not cease to reflect and write, I will do so in parallel with a main focus—immersion in the dimensions of being and action toward realization. Of particular interest to me, over and above, the main foci of the way, is group and community action, and local and global economics, politics, and ethics.

Others—you the readers—are invited to share the process with me (amitra@horizons-2000.org).

I see all thought, writing, especially philosophical and transsecular, and significant human action—secular and transsecular—as a continuous thread. I see the history of text and writing as a web, with bold and fine threads of process. Every generation, I think, ought to summarize what has gone before, and build upon it to their ultimate vision. This process, which I call universal text, is essential to avoid the human enterprise, especially knowledge, to become so fragmented from detail and other reasons, as to be impossible to negotiate.

Resources

See the formal essence.

A catalog of beings

See the formal essence.

A metaphysical vocabulary

See the formal essence.

Prologue

What is the way of being?

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We—Human beings and other creatures with foresight—have purposes that are a mix on a continuum from acceptance and cultivation of self, culture, and civilization as it is found to thinking and building toward moving beyond—as far as possible to discovering and realizing ultimates. Our approach is experimental and in terms of views of the world. We have a sense of destiny in a meaning suggested above—of commitment and working toward our best possible future and yet being open to a lesser outcome.

If we to integrate the best contribution to common received secular and transsecular worldviews from science, religion, philosophy, metaphysics, imagination, and exploration, but go no further, it will—we will find—fall far short of the real, for we will find that the universe is limitless—that the real is far greater than seen or conceived in common received view(s) in ways imagined and unimagined and perhaps unimaginable to limited beings.

The limitlessness is not just of the universe but of all beings—limits of the world are real but not absolute, for they are overcome in the infinity of situatedness. And the overcoming is not just at things or remote, but at all being and beings including laws, and is immanent in all being.

To prepare to truly see this, one has to not only be open to what lies beyond, but also before what one has thought—to be willing to go back to ground—to criticize what one has received and even to deprogram before reprogramming oneself (or engage in shared de and reprogramming), for the received is not merely intellectual but also instilled below explicit awareness; and that is a difficult process. However, there is a further difficulty—to not reject what is true in the received, but to sustain the two (or more) levels of truth.

The AIM of the way of being is to discover and realize the ultimate in and from the immediate world.

End of copied segment

The little book focuses on realization and the background knowledge essential to it. The technical material it has is essential to full realization. On the other hand much metaphysics is not included. For example, there is no treatment of space-time-matter, detail is sparse, and, while care has been taken to be precise, rigor is ‘under the hood’ rather than up front.

The main sections have formal and informal essences and informal summaries. While they both provide a snapshot of the way, the informal essences are designed for accessibility.

Formal essence

The aim of the way of being is to discover and realize the ultimate in and from the immediate world. We find received worldviews useful but limited. We will find the universe and its beings to be limitless and this implies that our cosmos with its laws is one amongst limitlessly many against a background of void (nothingness). We have real but not absolute limits, and the way develops paths to transcend the limits and realize the ultimate.

Informal essence

The aim of the way of being is to know and realize the greatest possibility.

To estimate the greatest possibility, ask What is the greatest conceivable possibility? It is that the universe is limitless—i.e., that any non-contradictory conception is realized.

We will find (a) that the universe is indeed limitless (b) that our real being is limitless (the contrary would be a limit on the universe) (c) in the ultimate we merge as the peak being of the universe.

But is this not impossible? On account of the non-contradiction condition, it is not.

And what of our obvious limits—is the claim of limitlessness absurd? It is not, for we will show that (i) our experienced limits are real but not absolute (ii) we do not overcome the limits in this world but (iii) from limitlessness, the universe is limitlessly many worlds and beings of limitless variety that are interconnected but temporarily isolated (iv) it is across the entire universe in its times and spaces that we achieve peak being (note—it is not contradictory that our separate beings realize peak being if we merge in the realization).

The way of being is not a faith system, new or traditional, for it is founded in reason. It is therefore not a way or pathway to be merely followed. It requires participation. From limitlessness pleasure, pain, and suffering are given and cannot be avoided—there is no ultimate state of pleasure or of suffering. The way develops an approach to negotiating these issues.

Abstraction and system

Begin with ideas that are ideal or abstract in having distortable elements abstracted out. This conception of abstraction is not that of remoteness or difficulty but is immediate, simple, and ‘more real’ than the merely concrete (note that even concrete concepts have degrees of abstraction and that abstract concepts may also be introduced directly).

Abstraction is necessary but insufficient to capture the ultimate. To attempt to capture the ultimate, we formulate an articulated system (or systems) of terms (which, since terms are in the world, refer also to terms) and select for fit. We will find such a system—precise, necessary, and perhaps of unique net meaning—at a general (inclusive) and abstract level. We will fill out the system with concrete and pragmatic knowledge that will be neither precise nor complete, but will find that, as the best available to limited beings, the join of the abstract and the pragmatic is perfect, relative to discovery and realization of the ultimate in and from our world.

Formal essence

We begin with an abstract framework for the way. To abstract is to retain in our concepts only those aspects that are precise (thus such abstraction is not remote but real where the concrete is only an approximation). Further, since concepts themselves are real, concepts include concepts of concepts—and thus of knowledge and its method. Therefore, abstraction may yield perfection with regard to knowledge as well as method (which includes reason and logic). This possibility of perfection is shown to be realizable and realized. Thus, with metaphysics conceived as (true) knowledge of the real, the abstract or ideal framework developed below is (perfect) metaphysics.

Later, in ‘the real metaphysics’, the real framework is filled in with pragmatic knowledge and the entire system is shown perfect in a sense that is consistent with the aim of the way. This, too, will be metaphysics.

It will have been shown that metaphysics as a join of perfect and pragmatic knowledge of the universe is possible and realized (the pragmatic side will not be complete but ever in process for limited beings).

Informal essence

How is limitlessness of the universe shown and how is the way developed? Two ingredients are ‘abstraction’ and ‘system’.

Abstraction begins with a ‘concrete’ idea—a concept with an object, removes what is distortable, which results in a perfect ‘abstract’ (idea), which is immediate, not remote, and simpler, even more concrete, than the original idea. What is more, concepts and arriving at concepts (inference), are in the world, too, and are (found) capable of abstraction. The abstract is perfect but is it a significant or complete concept of the world (universe)? A system of ideas, itself an idea, is found, that is a complete abstract of the universe. It is complete in framing the universe but not all its detail. The framework includes that of the limitless universe above.

Then, the framework is filled in with concrete knowledge of the world. Though the concrete is limited in terms of its own criteria, it is always the best we have in the moment and, since the framework guarantees perfection, the join of the concrete and the abstract is perfect relative to the aim of the way. This is perfection while we are limited beings. It becomes perfectly perfect in realization of peak being.

Do paths to the ultimate neglect our world? No—for the path to the ultimate is in and from the immediate and good pathways attend to the quality of the immediate, i.e., of this world, this life.

Being and beings

A being (plural, beings) is that to which applies any form of the verb to be, not just standard or received but also realistically conceived and conceivable (note that the verb to be is exemplified by ‘is’, not in ‘it is good’ but as ‘it is’); and being is that which characterizes all beings and only beings. From the conception of being, it includes becoming.

An effective (‘operational’) conception of being and beings will be given later, in being and beings, an effective conception.

