Theos-Talk Archives (April 1995 Message tl00111)

>Jerry Schueler <76400.1474@compuserve.com> writes:
>
>> < That there are core concepts
>> I suppose that we can all agree on reincarnation and karma,
>> but what are a few more of these?
>
>Here are mine:
>
>1.  Cycles -- the cyclic nature pervades
>2.  Hierarchy -- As above, So Below, also known as the
> Law of Correspondences
>3.  Unity -- the fundamental underlying unity of all Life
>4.  Polarity -- basic duality that overlays the unity
>5.  Evolution -- proceeding from one state to another
>6.  Order -- that the universe is fundamentally orderly;
> that there is a Divine Plan
>7.  Number -- number underlies all, 1, 2, 3, 7 etc.
>
>> true in most cases)?  Do you agree with Jung who suggests
>> that Eastern and Western approaches are not compatible?  Do
>
>Paul Gillingwater

Interesting, but not necessarily something everyone will agree on
('cause I don't).

For example:

Regarding Hierarchy - I don't necessarily think that the "As
Above, So Below" which you refer to as the Law of Correspondences
has to imply hierarchy.

See this diagram

       A
       |
       |
       |
       B
       |
       |
       |
       C

Here A is above B which is above C, and they correspond.

But

       A
      / \
     /   \
    B     D
   / \     \
  /   \     \
 C     E     F

Here is a true hierarchy.  But D, while it is "above" E, is not
in correspondance with it.

Also

    A     B
     \   /
      \ /
       C

Here, both A & B are above C, and correspond to it.  It is a
valid mapping of the "As Above, So Below" reality pattern.

I would suggest that all 3 of the above examples show the "As
Above, So Below" relationship, yet only the 1st and 2nd examples
are hierarchies, and the 2nd example violates the principle in
part.

Therefore, this is not so simple, and Hierarchies are not
necessarily indicative of the principle, and the principle is not
necessarily only applied to Hierarchies.  The concept of networks
was mentioned in a previous posting, and the idea of Hierarchies
as organizational structures on the "other planes" may have been
shaped by pre 21st century thought patterns.

Next, the concept of Order.  There may be a Divine Plan, but
Chaos Theory, Quantum Physics with the Uncertainty Principle and
the Schrodinger's (sp) Cat Paradox leading one to chose between
the Standard Copenhagen interpretation versus the Multiverse
theory; all lead me to think that the universe (or Multiverse) is
not as ordered as our relatively tiny minds perceive.

There is clearly order in the universe, as your point about
Number underlying all implies, and clearly we have been able to
map "Laws" of physical reality to mathematical equations.

But whether this means that the universe is fundamentally orderly
is, IMHO, yet to be proved even in our own small neck of the
woods.

John Tullis.