LAW OF THREE (21) Absolutism-Relativism

LAW OF THREE (21) 

"Like ball batted back and forth a human being is batted by two forces within."

Yoga Upanishad

ACTION-REACTION

According to the principle of equilibrium between two opposing forces, the stronger the impulse of the initiating force the stronger the reaction of the opposing force.

The movement intended by the initiator of the first impulse often finds itself opposed by such an unexpected and powerful response that it finds itself pushed back beyond its original point of departure.  This is almost always the case with political doctrines.

If we examine the two powerful forces of Relativism-Fundamentalism from the perspective of the pendular law of action-reaction we will observe that the stronger the original impulse of Relativism the stronger reaction of Fundamentalism and vice-versa.

Relativism-Fundamentalism- are two absolute principles of incompatible natures with no dialogue between them. Their natures are absolute and paradoxically perfect. In human history these two forces live together in a permanent state of war. Each unsuccessfully trying to eliminate the other because the annihilation of one would signify the destruction of both.

Authoritarism, dictatorships and religious dogmatisms belong to Fundamentalism principle while democracies and liberalisms belong to the Relativism principle. The two opposing forces are simply referred to as the Right and the Left or the conflict between East and West.

The two forces coexist by the reactional power of Life which regularly breaks the equilibrium or impasse of the two opposing forces to prevent Life coming to a standstill

Human beings are carriers of the third or neutralising force. We experience within ourselves the tension between these two opposing forces and may succeed for a while to keep them apart. However inner tension may be too strong and feel tempted to surrender our power to one of the two opposing forces.

LAW OF THREE (20) Centering Prayer and The Three States of Attention

LAW OF THREE (20)   Centering Prayer and The Three States of Attention

Jesus Christ - the Anointed - from His conception on, and which is present in every person from the very moment he or she appears and starts being alive. To the extend that we open ourselves to this anointing, we become "Christified"... transformed in an Alter Christus. Javier Melloni

CENTERING PRAYER AND THE THREE MODES OF ATTENTION.

During the practice of Centering Prayer our attention may be lost in unclear thoughts; engaged with a particular thought; or open and receptive and undistracted by thoughts

When lost in unclear thoughts we are unaware of our own presence. We are, as it were,  scattered by a cloud of foggy or incoherent thoughts (lost attention).

When actively engaged in thinking about a particular issue, or imaginary conversation,  we visualise ourselves as participants in the conversation (active attention)

In the previous two cases our attention is either lost or actively engaged. But there is a third mode of attention: attention open and receptive. Receptive to what?

In the method of Centering Prayer we start with the intention to be open to God's presence and action within. It is an actual fact that almost immediately after sitting to pray we forget our original intention and our attention gets lost in thoughts. We are not exercising our open and receptive attention" as we intended at the beginning. Once our attention is lost or engaged in something there is nothing more on our part that we can do. Help is needed.

Help comes every time we suddenly remember that we have forgotten our original intention. At this instant we are being awaken by something that does not come from ourselves.

The sudden instant that we are "reminded" that we had forgotten our original intention to consent to God's presence and action within is the very instant of the entering of the 3rd force. At this point we can renew our intention to be receptive.

Every triad is an act of cooperation. The Law of Three is the Law of common consent . Thus we consent to God's presence and action.

LAW OF THREE (19) The Three States of Attention

LAW OF THREE (19)  The Three States of Attention

QUATE:

"Both the affirmative and the receptive will are necessary for salvation. But there is a third will, the reconciling will, that is the Will of God. Nothing can happen without it. It is through this third will that the Divine Omnipotence is manifested. Man can only affirm or accept; he can neither make laws nor set himself free from them. Those powers are reserved by God; but it seems that, at moments, God allows man to exercise them. That is the real secret of freedom. Man is never alone. His "I" can affirm or it can accept, but nothing whatever can happen without God, for there can be no act without the third or reconciling will." J.G. Bennett

THE THREE STATES OF THE ATTENTION

In any given moment our attention may be focused (+) or actively directed to an object; lost (-) in thoughts and imaginings (absorbed in an object); or consciously open, receptive and alert (=)

Our attention gives consciousness to the object of its observation: it may be giving it intentionally (+) or unintentionally (-) as when sustained by the attracting power of the object.

When we are unawarely lost in imaginings we believe that what we see (i.e. a dream) is real. This happens when we dream at night because the brain cannot distinguish the difference between reality and dreaming.

When our attention is lost we are not aware of our own presence. But when our attention is consciously directed to an object we can be both conscious of the object and of oneself looking at the object.

Attention relates the observer (+) to the observed (-). It is relates them in the form of the arising of information (=). For example if we direct our attention to our left foot we will receive information from our left foot. If no message of sensation is perceived from the left foot we will need to see the doctor in order to reestablish the connection.

The third mode of attention is open, alert, or receptive attention. When attention is open and receptive we open ourselves to something beyond ourselves. Attention open and receptive requires effortless effort, a sort of conscious releasing of tension.

The difficulty of exercising an open or receptive attention is referred by Jesus:

"And therefore keep watch for you do not know the day your Lord will come. Mat. 24:42. and when Jesus found in Gethsemane the three disciples asleep and said:: Can´t any of you stay awake with Me for just an hour? Mat. 26:40 (note three disciples).

LAW OF THREE (18) Three Centers of Discernment

THE LAW OF THREE (18)   Three Centers of Discernment

Metaphysics are based on three conceptions so broad and consequently indefinite that they are hard to seize and may easily be overlooked. I call them conceptions of the First, Second and Third. First is the conception of being or existing independent of anything else. Second is the conception of being relative to, or the conception of reaction with something else. The Third is the conception of mediation, whereby the first and the second are brought into relationship. C. S. Peirce (1839-1914)

Our attention is permanently engaged in the inner conflicts between our needs and desires for security, affection, power and control. 

We experience an endless internal dialogue between our sensations, feelings and thoughts. When the three voices eventually come to an agreement an instant respite may ensue, immediately reoccupied  by a new triadic dialogue.

Example: We may be shopping for a pair of shoes. We notice in a shop window an attractive pair  of shoes priced within our budget.  We try them on and find them extremely uncomfortable. We like the shoes, the price is right, yet they hurt our feet. Will we buy the shoes? It depends on the nature of the presiding ego. If we are  dominated by feelings of  liking /disliking we may decide to buy the shoes and find reasons for doing so. But in this case the decision will not be a true decision.   Our sensitive feet did not approve of the shoes and the like-dislike would have won the day.   Habit or Ego would have taken sides and lend its power to our usual pattern of decision making. This could explain why our wardrobe is full of lovely but uncomfortable shoes never worn.