in the know

Early on (18th century), science put emphasis on what was looked at and ignored what was doing the looking. Even later, when psychology, attempting to emulate the "hard-core" sciences through emphasis on statistics and probability (both based on crop yields under different treatment conditions) and behavioral measures, began to investigate humans, the "psyche" in psyche-ology was ignored, even disparaged and ridiculed as a notion.

If it couldn't be measured, it didn't exist.

This rabid pursuit of the various scientific hounds after their respective foxes, like any compulsive behavior, spun totally out of control, producing both desirable and undesirable fox meat.

Meanwhile, the psyche was relegated to a few (shudder!) unscientific psychologists and to the smoldering ash heap of religion, now seen as the dogmatic domain of the unlearned, carrion eaters of scientific refuse.

Both "sides" lost out. As Carl Jung put it: "Faith lacked experience and science missed out the soul."

As a mystic trained in the scientific method, having won both spiritual and scientific spurs through grace and grit, I found a common denominator -- that which does the looking. The way I found it was through a third method, the method of the martial arts. One does not practice the martial arts for long before recognizing and cultivating the life force (ki, chi, prana, mana, spirit).

The energies of the universe pour through us, embody as us, call us into being within each nanosecond: the timeless irrupting into time.

Our job as humans seems to be to disrupt it, to ignore it, to ride it for pleasure or for profit. Few of us seem to open to BEING it.

As for me, I laugh and giggle at the paradoxical humor and the wonder of it all. In both mystic and scientific realms, as some old fool said somewhere: the universe that is embodying as us is exploring the universe that is embodying as us.

No need to get all serious and stuffy about it. Neither science nor religion know what they are doing. None of us do.

Brad Olson and I were yakking in front of a warm fire at Charly's yestermorn and thought we might do another one of our Brad-George open conversations entitled "What's It All About, Billy Bob?" Brad said we could say "I don't know" in many different ways (and at great and entertaining length). The mutual laughter of good friends is precious treasure: the life force manifesting in good and right relationship.

Ain't that what it's all about, Billy Bob?