Do Advances in Mathematics have any bearing on Thelema ?
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And if not why not? Since AC claimed Mathematics is the language of "God" upon which the Qabalah and the whole GD system is based. Of particular interest is "Chaos Theory" or "Bifurcation Theory" and it's Model of the Universe that it is Not(although it is almost) periodic? This has gone beyond mere theory and has been demonstrated even in our Solar System! Specifically in regards to the assumption or interpretation that Aeon's must be periodic as to a specific number of years? And if there was to be an alternative interpretation, what other elements might this affect to mitigate such an interpretation?
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I've been hesitant to respond because Chaos theory is not my field. My understanding of it is limited.
But for what it's worth, regarding cycles - If it is assumed (a view not shared by some but not everyone) that the Aeonic cycles are astrologically related, and if it is assumed (a view shared by some but not shared by everyone) that such an astrological relationship implies a process affected by the material planets, then the article would seem to suggest that there does exist the statistical possibility that the cycle could be affected by unexpected, outside, material influences affecting the motion of the planets (chaos).
If, however, you are talking about the potential for individual human consciousnesses to collectively expect a particular result in such a way that their expectations create that result on the quantum level, then as regarding the cycles of the Aeons, one could argue that they are *within *the system and being shaped by it instead of taking the role of system shapers. Alternatively, one might argue that even within the system, the potential exists for the influence of chaos.
I believe someone the other day mentioned the importance observation in addition to theory. The more practical side of my answer is that the observed condition of the cycles appears to be stable at present. The theory is open for discussion, and the rest will be determined by further observation.
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@Aegis55 said
"I've been hesitant to respond because Chaos theory is not my field. My understanding of it is limited.
But for what it's worth, regarding cycles - If it is assumed (a view not shared by some but not everyone) that the Aeonic cycles are astrologically related, and if it is assumed (a view shared by some but not shared by everyone) that such an astrological relationship implies a process affected by the material planets, then the article would seem to suggest that there does exist the statistical possibility that the cycle could be affected by unexpected, outside, material influences affecting the motion of the planets (chaos). "
Those articles were selected a bit randomly just to introduce the idea to any whom wished to investigate further. For one, bifurcation theory is not referring to changes caused by unexpected, outside, material influences but to the nature of the "dynamical system" itself predicated by it's initial conditions whether they be astrological cycles, or cycles within the evolution of human consciousness which is ultimately what we are talking about directly or indirectly.
"If, however, you are talking about the potential for individual human consciousnesses to collectively expect a particular result in such a way that their expectations create that result on the quantum level, then as regarding the cycles of the Aeons, one could argue that they are *within *the system and being shaped by it instead of taking the role of system shapers. Alternatively, one might argue that even within the system, the potential exists for the influence of chaos."
as far as particulars like "expectation on a quantum level" goes that is somewhat of another matter. Chaos theory shows that the very nature of the system is Chaotic and is not a mere influence, but has hitherto been perceived as "periodic" under the old paradigm. however a bifurcation may be considered a "quantum leap". The shapers are definitely within the system, however I for one may argue that the astrological bodies are not exterior to the system nor the human mind.
"I believe someone the other day mentioned the importance observation in addition to theory. The more practical side of my answer is that the observed condition of the cycles appears to be stable at present. The theory is open for discussion, and the rest will be determined by further observation."
Chaos theory has gone far beyond the theory stage into the observation and application stage, and has been observed even in our solar system; that is to say, our solar system has been demonstrated to be chaotic.
the following articles would be helpful and are more elaborate and specific than the previously posted
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%2392.Millennium/millennium.pdf
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%2346.Myth/ms46.pdf
and regarding quantum expectation
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%23119.Fuzzylumps/fuzzylumps.pdf
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%2325.Thought/ms25.pdf
www.ralph-abraham.org/articles/MS%23106.Tworlds/tworld.pdf
also of interest may be Terrence Mckenna's time wave or novelty theory
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I read the first, second, and fifth Abraham articles.
In the first and second, I didn't find anything that contradicts my current understanding of Thelema. Chaos, as Abraham describes it, is constantly the source of new creation and variety in Chockmah on the Tree of Life. For instance, here's the abstract at the top:
"We are learning that chaos is essential to the survival of life. Our challenge now is to restore goodness to chaos and disorder, to replace Tiamat on her rightful throne, in mythology and in daily life, and to reestablish the partnership of cosmos and chaos, so necessary to creation. This will require a major modification to our mythological foundations, unchanged the past millenia: no mean feat. "
I would suggest that he is describing a re-analysis of our human mythology to re-incorporate the elements of chaos that were supposed to be completely subdued by cosmos at creation. Here, he seems to be speaking of the common religions as they stand, "unchanged the past millenia" and their static conception of creation as being something God completed in the past, involving the subjugation of chaos (defiance of order, devil).
However, Thelema and the qabalistic tradition which it extends has been trying to communicate concepts similar to Abraham's (my reading) at least since the invention of the Tree of Life.
While chaos and rigid periodicity are at odds, chaos and observable, relatively stable cycles are not necessarily so. At least not to my mind. In other words, watching the morning weather report has enough of a statistical degree of accuracy that I can usually plan my day pretty well. But it's not always right.
The fifth article by Abraham is quite interesting. I don't know how "actual" his conceptions are. How could anyone? But they do seem to offer a method of communicating a certain kind of concept that would only otherwise be referred to in spiritual terms or by some relatively meaningless wording. Anyway, these are just thoughts. I'm sure I don't know enough about it to comment further.
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@Aegis55 said
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While chaos and rigid periodicity are at odds, chaos and observable, relatively stable cycles are not necessarily so. At least not to my mind. In other words, watching the morning weather report has enough of a statistical degree of accuracy that I can usually plan my day pretty well. But it's not always right.
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you are right in that "chaos theory"{which is not equivalent but related to chaos in the colloquial sense} is not at odds with relatively stable cycles but demonstrates that every once so often there is a change or sometimes drastic change or "quantum leap" {in the colloquial sense} of apparently periodic systems, these are the "bifurcations" of that system. my point is that the Aeonic cycle cannot be consistently every 2200 yrs or 2500yrs or whatever it is supposed to be, due to these bifurcations. And that the concept that it was/is may have been largely due to the knowledge available at the time. Dynamical Systems theory is a new branch of mathematics{hence the title} which was not discovered till late in last century. In the first article "Chaos and the Millennium" this concept is explained clearly, amongst others, in lay man's terms.