The Process of Sustaining - Emergence

[Kai]

So, I was talking on IRC with Burns and a couple other people last night, and we came around to the topic of things I have written. The Reverse Brainwashing essay was mentioned, and I put in a word for the Unintelligent Design rant I wrote years ago. Both of those things can be found if you search my old B_M_W account.

One thing that people here have not seen is The Process of Sustaining, and upon hearing about it and reading it, several people urged me to post it on the forums, as well as write a new chapter to address emergence.

The Process was written 2 years ago, in June 2006. I was at a Natural Resources camp in Wisconsin, doing some coursework that needed to be finished before heading off to Europe for 6 weeks later that summer. Here I was in a forest setting, sleeping in cabins near a beautiful clear lake, learning about forestry, wildlife biology, ecology and other topics. It was the perfect setting for some transcendent thinking. I can still clearly remember the SMELL of those cabins, and when I do it makes me shiver, makes me want to go back, the memory is so comfortable.

One night I was sitting on the computer in the main lodge, talking to LHX and procrastinating on sleep. The doors were open, and a cool breeze was drifting in from the lake. I could hear a loon calling, and if you have ever heard a loon you know just how soul reaching and haunting its song can be. I can't remember what X and I were talking about, but suddenly I was in a moment of perfect clarity, and I just started....well, talking perfect truth. I was talking about Taking and Giving and energy transfer from feeding and sustenance and....I was in the zone. X lead me on till I was exausted and crying with joy.

The next morning I woke up and wrote this in one sitting. It is the closest thing I have to religion, and with the additions I am soon going to make it is the closest thing I know of to divinity in this universe.

~Kai

[Kai]

The Process of Sustaining

In the universe, all things sustain by both taking and giving.

All things must take for sustenance,
and must give, for the sustenance of others.

Thus, in giving and taking, the universe is sustained in balance.

Sol

Sol gives and gives, but no longer takes.
It gives, because it has taken enough.

Thus, by continuously giving, Sol sustains Earth.

Life

Life is a gift of the universe.
It is known as the process of that which Sustains.

All living things take for sustenance.
They take sustenance from other life,
and thus, others give their lives for sustenance.

All living things take and give, and there is balance.

Death

Death, that is, loss of ones life,
is the highest gift of the process of that which Sustains.

Ones own death, the body, the corpse,
is consumed by life.

The decomposers take the gift, and partake to sustain themselves.
They, in turn, give the gift of their own lives to others.

Water and Soil

Water and soil are living entities.
They are suffuse with life, in many forms.
Thus, they are part of the process of that which Sustains.

What is decomposed in the soil, is then moved by water.
Moved, and all things are then sustained by it.

The nutrients of the earth,
and those gifts decomposed by other living things,
are taken again by green things,
to sustain themselves and all living things.

Sustaining oneself

A loon is calling out on the lake.
He understands what I mean by "taking to sustain".
Because that is all he takes for.

An Agent of that which Sustains
does not take more than she needs to sustain.
When she takes, she gives back,
and when she gives, she also takes.

Life is then at balance,
and she is at peace.

Respect

Of all the emotions one can have,
respect is of the most importance.

Respect for life does not mean
that one avoids taking.

To do so would be ones own demise.

Rather, by taking only what one needs to sustain,
the Agent respects those lifes whish he takes.

The Agent also does not discriminate
on basis of form.
Plants, Animals, fungi, protists, and bacteria;
They are all living.

None is more alive than the other.
None has less value than the other.
None is less a part of the Process of Sustaining.

Thus, the Agent of that which sustains
takes what one needs to sustain,
whether it be plant, animal, fungus, protist, or bacteria;
he does not discriminate on basis of form.

As long as he respects life, in all forms
the Agent of that which sustains cannot do wrong.

Mind's sustenance

The sustenance of the body
is the life of others.

The sustenance of the mind
are the ideas of others.

One takes ideas from others for sustenance. Then, she gives ideas back.
Her ideas are partially formed from that which she has taken.

Thus, the spreading of ideas
is a process of sustenance
in its own right.

The Illusion of Taking without Giving

Many people in this world
follow the illusion of taking and not giving.

Is it ironic
that the end of giving
began as a gift?

The idea that one is not part
of the process of sustaining,
that one is above it,
that one can control it;

that is the path to destruction.

These people take the gifts given freely,
and then enter the house
and take everything.

They have no respect for life.
To them, taking is a game,
a livelyhood.

But, they are not at peace.

In buying into the illusion,
they have formed their own hell.

A hell of consuming, and of fear
especially fear of their own death.

They will still die, in their own hell of fear
and possibly they will relent,
but not likely.