Formal essence

The essence is in the later section, ‘being and beings, an effective conception’.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

The possible

An object (defined later as a being or an as if being) is possible if there is nothing in its conception or the nature of the real that rules out existence, i.e., if it may be a being. There is more than one kind of possibility. A fundamental distinction is between merely conceptual vs real possibility. A being has conceptual possibility (logical possibility—that which does not violate logic in its deductive sense: if a premise is true, the inferred conclusion is also true) if its conception alone does not rule out its existence (a common conception of logic is, simply, valid or correct thinking and a special but important aspect of this conception is that of inference, especially deductive inference—however, the latter, in itself, can also be seen to determine possible structure, or, given premises, about actual structure, which conception, in analogy to differential equations with boundary conditions, may be expanded to include determination of necessary premises, and this expansion has also named ‘argument’). A being has real possibility if its existence is not ruled out by the nature of the universe (the universe is all being; a cosmos is a formed part of the universe; see the universe and the void for details). There are various kinds of real possibility—e.g., pragmatic, economic, political, and ethical. But interest here is in more basic kinds (the interest in these pragmatic cases, is more in feasibility than possibility). An object has physical possibility if it does not violate local physical law; cosmological possibility is physical possibility for a cosmos subject to specific conditions for the cosmos. Real (and therefore cosmological and physical) possibility must satisfy conceptual possibility. Therefore, conceptual (logical) possibility is the most permissive or ‘greatest’. While a cosmos may be less than its possibility, for the universe the possible and the actual (real) are identical. Though conceptual possibility may exceed real possibility, the excess cannot be true possibility. Therefore, we may question whether we ought to limit conceptual possibility to real possibility. That will not be found necessary, for real possibility will be found identical to conceptual possibility.

An object is necessary, if its nonexistence is not possible (i.e., impossible)

Formal essence

Possibility and necessity are fundamental to the framework for the way. Something—an event, a state of affairs, and so on—is possible if its obtaining is ruled out by neither by its intrinsic nature nor the nature of the world. The intrinsic is conceptual or logical possibility and the nature of the world defines real possibility. Physical possibility in our cosmos is an example of real possibility. The conceptual is the greatest possibility, which cannot be exceeded by real possibility. If the universe is limitless, as is shown later, then real and logical possibilities are identical in what is allowed—i.e., for the universe the real and the possible are identical.

Informal essence

It will be shown that the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility. But what is possibility and what is the meaning of the ‘greatest’ possibility?

Given concept of, e.g., of an object or state of affairs, it is possible if nothing rules out its existence. In some cases, possibility is ruled out by the concept itself—e.g., the concept of a square circle. Conceptual possibility obtains when the concept itself does not rule out existence. Conceptual possibility cannot be exceeded.

World or cosmological possibility obtains for a given world or cosmos obtains if the nature of the world or cosmos does not rule out existence. Real possibility obtains if existence is not ruled out by the nature of the universe. Cosmological possibility is a case of real possibility.

Real possibility requires conceptual possibility. Therefore, conceptual possibility is the greatest or most permissive possibility. And the following are the same (i) the universe is limitless (ii) the universe is the realization of conceptual—the greatest—possibility.

We are experiential beings

Experience—the concept and its significance

Experience is consciousness and awareness in all their forms. Experience is the ‘place of our being’ and (sense of) significance.

We are actively experiential beings capable of influencing our world and future. As experiential our being is ‘higher’ than that of some others, but it is not suggested that it is the highest. We may (and will) find that there are beings that are limitlessly higher than we are (i.e., than our limited perception of our form).

That we are experiential does not mean that we are merely ‘mind stuff’ or that we are immaterial; experience has a subject or mind-like side (‘experience of’) and an object or matter-like side (‘the experienced’) which constitute experience itself, which is, therefore, seen to be relational (subject and object will be further clarified later).

Experience is not inert but is in the form of having intended reference even in what is called pure experience; therefore, there are no exceptions to the relationality of experience.

‘Experience of’ is a concept (in the sense of experiential content of a subject) and ‘the experienced’ is a real object or being (when the experience of is only seeming, the as if experienced is an as if object—and an object is either a real object or an as if object (fictional objects, e.g., Sherlock Holmes, are as if); note that an as if object can be seen as a real object if the concept itself is regarded as the object (it is an object—and that it is, is the reason some philosophers talk of ‘mental objects’, which are here eschewed), which may be a useful extension of the concept real, but I have yet to determine usefulness).

Meaning is a concept and its possible objects. A sign is an object that, conventionally, may be associated with meaning, but, which, in itself, is not associated with meaning. In linguistic meaning, the concept is associated with a sign (concept and sign may be elementary or complex and the sign-concept is a symbol).

As signs, words and other language structures have no meaning—it is as symbols that they have meaning. However, there is no absolute association but by convention, use, definition, and is arrived at via experiment, reflection, error, correction, and, in the long-term, as a result of various forces of selection.

Though education and linguistic conservatism often leave us with a sense of meaning as absolute, reflection, e.g., on communication, shows that even everyday terms and meanings are flexible and have indeterminacy. This is especially true in attempting to push everyday experience and knowledge beyond their boundaries into science and metaphysics. Definition of its terms is therefore an essential part of the everyday and the metaphysical and cannot be known to be final until a system is arrived at and shown to perfectly capture the real.

Knowledge is meaning realized. Search for knowledge occurs in a dual space of concepts and objects.

There are two cases in which the world is fundamentally experiential in an elementary sense—(a) if the world reduces to a single substance (in this case the world must be experiential) and (b) if the world is limitless (in this case the world is effectively experiential, for even elements without experience would have zero rather than null experientiality). This does not imply or even suggest that the elements are conscious in the way of higher beings but that the consciousness of higher beings is constituted of the experiential aspect of the elements in combination (that is compartmentalized but interactive, layered, bright, and focal).

Dimensions of psyche

The previous section is a high-level view of experience. This is one place where it would be good to treat the details of experience as in, e.g., psychology. However, it is better to defer the treatment to dimensions of experience.

Formal essence

With experience understood as awareness in all its forms, we are experiential beings. Experience is relational. Experience is in effect the place of our being and sense of having significance (or significant meaning). It is also the place of concept and linguistic meaning and of knowledge.

The apparent difficulty of explaining that there is experience in material terms suggests but does not prove that the universe is experiential. But what could that mean? It is often taken, at least tacitly, to mean that the elements of the universe, as we conceive them, are conscious in the way that animals and other ‘higher beings’ are, and if it meant that, experientiality of the universe—panpsychism—would be absurd. However, it does not mean that. It would mean that the elements have elementary properties, which, when they combine to form higher beings, constitute the consciousness of the higher beings. And under this meaning, experientiality of the universe is not absurd.

But, since it is not yet proved, we must still ask—Is the universe experiential? Two cases in which it is are (i) in a cosmos that has a single kind of fixed element or ‘substance’ that constitutes it (our cosmos is or at least seems approximately so) (ii) if the universe is limitless (for in this case everything must have experientiality and even where its value is zero, it is not null), and we will find the universe to be limitless, and therefore also experiential.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Being and beings, an effective conception

Being and beings

Being is existence and beings are existents.

But what is ‘an existent’ and what is ‘existence’? Given a concept that has reference, what is referred to is an existent (a being) whose name is the same as that of the concept—and existence (being) is the property that marks existents as existents (beings as beings). Thus, an example of an existent (or being), given later, is ‘the universe’, whose concept is ‘all being’. Where precision is not available via abstraction, a tentative thought is to think of the name-referring concept-referred object as the existent (the being).

A distinction made in philosophical thought is between the concepts of ‘being’ and ‘object’. The latter is more inclusive—in addition to real beings, it includes as if beings, ideas that we talk about as if they are beings but are not. For example, the fictional character is a real conception, and an object, but not a being. The distinction has limited importance for our purpose, and we could use ‘being’ as identical to ‘object’.

An objection to ‘being’ as ‘existence’ is that “everything exists”; but with objects as conceived above, not all objects exist (and thus we do not need to appeal to response “so what?”, even though it would not be invalid to do so). The foregoing thought is one negation what is more or less the same objection—i.e., that existence is not a concept or a merely trivial concept. A second objection is that the conception is trivial and omits the richness of the world; we respond that it is trivial but not merely so and its generality with abstraction makes for depth, which, we will see, grounds the ‘richness of being’ securely.

