2.5 THE PHYSICAL & THE NON-PHYSICAL

THE TWO MANIFESTATIONS OF THE SELF

SELF (Dict.) One's total being.(This definition is used in the present context also)

BEING (Dictionary ) The state or quality of existing.

But for a more strict definition, the Self is defined in this work as a living being

having a finite existence, in space and time, from the moment of birth, ( before

which  a  'Self'   did  not  exist ), till the moment of death, after which the 'Self'

ceases to exist, and after which a 'Self" is no longer defined. Thus a 'Self' , in

this work is considered as a mortal being in its existence, but whose totality

or essence, if realised and expressed in form or actions, is immortal,

that is, transcends death.

Thus the experience of an individual living being, defined here as Self, is

a constituent of current reality, and the essence or totality of a

being is a constituent of ultimate reality.

" The poet gives us his essence, but prose takes the mould
of the body and mind entire. "       .......  Virginia Woolf

The Physical and the Non-Physical are directly related to

and correspond to the sensory and the non-sensory

perceptions.

2.5.1 THE DISTINGUISHING PARAMETERS

   Definitions for the purpose of this work:

PHYSICAL : That element of reality that is detectable, derivable and

definable in terms of sensory data is defined here as the Physical.

So  the  physical  is  the  domain  of  the senses  and  their derivatives. This

definition is useful in order to clarify  and distinguish the physical  domain :

the domain where Time ( or at least linear Time ) and Space have meaning.

It is also the domain of the concepts of processes and functions as distinct

from  the  concepts  of  forces  and  fluxes  that are more applicable to the

non-physical.  These are crucial distinctions.

NON-PHYSICAL : That element of reality that cannot be defined in terms

of sensory data,   rather  the  term data itself becomes invalid here and

alternate  terms   like  abstract,  dynamic,  flux,  emanation, spirit etc

become as possible candidates for representing its manifestation. One

of the relevant terms use to describe the manifestation of the non -

physical is - instinct or the instinctual.

"We explain in the same way the reappearance of complicated instinctive
actions in animals that have never set eyes on their parents and therefore
could not possibly have been "taught" by them" .....C. G. Jung

DISTINCTION TABLE :

It should be noted here at the outset that the non-physical has no

direct  physical  manifestation  as such, and  is  manifest basically

through a living being.  The non-physical should be understood

as that hidden attribute of reality that goes undetected by  the

sensory systems.  But it should be clear that although this split is

fundamentally important and clear cut, ( since the physical has

been clearly defined as related to the sensory systems and their

derivatives ), this split is, after all, only a split. Therefore every

"observed physical event" impacts the non-physical domain and

every non-physical happening has its impression or impact upon

the physical.

In other words, just as the physical reality has a reflection in

the non-physical realm,   the non-physical reality also reflects

in the physical. The nervous system - the brain is the bridge,

the gateway, that connects, impacts, as well as reflects the

the  two  domains.   The reality of experience is where the

domains  converge,   and neither is  more  important  than

the other in the functioning of a being. Neither is primary

insofar as the fuctional value is concerned, although the

non-physical consciousness - the supra-conscious is

primary chronologically.

DEF in the CONTEXT of this work : For the purpose of this work , the

SELF of a being is defined as the totality of the being in terms of the

physical as well as   the non-physical :

1) THE PHYSICAL manifestation of the being in form and material

substance and in time and space called the BODY of the being which houses :

A)THE BRAIN (or the Central Nervous System ) of the being , an

essential component of the body, through which the being controls, comm-

unicates and interacts with the rest of the body , the physical world , and also

possibly and potentially the non- physical world or worlds (if one so believes).

The brain has built in programs or instructions for basic survival and a

hardware structure with built in general purpose goals and faculties

of organising and learning through the sensory inputs .

(Under exceptional circumstances through non - sensory inputs also)

BODY(Dictionary)The entire material or physical structure of an organism

especially human beings or animals.(This def. is used in the

present context also).

B)The sum total of all memories, programs, control programs (goals),

beliefs & concepts is labeled as the MIND of the being . 

Some programs are inbuilt,   other  programs,  beliefs and concepts are learned,

acquired or created and linked with each other to form a complex construct or

sort  of structure   that  models or  generates  paradigms  of   the  world

perceived by the being primarily through the sensory system and as a logical

consequence models oneself also as part of the overall model.

The construct of the MIND of a being is included here as a physical component

of the SELF, since the construct of the mind is fundamentally built through

interactions with the physical world.

MIND (Dictionary) The human consciousness that originates in the brain and is

manifested especially in thought, perception, memory, emotion, will & imagination.