They may not give their life freely,
in the end,
but it will still be taken.

The Agent

The Agent of that which Sustains
is known by her three qualities:

her respect for Life,
her fearlessness of death,
and her inner peace.

The Agent of that which Sustains
is not above the process.

Her respect of Life,
and fearlessness of death,
immerse and humble her
to the process of sustaining.

She knows of Taking and Giving.
She knows of the Illusion of Taking without Giving.
She has purged the Illusion from her.

Thus, she is not driven to consume,
not driven by fear.

Thus, she is at peace.

Humility

All things live and die.
Therefore, one is no different in nature from another.

The smallest organisms
can be those that all other lives rest upon.
Size is not a measure of importance.

One human
is just one out of zillions of living things,
each one intrinsicly able to give and take.

Therefore, a person is just a life like any other,
and ones size and mind
does not put one above another life.

To know and live this is to be humble.
Through this humility, one can find inner peace

Continuity

Since Life began
there has been no end to Life.

Life begets Life
there is no period of no-Life
between the two.

Since the begining, Life has continued,
the Transient, that which Sustains.

The Lineage is continuous,
Back to the Begining,
and on beyond our view.

The Agent realized this;
She knows that death is no end,
and birth is no begining.

She knows that all is Transient,
Arising to complexity,
Returning to simplicity.

The Process which Sustains,

Life Itself,


Infinite.

[Nast]

Damn, that's is truly beautiful.

[Bu🤠ns]

I really love this

[Jenne]

Wow, Kai.  Thanks for sharing this.

[Jesrad]

Short: life is self-reinforcing disentropy.

[Reginald Ret]

In the universe, all things sustain by both taking and giving.

Sol gives and gives, but no longer takes.

I like how it takes you only seven lines before you contradict yourself, it shows that you know you are not speaking The One Thruth.

They are suffused with life, in many forms.

Typo, or does my english fail? eitherway leave it in, it fits the style of the rest

The Agent also does not discriminate
on basis of form.
Plants, Animals, fungi, protists, and bacteria;
They are all living.

Kick in the nuts of vegetarians, vegans and macrobiotics everywhere

Mind's sustenance

The sustenance of the body
is the life of others.

The sustenance of the mind
are the ideas of others.

One takes ideas from others for sustenance. Then, she gives ideas back.
Her ideas are partially formed from that which she has taken.

Thus, the spreading of ideas
is a process of sustenance
in its own right.

Is read this as pro- open source, but thats probably just me.

Overall: awesome bit of pseudomystical art.

[Kai]

Regret:

1) I didn't contradict myself. Think about it more closely. The sun took what it needed to sustain itself. The result is constant giving. Giving and taking doesn't happen simultaneously for some things.

2) Its suffuse, afaik, in the this style.

3) Yes, that was kinda the point. 

4) The part on mind was largely dealing with the emergent conciousness system and how a different sort of "food" sustains it. It is a BIT open source.

[Reginald Ret]

1) i assumed simultaneousity, my bad.



PS i cant believe that word exists...

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I already said it in chat, but I'll say it here for the record: this is a beautiful piece of writing.

[Richter]

I really like this. 
Some of the ideas make me think of "Stranger in a Strange Land", but it takes a more realistic approach to the ideas of feeding on other lives to exist. 
The discussion and position of natural cycles and how individual lives function in them is very well put, it seems to be simply stating things that are obvious, just not often given mind to.

[shadowfurry23]

Insightful and beautiful.  Thanks for sharing it.

  Would it be ok for me to post it elsewhere, and if so by what name would I credit you?

[Kai]

Insightful and beautiful.  Thanks for sharing it.

  Would it be ok for me to post it elsewhere, and if so by what name would I credit you?

Either Buddhist_Monk_Wannabe (my old monkier), or Kai of PrincipiaDiscordia.com.

Hell, put both. Covers all bases.

[Kai]

I really like this. 
Some of the ideas make me think of "Stranger in a Strange Land", but it takes a more realistic approach to the ideas of feeding on other lives to exist. 
The discussion and position of natural cycles and how individual lives function in them is very well put, it seems to be simply stating things that are obvious, just not often given mind to.

This is what happens when a biologist/slash ecologist rejects all serious religions as not being good enough for what they know about the universe and seeks a new path. I'm drawing HEAVILY on ecological theory, and basic biological truths, because that is what I experience.

I encourage everyone who reads this piece, if you feel disenfranchised with religion because it fails to concur with reality, go and write your own damn religion. I've got mine, do you have yours?

Actually, thats more or less what we do here.

[tyrannosaurus vex]

Can I steal this for the upcoming Intermittens #2 ?