What has being?

We now have a way of determining what has being—any actual object of a concept is a being (i.e., objects that are only as if are not beings). This way or method of identifying beings will be used to identify beings in what follows. The method is and will be found powerful as it confirms beinghood in obvious cases and determines beinghood when it would otherwise be in doubt.

Formal essence

Something exists if it is the real refence of an idea or concept. Thus, Sherlock Holmes does (did) not exist because the reference is ‘as if’. On the other hand, we hold the moon to exist because the reference is not as if (and because we hold it not to be mistaken).

A being is an existent (plurals—beings, existents) and being is existence.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

The universe and the void

The universe is all being. The universe is a being.

A cosmos part of the universe that is currently formed, has (near) uniformity of its elements (i.e., it is substance like) and which acts somewhat as an integral whole via causation. Our cosmos, as a physical cosmos, is the physical place of our world. There is nothing in the concept of ‘cosmos’ that suggests that our cosmos or any cosmos is near the universe in magnitude, variety, and duration.

A being has a pattern if the information to specify it is less than the raw information. Patterns may be the result of formedness that results from formation. A law of nature (or just law) is a pattern that is immanent in a being, typically a cosmos. Laws of nature are beings as they are patterns that are immanent in being.

The void is the absence of being and may be said to exist because its existence and nonexistence are equivalent. The void is a being but has no (manifest) sub-beings and so there are no laws in the void.

Formal essence

The universe is all being; the void is the absence of being; a law is a pattern for a being (typically a cosmos); the universe, the void, and laws are beings; the universe contains all beings including itself (all beings are parts of the universe); the void contains no beings; there are no laws in the void.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Limitlessness of the universe and its beings

Since the void has no laws, all possible beings emerge from the void (the contrary would be a law). Consequences of this powerful conclusion follow.

The universe is the realization of possibility—it is the greatest possible, it is limitless (i.e., if a concept is logical, it is realized and thus limitlessness is not merely ‘infinite’).

The demonstrated assertion above is named the fundamental principle of metaphysics (or, just, the fundamental principle).

The consequences for the extent, duration, variety, and peak of being, are immense—limitless, perhaps beyond (our) comprehension. Our (known) linguistic modes of expression and their forms (logic) may be infinitesimal compared to the limitless ultimate modes of expression and therefore also of the real (at a basic level, while our physics might imply that perception is discrete and perhaps finite, and while our language is discrete and perhaps finite, the cognition of beings higher than us may be infinite of limitless order—it may be the absolute infinite or limitless—it is the absolute infinite).

Some further consequences, which reveal an abstract or metaphysics are—

The universe—being—is experiential and relational; it has identity; it phases in and out of manifestation; it is limitless in extent, duration, variety, and peak of being (limitless being named peak being which is perhaps absolute being as state, relation, process, or some combination of such descriptors of situatedness).

A picture is this—there are limitlessly many cosmoses of limitless variety, and more, all in ultimate and transient-at-least-low-level transaction with one another, the void, and the whole. Every cosmos is an atom and every atom a cosmos; the universe has Mandelbrot set / fractal like aspects, even if invisible to us. Therefore, when it is said that we have multiple lives as part of overarching being, it is not implied that it occurs (or not) in our cosmos; rather, it occurs across the limitless universe.

There are beings that are ‘higher’ than human being, but peak being (God) is not higher in that we are part of it (i.e., its state-relation-process and so on). How may we visualize this? Imagine a scene at lake, the wind does not quite ruffle the water, it is teeming with living activity—the coming and going, the competition and cooperation of creatures and species; see yourself as part of it; think of it, not as life branching as in evolutionary accounts, but as living form arising from primality, as if inevitable; it is a phase in the process named peak being. You are part of that process.

Individuals inherit this limitlessness, they realize peak being (which is not inconsistent as they merge in doing so); apparent limits are real but not absolute; there are intelligent and effective pathways to the ultimate; pleasure and pain and suffering are real, neither to be compulsively sought nor compulsively avoided, and their ideal resolution is to address them while being on a path to the ultimate, as best we may; enjoyment is appreciation of all experience including pleasure, pain, emotion, and cognition; if enjoyment is a value, it follows that there is an imperative to be on and be creative of paths to the ultimate, intelligently rather than compulsively.

Why do we not see past and future lives? Perhaps we can but have not yet seen how to see, but even if we do not explicitly transcend our non-seeing in this life, it will be transcended in our higher lives, in which our vision transcends our particular being. We would then see our universal connectedness without effort in all lives of that level and higher, on up to peal being. It is important that, given that we can conceive of our connectedness in this life, it is worthwhile to make the attempt to see and realize the connection, rather than to be passive about it because “it will happen anyway”.

These conclusions constitute an abstract or ideal metaphysics, precise from abstraction on the conceptual side, a framework and foundation for the way of being.

Formal essence

Since the void has no laws, all possible beings emerge from the void. That is, the universe is the realization of the greatest possibility—i.e., it is limitless (not merely infinite). This demonstrated (proven) assertion is named ‘the fundamental principle of metaphysics’ or just the fundamental principle (since possibility is logical in a sense generalized from inference to include establishment of fact, it must be self-consistent and consistent with the nature and facts of the universe).

That is, the universe is far greater than seen in our empirical models (the big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory)—(i) if matter is as understood in those models, the universe is more than matter (from the fact of experiential beings, it is shown in the detailed narrative, that the universe is experiential) (ii) the universe has identity (iii) the universe and its identity are limitless in extension, duration, variety, peak, and dissolution (iv) the universe has limitlessly many varieties of ‘physical law’, each with limitlessly many cosmoses (v) limited beings, e.g., human beings, realize peak being and dissolution (vi) the realization begins in this life and, where there is no immediate connection, it takes place across the universe.

As seen, all beings inherit this limitlessness (for the contrary would be a limit on the universe). It is also implied that our cosmos with its laws is one amongst limitlessly many against a background of the void. Further, many limits we experience as real, are real but not absolute. ‘Pathways to the ultimate’ develops and presents paths to transcend the limits and realize the ultimate. From limitlessness, there must be pleasure, pain, appreciation of being in the world, and dissatisfaction, striving and failure; all this is labeled ‘enjoyment of process’, which, if we value it, provides an imperative to be on a path. A ‘proper’ path will experience enjoyment without its excessive cultivation, and will not compulsively avoid pain, whose best resolution is in being on a path which includes therapy and is itself therapeutic.

Informal essence

Imagine nothingness. Think of the laws of nature—they always apply to ‘something’. That is—no laws apply to or in nothingness. In other words, there are no constraints on nothingness. That implies that all possibilities come from nothingness. It follows that the universe is limitless.

That is, the universe is far greater than seen in our empirical models (the big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory)—(i) if matter is as understood in those models, the universe is more than matter (from the fact of experiential beings, it is shown in the detailed narrative, that the universe is experiential) (ii) the universe has identity (iii) the universe and its identity are limitless in extension, duration, variety, peak, and dissolution (iv) the universe has limitlessly many varieties of ‘physical law’, each with limitlessly many cosmoses (v) limited beings, e.g., human beings, realize peak being and dissolution (vi) the realization begins in this life and, where there is no immediate connection, it takes place across the universe.

All beings inherit this limitlessness. Therefore, there are paths to the ultimate. But limitlessness implies that there must be pain and pleasure. Pleasure is essential and the path is most effective when it emphasizes pleasure-at-being-on-the-way. Pain and suffering and cannot be avoided—and some severe suffering seems pointless, e.g., the pain of a sick infant, the pain of terminal cancer or war, or the deprivation of poverty. The best address of pain is to attend to it therapeutically as part of sharing the way or path. With ‘enjoyment’ as appreciation of all experience, we ought to seek enjoyment-on-the-way. This is a fundamental value or ‘imperative’.