The difference in this work is that a consciousness is presumed to be primary to

the physical perception organ, the brain, which is presumed here to be the data

processing organ, whether this data is processed through the sensory systems

or synthesized from the abstract. The Mind's consciousness is presumed to be

secondary to the primary consciousness : the supra-conscious, or the non-

physical consciousness. ( see assumptions....art 2.5 )

C) The peripheral , motor and support systems (vital organs) are the

other parts of the physical body that provide the primary perception organ,

the BRAIN with the resources needed to operate. ( Again a simplification has

been made here in order to be concise.)

2) THE NON-PHYSICAL manifestation of the being , having no form

and material substance and unspecific in time and space , and whose existence

can only be realizable through direct personal experience which however can

said to be the vital but intangible essence of the being is labeled here as the

NON- PHYSICAL SELF , also analogous to the concepts of the SOUL (essence)

of or the SPIRIT ( animating force )  of a being.

SOUL( Dictionary )The animating and vital force in human beings often conceived

as an immaterial entity that survives death. The central or vital part of something .

Embodiment of  an intangible quality : a persons emotional and moral nature .

SPIRIT( Dictionary)The animating force within living beings ; soul .The part of a

human being associated with mind , will and feelings . A mood or emotional state .

The actual though unstated sense or significance of something .

SPIRITUAL (Dictionary) Relating to or consisting of spirit .Synonym of

immaterial : having no material body or form .

The difference here in this work is that in this non -physical self also

includes that part of the mind that has been created from non-sensory

inputs from essentially unknown sources as well as other non-physical

aspects which are essentially undefinable and unknown (to be

dynamically knowable through experience).

ASSUMPTION ! : The physical self connects and communicates with

the physical world and with other beings through the sensory systems

and the non-physical is also connected but through modes and means

that  are   as  yet  unknown  in general scientific terms,  analysis and

probing, and  will  probably forever have to remain so since a certain

essence or core of nature must remain inaccessible to general abuse.

2.5.2 Significance of the non -physical self :

One may as well question the rationality in assuming about a supposed part

of  the  self   that  has no form and substance and  has no physical attributes

of  its  existence   that  are  verifiable,  about  which  one  can   barely even

conceptualize for oneself, let alone for others,  and whatever experiences

of which one may have are ultimately only of symbolic value (for the over

critical minded) !

This is the domain where rationality falters . The excellent and seemingly

infallible tool no longer works ; for the non physical self is not confined in

space and time and therefore independent of cause-effect relationships !

Therefore,  even   the  mention  of anything  non-physical takes it outside

the domain of Science, but does not immediately imply that it falls in the

domain of Religion or even faith.  The  problems  stem  from  trying  to

classify experiences of the non-sensory type into a domain where these

can be proven scientifically, or established as faith and worshiped.

Science has ensured that whatever cannot be verified and agreed upon

under controlled conditions is rejected as irrational or faith. Thus the

entire reason of man has been seized by science, to the point that

for anything to be reasonable, it must be scientific.

"We put [young children] into kindergarten where their reasoning
powers are ruined; or, if we can afford it, we buy Montessori outfits
. . . or we send them to outdoor schools and give them prizes for
sleeping"......Katherine F. Gerould

2.5.3 THE RATIONAL TRAP

"Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter

if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own

common sense ..... Buddha.

In  a science and reason based educational system, we are made to believe

that  whatever  is   not  generally  accepted  as  rational has to be irrational

and  unscientific   and  not  worth  going into.  Once such a logic is accepted,

we then fall into the very trap we would wish to avoid - the rational trap

Therefore  anybody who gives expression to an experience that cannot be

repeatedly  verified under controlled conditions  by other 'trained' people

(scientific ), is treated as a nut who utters nonsense.

The entire domain of a very powerful tool of reason has been reduced and

limited to only the narrow domain of general agreement.  Reason is taught

rather than exercised.    People have stopped reasoning on their own, it is

given readymade to them.   And what is taught as reasonable is never to be

questioned  - the very antithesis of reasoning and inquiry.

Its like a workman throwing away the tool and giving up work just because

  he has been taught to use it only in a prescribed way, and in any new  or

seemingly alien situation it does not seem to work.

The  failure  of   science  to  tackle  reality  beyond  atoms,   particles and

equations is an example of the rational trap. The rational trap says that

whatever cannot be put into a generally verifiable and testable cause-

effect relationship, exists only in someone's imagination.

In  the  domain   of the non-physical, 'taught reasoning' fails to work, only a

flexible, self - developed   reasoning works.  This is so because beyond the

physical  is the realm of a "world" that has no direct relation or interaction

or  similarity  of   rules  and laws with the physical world . The only relation

that is  possible is   through individual living beings.  Some elements of this

world  can be  sensed  by not-knowing all that is known about the physical

world,  in  other  words  through our  faculties that do not operate from our

construct of existing beliefs and concepts, ( the intuitive, imaginative) since

our learned and operating beliefs and concepts themselves tend to block

experiences that are alien to them.