The real metaphysics

Pathways will also have a universal side with local—pragmatic—and ultimate aspects. The ultimate aspects are given in the fundamental principle and its ideal metaphysics. For the local we appeal to tradition—cumulative human knowledge, reason, and exploration of the real to the very present. Though limited by its received criteria, it is the best we have in our limited in process form (if it is not the best possible it has aims in that direction), and since the ultimate is given, it is ideal or perfect toward the aim of discovery and realization of the ultimate. Therefore, we join the ideal metaphysics and tradition. The ideal illuminates and guides tradition and tradition illustrates and is instrumental toward the ideal. The join is a dynamic and perfect (in the sense noted above) whole and named the real metaphysics (or just the metaphysics).

That the metaphysics is perfect in the given sense changes but does not eliminate the significance of current and received metaphysics and related disciplines.

While the concept of logic employed earlier is that of ‘deductive logic’, two extensions are now indicated. First to the inclusion of fact. Since deduction is necessary inference, the consequences are limited only if the premises are true (facts). The extension to inclusion of—establishment of—fact has been named argument. Though some facts are limited by limits of (our) perception and instruments, some are necessary. For example—that there is the universe and all the ideal consequences above. The second extension is to science. The ‘logic of science’ has been said to be that of ‘induction’ in contrast to deduction. But that is based on an improper analogy—comparing inference under deductive logic to inference to scientific theories. The proper comparisons are inference to logical systems with inference to scientific theories (both incompletely certain) and inference under deduction to inference under science (both certain in core cases and far more certain in other typical cases). Given the structural similarity, science and deduction may be joined as ‘general logic’, which includes inference and establishment of fact (on the side of science, facts are typically imprecise, but given that science is not perfectly precise, this, though a limit, is not a problematic limit).

Two terms related to general logic are reason and rationality, which we will here understand as having to do with discovering and acting upon a good—perhaps best—path of action (reason will refer to the capacity and rationality to its use). An occasional objection to the rationality of rationality is that it depends on value. But that does not make rationality non-rational for value itself is subject to reflection and process and it is conceivable that there are some necessary values (which we find to be the case in talking of imperatives in limitlessness of the universe and its beings).

This is a good place to introduce the idea of yoga, which is seemingly conceptually and perhaps, since the terms are from different cultures, culturally distant from reason. When we consider a range of world cultures and their approaches to ‘careful thinking and acting’ we find a plethora of terms and explanations which seem to constitute an unsummable diversity. This is good for scholars to demonstrate their skill. However, it leaves the human world of thought and action unnecessarily complex and disunited. The yoga expert presents yoga as if it is a finished, fine honed system. It is fine honed—but unfinished. Yoga, the way of seeing and becoming the essence of universal being, is ever in process—has finish, but is yet experimentally, conceptually, and immanently (actively), ever in process.

Formal essence

The ideal framework developed so far shows the ultimate but not how to achieve it. To that end, we may employ the best in our traditions as pragmatic. Even though the pragmatic is not perfect by its own criteria, as the best we have so far, its join (understood to be in process) with the ideal has perfection relative to the aim of the way. This join is named ‘the real metaphysics’ or just the metaphysics.

The ideal side is perfect. Though the pragmatic can be in error, error can be corrected, and, in any case, the fundamental principle provides that the ultimate will be realized (and what we do is perfect, if it attempts to be the best or, at least, good enough). The metaphysics is perfect and consistent (internally and externally) in an in-process sense.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Doubt

Doubt will arise on many fronts. Only the main doubt will be mentioned. There is further treatment of doubt about the way in the older field manual and general doubt in doubt and reason (see resources).

The main doubt concerns the consistency and validity of the metaphysics. This is addressed in two parts—the ideal and the pragmatic sides. The pragmatic side is the region of tradition considered to have validity. Even if it has imprecision and unrecognized contradictions, these are not problematic for it is understood to be a rough complement to the precision of the ideal. We therefore address the ideal.

The ideal side concerns the fundamental principle. From its equivalence to logic, it is internally consistent. And while it may seem to be at odds with empirical knowledge, it is not. For where it may seem to contradict what we know of the empirical world, it does not. Rather, it says the apparently contradictory states—or laws—occur in other worlds or cosmoses within the universe. Thus, it is internally and externally consistent. That it is valid follows from its demonstration.

One may and should doubt the demonstration. In that case, given consistency, other proper and foundational attitudes to the fundamental principle may be held (i) as a fundamental postulate &or (ii) as an existential principle of action.

Formal essence

Even though the metaphysics has been demonstrated true and consistent, doubt will and ought to arise on account of the nature of the proof as seeming trans-empirical (it is not, for the foundational and essential assertions such as that the universe is a being is empirical and necessarily true), and on account of the magnitude of the consequences of the metaphysics.

One may and should doubt the demonstration. In that case, given consistency, other proper and foundational attitudes to the fundamental principle may be held (i) as a fundamental postulate &or (ii) as an existential principle of action.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Metaphysics and method

Does the metaphysics have method(s)? Let us contemplate—perhaps we may arrive at some definitiveness. As conceived here, metaphysics is knowledge of the world. The framework or ‘outer limit’ of that knowledge is precise and complete in that it refers to the entire-universe-in-abstract, but the ‘fill in’ is neither precise nor complete, is ever in process for beings while limited, but, for the aim of the way, does not need to be precise, complete, or final. Since language, words, and reason are in the world, while they are the objects of special disciplines, they also belong to metaphysics. In the abstract, precise knowledge of the real and of our descriptions of the real emerge together—as illustrated in the abstract system-with-reason that had been developed above. At the abstract level the critical side—and demonstration or proof—is well founded (and often trivial); in the concrete it is, as we have seen for knowledge of things, limited and in process but has a perfection. In the concrete there is a vast array of received metaphysics and related disciplines to which we have recourse. Imagination, as we are seeing is essential (i) in conceiving the content of the universe (subject, of course, to criticism) (ii) in creating systems of critical thought (also subject to criticism). In received thought criticism often stands as more important than imagination, but that is because criticism is capable of (or at least has been) being standardized and public, whereas imagination is private and not routine—at least, not entirely. Imagination and critical thought are empty without one another (but critical thought is pushed by the intellectual police and stern educators).

Formal essence

On the abstract side, since knowledge is in the world, metaphysics includes knowledge of knowledge and method. Though knowledge and method are generally pragmatic (here in the sense of having no absolute foundation), the elementary knowledge and reason regarding the abstract are perfect. That is, on the abstract side, method is part of the ideal metaphysics and is perfect.

On the pragmatic side, metaphysics and method are perfect in the senses stated earlier.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Dimensions of experience

Dimensions of experience are the different ‘regions’ and functions of experience or psyche, viewed as objects as well as in their relations and dynamics.

The treatment is placed here (i) as the metaphysics enables a more complete treatment (ii) as a useful preliminary to the next section, dimensions of being.

The details of this section remain to be written.

Dimensions of being

Dimensions of being are ways or modes (of description) of the real that are intrinsic to and instrumental in realization in this world and beyond.

The pure dimension

The pure dimension of being is primarily concerned with ultimates in realization (which are abstract and ideal in character).

The pure dimension or character of ultimate process may be described as experiential being in form and formation as the world on the way to the ultimate (superposed on a background of limitless process, which includes randomness, transience, and null experientiality).

Pragmatic dimensions

While the above is ideal, we know from inference to the real metaphysics, that the local need not be ideal. We choose disciplines typical of western culture. The description that follows may seem to derive from a material worldview (‘materialism’) but may also be derived from and experiential worldview (thus the ideal, the approach from being, the cultures of the east, and the existential thought of the west are not excluded).

The chosen local and pragmatic dimensions are the natural, the social, and the universal.

Nature is ground which appears to have fixed and flexible aspects (elementary or physical, complex—or living, and experiential as intrinsic to the ground), which give rise to society and creativity (i.e., critical imaginativeness).

society (from community to civilization, formed from nature and deploying nature seen as a mix of fixed and formable, and society’s cultural, political-economic-and-ethical aspects—it is essential to view the political, economic, and ethical as interactive, even though they have distinction—and universal depictions of the world) in which we understand and further deploy nature and so find nature to be further flexible. This flexibility gives rise to the ideas of the universal and the ultimate.

In detail—the cultural encompasses language, custom, science, reason, metaphysics, and human knowledge and exploration, generally; economics is about organization and distribution of resources—means and principles; politics concerns group decision and its organization, practical and ideal, whose address is immersive and instrumental; ethics is seen as being about good ideals and ends, right actions, and virtuous behavior and thought, but, though ought to be given weight, the significance of different ethical systems, folk and philosophical, is unclear, and, further, it is not at all clear to what extent and in what manner they universalize: ethics ought to remain experimental and reflective.

Real metaphysics shows the universal to be absolutely flexible in its (our) realization of the ultimate (knowledge of which arises at first speculatively out of attempts to understand the world, and its formability, but is seen as limitlessly formable under the real metaphysics). The universal (ultimate) begins with understanding of limitlessness, and yogic and instrumental intention and action toward its realization. It merges with culture in art, science, philosophy, exploration, and spirituality and religion-in-an-ideal-sense.

Formal essence

Dimensions of being are ways or modes (of description) of the real that are intrinsic to and instrumental in realization in this world and beyond. For the essence, let us merely state the dimensions.

The pure dimension or character of ultimate process may be described as experiential being in form and formation as the world on the way to the ultimate (superposed on a background of limitless process, which includes randomness, transience, and null experientiality).

The pragmatic may be chosen from cultural tradition. Here, we choose ideas from western materialist thought (which, however, have interpretation in other systems, western and eastern). The chosen local and pragmatic dimensions are the natural, the social, and the universal.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Paradigms of form and formation

On paradigms

A paradigm is a way to explain or understand the form and formation—being and becoming—of beings (e.g., individuals, species, and cosmoses). The explanations are generally in terms of something more fundamental than (or prior to) the explained. A paradigm is ultimate if it needs no further explanation—i.e., is self-evident or self-demonstrating (which would seem circular, but, though it is not done in this essay, perhaps we may find exceptions) or, as in axiomatic systems, if it is a postulate. A paradigm that is not ultimate is proximate.

Paradigms may enable (a) prediction of formation (b) evaluation of population of a form in the universe. The prediction or evaluation will be with some degree of confidence or probability and may be certain in some cases. A certain paradigm is one for which, given the premise, the form or formation necessarily obtains. A paradigm that is not certain is possible or probable (in some cases and contexts, the possible will be found to be crucial—certainly more important than may be thought). An absolute paradigm is one that is ultimate and certain.

Sources of paradigms

When we seek foundations, we do not begin with foundation (in fact, we cannot, for even when it seems that we do, there is tacit reference to ground); therefore, we begin where we are and work down toward and from ground and up toward and from the universal.

Paradigms arise—

Situation-outward (context—begin where we are)—the immediate in interaction with the outer limit of empirical knowledge; it is then, in this foundationless or pre-foundational situation that we seek foundational paradigms—

Foundational paradigms—

Ground-up (incremental, concrete, and empirical or abstract and axiomatic—syntactic and semantic), and

Universe-down (absolute, abstract, and global).

Paradigms of thought, which are important in that they give rise to knowledge and understanding of paradigms of the world—of being and becoming. These are not distinct from the foundational paradigms—(i) thought is being (i.e., thoughts are beings) (ii) they enable the construction (transition from contextual) to foundational paradigms and show the foundational—

Paradigms of construction, imagination, or creativity.

Paradigms of criticism.

The paradigms

The following are some useful paradigms. There is some attempt at completeness, both in detail and in principle.

Paradigms arising from our situation

Fact > pattern > abstraction > science and logic.

Paradigms arising ground-up

Introduction—these paradigms, which generally derive from tradition, usually have probable purchase (it is necessarily true that they hold in some cases), and are proximate explanations.

Some paradigms from western science and philosophy are variation and selection as a means of formation of form and mechanism as process within form (on a determinism-indeterminism continuum of residual indeterminism, with causation).

Variation-and-selection explains robustness of form in a transient background and together with formed cosmoses of higher experientiality, it explains the effective population of the universe by sentient form, and it explains apparent design.

Emergence is of two types—of form and complexity in a robust cosmos and of apparent kind in the greater transient realm of the universe.

Paradigms arising from an abstract of the universe

Introduction—these paradigms are certain and may also be ultimate and therefore absolute; their explanations are necessary.

Universe (seen abstractly)-down—logic, limitlessness, possibility -and- necessity (over probability and contingency), and necessary metaphysics; limitlessness of the universe implies it to be experiential (with no ‘higher’ kind, since relation of relation is relation).

Particularly, these paradigms explain necessary design and design that is both spontaneous at root but absolute in manifestation. Though they have derivation from tradition, they require further critical and meta-critical analysis and imagination.

Paradigms of thought

Paradigms of thought, which are important in that they (i) are among the paradigms of being and becoming, for thoughts are beings, which is not just an analogy (the analogy may be useful in constructing the paradigms of thought), (ii) give rise to knowledge and understanding of paradigms of the world—of being and becoming, and (iii) so, while they are paradigms of being and becoming also are (include) ‘meta-paradigms’—

Paradigms of construction, imagination, or creativity (without which we do not begin to think).

In the way (the work), some informal paradigms have been the use of imagination to go beyond standard secular and transsecular views.

Given the standard big bang view of the universe as a proximate theory, imagination gave us an ultimate theory—ultimate in the picture and its demonstration (bubble and multi-universe theories are speculative and proximate). The world is not like our everyday experience, it is not like the scientific picture (big bang, general relativity, quantum field theory) but these pictures are not thereby invalidated—rather they are very local approximations to the real metaphysics (rather as Newtonian Mechanics is a small scale approximation to general relativity or as Riemannian Geometry is locally Euclidean).

Though the pictures described are arrived at informally, they are rigorous. How may they be formalized or routinized?

One approach is general logic, but this is in principle (and requires informal supplement). A general idea is loosening of standard paradigms—e.g., seeing how local causation, local identity, merge into universal causation and universal identity. The issue of identity has been discussed, but the issue of causation has not. How might it be extended? It is interesting that if we ask what the next physical laws might be, we can reasonably suggest that one direction will be quantum gravity and then, perhaps, unification of the fundamental forces. But what next and then what after what is next and so on? Imagination fails. But we can say that the limit is general logic—its boundary is the boundary of all physical law.

Thus, in the ultimate, there is universal causation, the necessity of all that happens or is, which underlies local causation. There may be effective temporary isolation of, say, cosmoses (which is at least that the global interactions are small compared to the local), and so far as that isolation obtains, the remainder of the universe is effectively (though not actually) temporarily unknown and non-existent.

(This is in contrast to David Lewis’ idea that the possible worlds are causally isolated.)

A more explicit source for formalizing imagination is in possible worlds (an article of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

Paradigms of criticism (I am tempted to say ‘deconstruction’), of which logic may be seen to belong, which we extended to general logic.

It is significant that (i) criticism and imagination interact at more than one level—in constructing pictures of the world and (ii) in constructing modes of criticism and imagination.

Formal essence

A paradigm is a system of explanation and understanding, particularly for form and formation of beings, especially cosmoses. A paradigm is certain, if it employs certain premises to infer certain conclusions (if it is not certain, it may be likely or probable). An ultimate paradigm is one that requires no assumption, and absolute if it is ultimate and certain (derivation of the ideal metaphysics is an example of the absolute).

Paradigms of necessity or certainty include necessary metaphysics as logic; the conclusion to existence of the void and the fundamental principle exemplifies absoluteness.