Let us ponder boldly - 'tis a base

Abandonment of reason to resign

Our right of thought - our last and only place

Of refuge ; this, at last, shall still be mine :

Though from our birth the faculty divine

Is chain'd and tortured -cabin'd, cribb'd, confined,>

And bred in darkness, lest the truth should shine

Too brightly on the unprepared mind,

The beam pours in, for time and skill will couch the blind.

..........Lord Byron

2.5.4 THE SPIRITUAL- EXPERIENCE TRAP

So  this  realm   indeed is difficult to access and perhaps rightly so - for

just to blindly enter this realm without knowing or at least attempting

to know one's physical self and mind, its unique attributes,  limitations

and purposes,  the   journey will only turn out to be an exercise in self

indulgence   and   at   best   " high  quality  mystical   entertainment ".

The abuse of hallucinogenic drugs is ample indication of this tendency

for a "quickfix spirituality and mysticism".

For  we are also now in a realm where there is no general meaning or

significance of anything - there is only personal meaning and personal

significance of one's experiences of the realm of the non physical self.

Agreements and generalities are important and have great significance

when we conceptualize about the physical world relating to our sensory

perceptions,  so that we have working and testable models on how we

live  together (with minimal conflict) and communicate in a social

system  and share physical resources.

Specifically seeking agreement and generalities to support a conceived

significance and meaning of one's highly personal experiences of the

non- physical however only helps to demean and downgrade the

potential value of these for oneself.

Such experiences, in any case, may or may not get appropriately trans-

lated, interpreted or rationalized for oneself in the world of physical senses

in time and space, depending upon how well the two selves (or types of

operations)  have co-related with each other.

The  spiritual  trap is the trapping effect of a 'high'  or 'out of this world'

experience that the mind cannot appropriately rationalise, and ends up

overvaluing  the  experience,   thereby  rejecting  the  intellectual and

rational  translation or significance of the experience.  It  also  leads to

erroneous  conclusions  about   the  physical world like 'the world is all

an illusion'. What is worse is that such people induce others to believe

in them as a matter of 'faith' that the 'experience of ultimate reality'

is all there is to life.

"When the primitive world disintegrated into spirit ( non-physical ) and
nature ( physical ), the West rescued nature ( physical ) for itself. It was
prone to a belief in physical nature and only became more entangled
in it with every painful effort  to make itself spiritual. The East, on the
contrary, took mind for its own, and by explaining away matter as mere
illusion ( Maya ) , continued to dream in Asiatic filth and misery.".....Jung

2.5.5 THE INTERPRETATION TRAP

It is important to understand here that any conceptualization arising  from

experiences that are non-physical based ( non-sensory, or transcendental or

mystical  to  use some alternate terms here), are only symbolic, or vaguely

representative of any   non-physical  elements of  reality,  since  these are

ultimately  expressed   or  conceived  in  sensory  terms  only.  The   sheer

intensity or strangeness   of the experiences that are  non-sensory  based

makes  most   people  present  these  in  their  expression  as   Reality or

even  Ultimate Reality,   without realising that these expressions are

interpretations of their experiences.

This  is  the   most  critical  trap  that  most  people  fall   into : that any

understanding, or any symbolism, or any conceptualization or any meaning

is only a processed  interpretation of  an abstract or non-sensory

experience,  that has been translated and interpreted by our

existing set of concepts and beliefs.

The interpretation trap has been entered when someone insists that what

they are saying is 'the truth' or 'ultimate reality' or some such assertion

without   realising    that   they   are  only  expressing,  in   language,  an

experience that has been interpreted and evaluated by their mind.

"We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think.

All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts

we make the world."............Buddha

2.5.6 THE RELIGION TRAP

The natural tendency of the mind of man is to attribute the strangest of

one's experiences to entities beyond one's own self. This leads to the

religion trap :  the   conclusion  that  the  source of everything is in an

entity ( God ),  or   entities  that is/are beyond self, the self is itself

an illusion, or only a manifestation  of this entity ( God ).

This is the most fatal flaw in all religions, namely that they conceptualise

non-physical elements or entities in a fixed manner and present them as

generally valid for everybody for all times with such a conviction that they

end up fooling even themselves, without realizing that there can be no

fixed  and   generally  valid  concepts  in the non-physical domain. Even

more disastrous is the fact that most of these people do not even real-

ise  or  admit   that  what  they  are  presenting are concepts describing

elements of the non-physical, rather these are presented as irrefutable

truths about   "ultimate reality"  that are absolutely applicable for all

and sundry for all times to come.

The Religion trap has been entered when someone insists or emphasises

that an entity or entities beyond the living beings in the world is/ are the

source,  and therefore the controller/s of all that occurs.  This is usually

presented as valid for everyone.