Paradigms of likelihood include mechanism and cumulative incremental change by variation and selection, which are paradigms from science. While they have immense application within our cosmos, they otherwise go toward explaining likely means of formation and population of near symmetric forms. Emergence is related to variation and selection; so far as our cosmos—any cosmos—is a substance cosmos, it explains and is a way of emergence of complexity but not of kind; in the limitlessness of the universe, it can also be a way of emergence of kinds. There may be—and are—higher experiential beings. However, since experience is relational, and relation of relation is relation, there are no higher kinds than experience.

Paradigms of thought are derived from the ideas of creativity and criticism are both paradigms of being (thought is in the world) and how to arrive at paradigms of being.

Informal essence

From the real metaphysics all possibilities obtain. The metaphysics is a paradigm of necessity (necessary occurrence).

But what kinds of world and beings are stable or not merely transient and what is the population of such cosmoses and their sub-kinds in the universe? Such paradigms are paradigms of form and formation. To answer the question, we appeal to what has been learned from experience, especially science. Physics suggests the paradigm of mechanism—of form and formation or structure and change within our cosmos (which may be deterministic or probabilistic). Evolutionary biology suggests a paradigm of variation and selection, which may be applied to form and formation of cosmoses. It also suggests why formed cosmoses effectively dominate the population of the universe (especially, given that knowledge of a cosmos requires experiential beings). The application is not by analogy, but its application is required by the metaphysics. Therefore, that the paradigm applies in a given case or that it determines populations in a given region is at most likely.

Paradigms of thought are models of thought that lead to valid conclusions (they are also paradigms of form and formation since thoughts are real in themselves over and above there ability to capture the real). Valid thought requires (i) imagination or concept formation, without which there is no thought at all (even repeating thoughts requires formation, guided by recall) and (iii) criticism to ensure that the thought is valid (in scientific criticism an essential element is eliminating incorrect thought, while, in ideal metaphysics, as we have seen here, thought is correct by construction). Two kinds of paradigm of thought are, therefore, paradigms of construction or creativity and paradigms of criticism (which interact in application to knowledge of the world and of thought itself).

The Way of Being

Its aim

This section is a summary of prologue to the way of being adapted to characterizing the way of being.

Human purpose ranges from acceptance of our world to discovering and realizing the ultimate—via experiment and worldviews. But we found the world of common worldviews is infinitesimal in comparison to the universe.

We found the universe—all beings—to be limitless. And that, if we have not seen it, to see the fact and range of limitlessness requires tearing down our intuition with criticism and building up a new view via imagination with care to avoid wayward speculation.

The aim of the way of being is to discover and realize the ultimate in and from the immediate world.

On the way of being

This section is a summary of limitlessness of the universe and its beings adapted to framing the way of being.

The universe is the realization of the greatest possibility I.e., given a reasonable (‘consistent’) conception, it is realized somewhere (though not at all necessarily in our cosmos). Thus, the universe—being—has identity, is experiential, and relational; and the extent, duration, variety, and peak of being, named peak being, are without limit, and the limitlessness occurs not only remotely but is immanent ‘everywhere’ even if invisible to us and our instruments. The universe phases in and out of manifestation. It has cosmoses without limit on kind or number. It has fractal, e.g., Mandelbrot set, structure in parts, even if this is not visible to us.

There are beings that are ‘higher’ than human being, but peak being (God) is not higher in that we are part of it (i.e., its state-relation-process and so on). How may we visualize this? Imagine a scene at lake, the wind does not quite ruffle the water, it is teeming with living activity—the coming and going, the competition and cooperation of creatures and species; see yourself as part of it; think of it, not as life branching as in evolutionary accounts, but as living form arising from primality, as if inevitable; it is a phase in the process named peak being. You are part of that process.

Individuals inherit this limitlessness, they realize peak being (which is not inconsistent as they merge in doing so); apparent limits are real but not absolute; there are intelligent and effective pathways to the ultimate; PLEASURE and PAIN and SUFFERING are real, neither to be compulsively sought nor compulsively avoided, and their ideal resolution is to address them while being on a path to the ultimate, as best we may; ENJOYMENT is appreciation of all experience including pleasure, pain, emotion, and cognition; if enjoyment is a value, it follows that there is an IMPERATIVE to be on and be creative of paths to the ultimate, intelligently rather than compulsively.

Why do we not see past and future lives? Perhaps we can but have not yet seen how to see, but even if we do not explicitly transcend our non-seeing in this life, it will be transcended in our higher lives, in which our vision transcends our particular being. We would then see our universal connectedness without effort in all lives of that level and higher, on up to peal being. It is important that, given that we can conceive of our connectedness in this life, it is worthwhile to make the attempt to see and realize the connection, rather than to be passive about it because “it will happen anyway”.

These conclusions constitute an abstract or ideal metaphysics, precise from abstraction on the conceptual side, a framework and foundation for the way of being.

Formal essence

The Way of Being is not a prescription. To be on the way is to be engaged at least in negotiating a shared path, based in the real metaphysics. However, to be fully engaged, is to be also engaged in developing pathways, and understanding and, where needed, to correcting and further developing the real metaphysics (there is a vast amount of formal work that may be done, e.g., in developing logics, sciences, technology, e.g., of exploration of the universe and of artificial being, and in exploration of experiential worlds via yoga and its practice of immersion in the world in all its significant aspects).

Further essence is in the earlier section, ‘limitlessness of the universe and its beings’ > ‘formal essence’ of the section.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Ways of being

A source for this section is ways and pathways (see resources).

Because the way in the little book is presented in principle, readers may follow compatible aspects of ‘received ways’, of which some are presented below, briefly. A second reason to consider these ways is for later incorporation of appropriate elements in the way of being.

A received way of being—e.g., a religion, a practical metaphysics, or a secular way—has a set of ideas such as a world view or cosmology or the way the world is and our place in it including conceptions of this and ultimate worlds, a communal system, a moral system for behavior in all worlds, a system of reward and punishment for this world and beyond, and a pathway, pathways, or ways of realization in the immediate world and beyond that aim at realization of the ultimate. Though received ways may fall short of ideal both empirically and rationally, they have elements that may be useful.

There is a range of primal, traditional, and modern approaches to this aim. The modern include the secular and transsecular.

Primal

Primal ways are ways of peoples living in close contact with nature, e.g., Shamanism, Dreamtime, and Shinto. There may be a spirit world behind the real and affecting the real world including our behavior. Beliefs are empirical in that confirmation strengthens while disconfirmation weakens them. They are not empirical in that specific beliefs are not necessarily connected to atomic facts and in that there may be a surfeit of belief (but the resulting holism has strengths).

Traditional

In an Abrahamic Religion (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) there are heaven and hell, reward and punishment for belief and behavior, a powerful and somewhat remote God that rewards and punishes, and, typically, a strict moral code. The barrenness of these religions (as seen by some people) has been ascribed by Joseph Campbell as due to their being ‘religions of the desert’. Their system of belief, reward, and punishment, may have a powerful hold on minds, induces fear as well as comfort, and has powerful historical and political and therefore economic influence.

Eastern religions stand in contrast to the Abrahamic in being more varied. Their metaphysical core is more grounded. In one version, Buddhism, the universe is a web of causation, ‘God’ is not important, and thus there is a solution to the problem of suffering and achievement of nirvana as the result of following a prescribed moral path, the eightfold way, in this or some future life. In a metaphysical abstract of Hinduism (sourced in, e.g., Advaita Vedanta), the universe is experiential (as are we), shades in and out of manifest being, has phases of peak being (‘Brahman’ which is not a remote God), to which we belong. The way is to see this truth and to follow an eightfold path (which may have been absorbed from Buddhism).

Secular

A generic secularism recognizes only experience and experienced based science as true knowledge, but may acknowledge a spiritual dimension of the psyche, though not of the real.