2.5.7 PRIMARY and SECONDARY CONCEPTS

It is of utmost importance to distinguish between primary concepts that

are derivatives of sensory systems, having been acquired and learned from

interactions in the physical : family, teachers, peers, society, books, school

etc and those that are derived as a synthesis from non-sensory based

experiences, since both are finally expressible in the primary concepts

and sensory terms only.

The secondary concepts are thus a combination of both existing

primary concepts and synthesised from non-sensory experiences.

It must be noted that non-sensory experiences are processed and sensed

in different ways, depending upon the sensitivity or development of one's

faculties, namely these can be a) visual (Vision) b) sound (hymm)

c) string of words (poetic) d) emotional ( sadness, terrifying,

elating or ecstasy) e) intellectual ( a new idea, abstraction,

concept or solution)

Again this is not to say that an expression of the abstract non-sensory

is an undesirable affair, since all creative expression emerges from the

abstract that emerges from the non-sensory. On the contrary, humans

are beings of diverse creative expressions, and it is in our nature to do

so in order to realize and develop our potential, but the two points that

are pertinent are that a) any expression derived from the non-physical

has essentially a personal validity and only non-essentially (if at all)

does it have general validity. b) This expression when given a definite

form only has transitory or temporary value. That is, form given to

any expression derived from the non-physical has by nature, only

a temporary value having a limited span of validity even in the

personal context.

Failing to understand this basic distinctions has disastrous results

as can be observed from the failure of various religions to provide

for a sustainable social system.

So it is summed up here that although a very significant aspect of our

existence as human beings is manifest in terms of whatever we create,

or give form to, from our experiences, this self-expression must firstly

be  enriching,  harmonizing   and  enhancing  to  one's  own  self, and

secondly  should  preferably   also  co-relate  meaningfully  with  our

social environment. It can be concluded that those expressions that

have both personal as well as a wide general or social validity are

of the highest value.

One's self expression in any form (without the need to seek agreement)

that provides value to oneself and /or other beings will be the testimony

and witness to the meaning & purpose of one's being and existence.

2.5.8 Summary : The need for

Conceptual Differentiation

In this article I have tried to show that the assumption of a non-

physical self as well as a non-physical reality is indispensable

not only for self - exploration and expression but also for any

meaningful discourse or understanding or ( metaphysics )

modelling  of Reality.

From this comes the differentiation of concepts into :

1. Experiential concepts : These are concepts that are meaningful

only in the experiential domain, and any usage of these concepts

for analysis, discourse or even expression is usually frivolous,

redundant and misleading. For example the concept of God.

These are useful insofar as they signify entities that one encounters

in one's deepest personal experiences.

These  have   personal  validity  limited  to  thier usage for internal

cohesion,  stability,   faith etc.  These  have  been  highly abused in

religions and cults,   where  a  leader  who  develops  the  concept

through  ' a revelation ' then induces the followers  by first giving

vivid descriptions of the concept through a script, and then finding

methods by which a similar experience  can  be  recreated in the

subjects,  so as to have  a  general  agreement  that  binds  the

subjects in a bond of ' faith '.  Most eastern religions follow this

pattern

2. Non - Physical or metaphysical concepts : These are secondary

concepts which can only be useful and meaningful if there is some

experience  to which they can relate to,  or else their usage is

likely to be misleading and deceptive . These have very limited

general  validity but are important for expressing elements of reality

that are independent of physical phenomena. By nature, these cannot be

defined or their characteristics agreed upon, and their usage demands a

minimum creative imagination, both in expression as well as

comprehension of the expressions of others.

These concepts represent the 'forces' or 'fluxes'  that act upon a

being or that emanate from within a being

  For  example,   Spirit,  Soul,  Moral force, Power, Consciousness, Intent etc.

However, in any discourse the context and usage should be in proper order

and the general limitations of its usage understood.

3. Physical concepts : are those that describe or symbolise physical entities

or attributes  are the usual concepts like body, earth, atoms, energy, light,

sound, time, space, etc.

Proper  distinction   and the usage context or domain is essential in order

to  retain   clarity  of  mind and  purpose,  or else one is likely to fall in one

trap  or  another :  the  overvaluation  of  experience  trap,  the  trap   of

getting  mired   into  the  reasoning  taught  by  others  and   thereby  the

paralysis  of one's   own  reasoning  power,  the  trap  of  not treating the

interpretation of experience as one of the many possible interpretations,

the religion trap where one starts believing in an entity as ultimate

and finally the trap of improper usage of concepts and language.

"To avoid the various foolish operations to which mankind are prone,
no superhuman genius is required. A few simple rules will keep you,
not from all error, but from silly error.".................Bertrand Russel

With this crucial distinctions in mind, the next article deals with the

foundations of knowledge : what it is, what does it mean to know

something, and most important of all : the validity of knowledge

in its formation and application, and how knowledge "moves"

towards a higher order of coherence, or towards destruction of

existing order, by its counterpart - power.

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