Secular humanism is characterized by some of the following. It recognizes only the natural and social worlds and rejects the extranatural (but aspects of the natural world may be seen as God). We (human beings) superior to nature, are inherently capable of some moral thought, attitudes, and behavior, but are not inherently good or evil. Science and philosophy are major sources of truth; to practice science and philosophy is or may be an element of secular humanism. Utilitarianism is the most common ethics, at least pragmatically. The concern for the individual and for humankind is fulfillment, growth, and creativity. Building a better world for ourselves and our children is possible and a primary value and may be achieved with “reason, an open exchange of ideas, good will, and tolerance”. Tolerance is good—it is acceptance of difference and the non-normative but is not agreement with thought or acceptance of behavior that is harmful or intolerant; yet its attitude to intolerance is, where possible, to understand and prevent it rather than to isolate and punish it. Secular humanism does not accept the speculative dogmatic aspect of religions as literal truth, but it may appeal to those and other aspects of religion for inspiration, symbolic meaning, and spirituality (as pointing to higher being).

Modern transsecular

Regarding modern transsecularism, we mention (i) new interpretations of traditional and primal systems, combined among themselves and with modern knowledge and (i) new religions.

In this connection recognize that religion is not to be defined by the religions—the empirical, which there is a tendency to see as definitive, is not definitive even though it is informative. Given that the secular is limited, and detailed empirical knowledge is not immediately to be had for the transsecular region, there is a place for rational, experimental, and exploratory action in that region. We may name that activity religion, and it may be conceived as entire being (inclusive of all its capacities) on the way to all being.

Formal essence

The Way of Being is not a prescription. However, some ‘followers’ may wish to supplement their worldviews, paradigms, and practices from tradition through the current time. This section summarizes some pertinent information about traditional systems.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Pathways to the ultimate

This section encapsulates the way in two comprehensive, generic, and adaptable pathway templates—everyday and universal. The clear reason for this design is that the templates be adaptable to a range of life situations and ways to be a path and share paths in and from the immediate to the ultimate. A second but just as important reason is that adaptability enables negotiation and shared development of paths, rather than just following.

Sources

Sources for this section are ways and pathways and templates, dedication, and pathways (a pdf document for which there is also an html version), (see resources). In ways and pathways yoga is the essential instrument of action. It is not understood in terms of either in its eastern (Indian) or (recent) western systems. Rather, given that an original eastern meaning is to yoke the individual (self) to the universal self (Brahman), it is understood as a system of comprehensive activity covering all aspects of beings and universe, being and becoming. Yoga is meditative and active, it is transformational of self (meditation, physical activity) and world-with-self (reason, experiment and action, learning, increment).

Foci of action

The areas of focus are (i) as experience has two sides, experience of and the experienced, paths (action) have intrinsic or experiential vs instrumental or object-oriented-‘material’ aspects (ii) self or identity vs world (iii) immediate vs ultimate.

Both everyday and universal routines will focus on all areas. The distinction is the vehicle—in the everyday it is that of the individual and small cohesive groups or communities, in the universal it is being-at-large, i.e., being as such, societies, civilizations of beings, human or other.

Everyday activity and template

A normal home daily routine may be constructed: rise, review the day and the way, dedication, breakfast (meals are an occasion for community) develop the way yoga (yoga in action continues into life; yoga is not just a discipline or practice) work (immediate or ultimate focus) tasks and lunch exercise and exploration of nature evening—review, preparation for the next day, shower, supper, options to continue development, network (including relationships), relax (with entertainment) sleep.

An away routine can be constructed. It would be similar to the home routine, but would deemphasize ‘maintaining’ while emphasizing immersion, exploration, discovery, and learning.

The normal and away routines are intended as flexible and may be written in greater detail and in table form (for details see the sources above in pathways to the ultimate, above, and the resources below).

Universal action and template

The elements of a pathway are as follows. These are intended as more or less comprehensive over the significant kinds of action. An individual or group will choose some of the elements for focus.

Being in the world—yoga practice and action, retreat and renewal, community; and development and execution of the way.

Becoming—the pragmatic dimensions for our world—nature (a source—‘beyul’, portal, and inspiration), civilization (the dimensions of social activity above economics, politics, ideas and culture, art, religious-spiritual sources, immersion in and attention to challenges and opportunities of our world). Civilizing the universe (via yoga, science, and technology of exploration and simulated being or artificial intelligence).

Pure being and the universal. Realizing peak being in the present—appears to be rarely achieved in this life which is a beginning that is continued beyond death. The immediate means are the items immediately above, the everyday template, and retreat; wide-ranging means are the metaphysics, and the way and their development, which are open.

Projects—the following are a sample of significant projects for the way—(1) being in the world, (2) the way of being, (3) yoga—development, practice to action, for the world and beyond, (4) politics and economics—instrumental and immersive, pragmatic focus and focus on world challenges and opportunities and world problems and opportunities (see resources), with considerations on ethics—the right, the good, and the virtuous—and its nature, (5) ideas, culture, and art (emphasis to be defined), (6) civilizing the universe, and (7) ways of realizing peak being in the present and beyond.

For details see the sources above (pathways to the ultimate).

Formal essence

The generic character of the programs encourages more than just following—it encourages negotiation and development of ways and pathways and, so, full engagement in realization.

The everyday normal daily routine consists of intrinsic and instrumental activities, each with sufficient attention to material needs, to quality of life in the immediate, and progress toward the ultimate. An away routine emphasizes travel, immersion, exploration, discovery, and learning.

A universal program focuses on (a) being-in-the-world (the everyday routine) (b) dimensions of being (nature, society, and the universal) approached immersively and instrumentally (c) being in the universal (d) projects in these areas of focus that are concrete and goal oriented.

Comprehensive and detailed programs may be developed from ‘templates, dedication, and pathways (see the resources)’.

Informal essence

The following repeats the everyday routine and summarizes the universal.

Everyday routine

A normal home daily routine may be constructed: rise, review the day and the way, dedication, breakfast (meals are an occasion for community) develop the way yoga (yoga in action continues into life; yoga is not just a discipline or practice) work (immediate or ultimate focus) tasks and lunch exercise and exploration of nature evening—review, preparation for the next day, shower, supper, options to continue development, network (including relationships), relax (with entertainment) sleep.

An away routine can be constructed. It would be similar to the home routine, but would deemphasize ‘maintaining’ while emphasizing immersion, exploration, discovery, and learning.

The normal and away routines are intended as flexible and may be written in greater detail and in table form (for details see the sources above in pathways to the ultimate, above, and the resources below).

Universal program

Being in the world—yoga practice and action, retreat and renewal, community; and development and execution of the way.

Becoming—the pragmatic dimensions for our world—nature (a source—‘beyul’, portal, and inspiration), civilization (the dimensions of social activity above economics, politics, ideas and culture, art, religious-spiritual sources, immersion in and attention to challenges and opportunities of our world). Civilizing the universe (via yoga, science, and technology of exploration and simulated being or artificial intelligence).

Pure being and the universal. Realizing peak being in the present—appears to be rarely achieved in this life which is a beginning that is continued beyond death. The immediate means are the items immediately above, the everyday template, and retreat; wide-ranging means are the metaphysics, and the way and their development, which are open.

Projects—the following are a sample of significant projects for the way—(1) being in the world, (2) the way of being, (3) yoga—development, practice to action, for the world and beyond, (4) politics and economics—instrumental and immersive, pragmatic focus and focus on ‘world challenges and opportunities’ and ‘world problems and opportunities’ (see ‘resources’), with considerations on ethics—the right, the good, and the virtuous—and its nature, (5) ideas, culture, and art (emphasis to be defined), (6) civilizing the universe, and (7) ways of realizing peak being in the present and beyond.

Retreat

A retreat is a time away from ‘normal’ society so as to return with renewal in some manner—here, in the worldview of the way and commitment to the way. The away-ness may be real or virtual. A real retreat may be alone, e.g., in nature—beyul (see resources), or communal, for both nature and community may sustain living truth. A first aim of retreat is to see, reason, and sustain the true worldview, which is the real metaphysics and its consequences—it is programming in (the truth of) the real. Retreat is not withdrawal. Though we think our worldviews are sustained by reason, they are most often sustained by being the norm of community (even if also based in reason). Since the worldview of the way is not the norm, it requires renewal. It is typical that a renewal should occur about two times a year. That is one of the purposes of retreat. Another purpose is the practice of the worldview in action. The retreat may be simultaneous with and overlap immersion in nature as the real (beyul).

Formal essence

Worldviews may be held intellectually, but to be effective they should inform the depth of one’s being—should be ingrained in one’s characteristic way of thinking and acting (to say this is not to deny the importance of explicit imagination and criticism). This is sustained by reflection, practice, and community. Reflection is an aspect of meditation and practice a part of yoga. But world communities are almost exclusively anchored in received secular or transsecular views.

Retreat is an occasion to reinforce the way via isolation from world community, perhaps also in communication with reinforcing community and nature as inspiration to and source for the real.

Informal essence

The purpose of retreat is to renew attitude to the world and path, and to reinforce the truth of the way where it goes beyond what is valid in ‘ordinary truth’.

Epilogue

The epilogue is in the essence.

Formal essence

Though reflection is not withdrawal, it is now time for me to be in the world acting and informed by the way and its development.

Though I shall not cease to reflect and write, I will do so in parallel with a main focus—immersion in the dimensions of being and action toward realization. Of particular interest to me, over and above, the main foci of the way, is group and community action, and local and global economics, politics, and ethics.

Others—you the readers—are invited to share the process with me (amitra@horizons-2000.org).

I see all thought, writing, especially philosophical and transsecular, and significant human action—secular and transsecular—as a continuous thread. I see the history of text and writing as a web, with bold and fine threads of process. Every generation, I think, ought to summarize what has gone before, and build upon it to their ultimate vision. This process, which I call universal text, is essential to avoid the human enterprise, especially knowledge, to become so fragmented from detail and other reasons, as to be impossible to negotiate.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

Resources

The following resources emphasize discovery and realization, but also cover development of the way.

A main point of entry to resources is—

The Way of Being website home page—http://www.horizons-2000.org (may be explored for resources).

Some resources of specific interest to the little book are at—home > resources > resources for use in discovery and realization >

Received ways and pathways for yoga, meditation, and traditional ways of being and realization,

Path templates, dedication, and affirmation (html),

A system of human knowledge (supplement to the system),

Nature as source and inspiration—beyul,

Doubt is addressed in doubt and reason and the field manual below.

Some resources for development are home > resources > resources for development of the way >

An older field manual.

Further resources for immersion and action in the world are at home > design > topics for study > general concerns >

Some world problems and opportunities and challenges and opportunities of the world.

Formal essence

The resources provide a point of entry to the way and its development.

When the occasion and opportunity arise, the system will be expanded upon in future versions of the way.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

A catalog of beings

The following derives from being and beings, an effective conception > what has being and the intervening sections. The field manual, above, also catalogs beings.

With sufficient abstraction, being is a being.

Anything that is a true (i.e., not as if) reference of a concept of a possible being—e.g., entities, states, processes, relationships, concrete and abstract objects, experiences and concepts, universals (e.g., redness), tropes (e.g., the redness of a red ball).

Whole, part, and the null part. The universe, cosmoses, worlds, elements, transients from the void, the void.

Experiential beings on a hierarchy from elementary beings (particles or fields insofar as real) to elementary living beings through animals and human beings, to higher beings (higher than we see on Earth), to local ‘gods’, and on to peak being.

Formal essence

The brief catalog is foundation for a detailed system and resource in negotiating the rungs of being.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.

A metaphysical vocabulary

The terms below are lifted from the text in the form they appear there. Some terms will be changed, e.g., ‘possible’ and ‘necessary’ will become ‘possibility’ and ‘necessity’. It remains to essentialize and order.

It is a project to work on refining and alternatives to the preliminary essential system, below.

Introduction

The aim is to have, at least in abstract, a sufficient vocabulary, keeping in mind that metaphysics is an overarching discipline that includes method, abstract systematics, science, logic, ethics, and epistemology. The following list of 151 terms, listed in their order of appearance, is tentative. A tentative list of important concepts is by bold font.

A first system

The way of being, human being, foresight, destiny, worldview, aim of the way, discover, realize, abstract, system, a being (beings), to be, being, becoming, possible, conceptual possibility, logic, deductive, real possibility, feasibility, physical possibility, cosmological possibility, necessary, impossible, experience (concept, subject), significance, real object, as if object, object, meaning, linguistic meaning, sign, symbol, knowledge, being, beings, existent, existence, universe, cosmos, formed, element, substance, causation, world, pattern, law of nature, law, void, limitless, limitlessness, fundamental principle of metaphysics, peak being, god, identity, pathways, pleasure, pain, suffering, enjoyment, imperative, tradition, the real metaphysics, argument, science, general logic, reason, rationality, yoga, attitude, method, metaphysics, demonstration, proof, dimensions of experience, dimensions of being, pure dimension, experiential being, form, formation, material, worldview, pragmatic dimensions, nature, physical, living, experiential, creativity, society, community, civilization, cultural, economics, politics, ethics, universal, paradigm, ultimate, proximate, certain, probable, absolute, situation, variation and selection, mechanism, robustness, apparent design, emergence, apparent kind, necessary design, way, received way, pathway, primal ways, Abrahamic religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Brahman, secularism, secular humanism, good, evil, truth, utilitarianism, tolerance, spirituality, modern transsecularism, religion, meditation, intrinsic, instrumental, practice, action, beyul, culture, art, religious-spiritual, technology of exploration, simulated being, artificial intelligence, this life, death, retreat, commitment, universal text, resource, renewal, whole, part, null part.

A preliminary essential system

The concepts are arranged in conceptually cohesive units, separated by a diamond.

Destiny, worldview (secular and transsecular), limits (of the worldviews), limitlessness (consistency), aim abstraction, terms, inference (elementary logic), system experience, significance, concept, subject, object (‘inner’ – ‘outer’, ‘state’ – ‘process’, ‘open’ – ‘intentional), relation (no higher kind), being (becoming, beings), meaning, knowledge, dimensions of experience (introduce here, but treat with or just before dimensions of being) chain of being, whole – part – null, universe, cosmos, world, element, void, hierarchy of experiential being – sentience through agency possibility (kinds), logic, argument, metaphysics, limitlessness, form and formation (substance), science, law fundamental principle, abstract metaphysics, tradition, pragmatic knowledge, the real metaphysics, method, general logic, reason, rationality, yoga doubt (metaphysical doubt regarding the way and Cartesian doubt regarding robust vs thin reality), attitude, proof sameness, difference, identity, situation (its parameters), extension-duration-being (space-time-matter; there is at least an argument for no further parameters of situation) range of being (identity, duration, extension, variety), cosmos, world, peak being, dissolution, individual, limits (real but not absolute), death, realization, way, pleasure, pain, enjoyment (of experience), imperative, pathway, yoga (reason) dimensions of being, pure dimension (fixed, relatively), pragmatic dimension (relatively changeable due evolution or due to advance in knowledge—ad hoc, cultural etc), paradigms (of explanation and prediction) ways and pathways the way of being, means, design (aim of design), programs [everyday-immediate (dedication, affirmation), universal-ultimate, retreat, resources], the immediate and the ultimate as one.

Formal essence

The vocabulary is a reference to the narrative, a resource for the way, and a source for a later collection of essays that, in whole, would constitute the way of being—an alternative to writing a single systematic essay.

Informal essence

See the formal essence.