Consider some stuff

I often hear of, or run across people who espouse all sorts of ... well, quite frankly, incoherent, silly ideas and beliefs.

For example, in response to one forum, I received the comment that "there is no right answer or absolute."

Well, let's consider that ... no absolute? Absolutely no commonality, at all?

That begs the question .. if there's no underlying commonality, no absolute common ground to existence, what then enables it and us to all interact? What's the 'connective tissue' that enables that interactivity? What's the ground upon which, and by which, separate things move and connect?

So, here's a response I crafted that kiboshes a few misunderstandings.

Enjoy.

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Consider some "stuff" of which the entirety of existence is composed. Not physical, not even necessarily spiritual. Let's just call it "stuff".

Now, this 'stuff' is, by definition, literally everywhere, in everything, everyone one, every thought, God, Evil ... it's literally everywhere. In fact there is no place it is not. Given its ubiquity, we can say it is 'one-stuff'.

If we want to believe that some spiritual beings or others are not composed of this one-stuff, we need ask of what they are made. Whatever that is, it will ultimately need to be made of said 'one-stuff' in that said one-stuff is the ground stuff of all existence. no exceptions.

Now it gets interesting.

First. Hierarchies (e. g. beings who are smarter than us, God being "up there" etc. states of perfection whatever) requires our cooperation. They get to be smart due to our support. Since we're all made of the same 'one-stuff' hierarchies are piles of one-stuff, with smart beings sitting on others (all made of the same one-stuff). Think of a pyramid.

In other words, we all help pile up said 'one-stuff' to build hierarchies, and elevate some large lumps of one-stuff ("infinite beings") to be above us (sitting on us).

But waaaaait, it gets even more interesting.

Since all is composed of 'one-stuff' that means whatever beliefs you have about reality, it must be able to scale!!!!

If it doesn't scale, the idea, or belief isn't reflecting the inherent universality of 'one-stuff' ... if there are disconnects involved then despite appearances, those disconnects necessarily ride the deeper connective 'one-stuff' of existence.

Think of such disconnects as being unbridgeable chasms of ... non-stuff. If they were truly that we'd never be able to get across those chasms. Besides, as defined, the chasms are made of 'one-stuff'.

So then why believe in superior or smarter 'spiritual beings' ... because (waaaaaait for it!!) ... it compartmentalises sections of one-stuff for our benefit.

Huh?

Think of playpens. We put kids in them, for their safety.

When they get a bit smarter, we give them bigger playpens ... inside of houses ... with crockery, hopefully behind child-proof locks... the playpen has just been extended that's all.

Next, the child is allowed outside under adult supervision.

Playpen just got a bit bigger.

Next, we get all grown up, and the playpen becomes our work, our neighbourhood, our world.

Scaling up, that's all.

Think of kids who think their parents are perfect and can do no wrong. They look up to them, yes, but not because they're perfect or 'omnipotent' just smarter, relative to their 'smallness'.

And so it goes.

We don't go up the hierarchy, as much as we go wider. We just get more 'one-stuff' to cooperate with us.

Think of an individual within a community.

All made of the same one-stuff. But the individual (citizen, employee) exerts influence by how much cooperation he/she gets with other 'one-stuff'.

"Powerful beings" in our communities are called leaders, or movie-stars, or whatever, but they all share one thing. They get our cooperation (usually in the form of adulation, or awe or whatever we feel we're not).

But since we're all made of the same one-stuff, it's just us lending them the use of our one-stuff.

:)

And if you want to have more fun, prefix stuff with "universal," making it "us" for short (so, we're obviously made of us).

Once again, this little idea (of universal stuff) scales.

Wonderful stuff.

btw, Jesus was obviously onto this-- about the "one-stuffness of life". When he said if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, say unto the mountain move, and it will hop skip and jump into yonder sea, he understand the inherent one-stuffness of life. For in order to get a mountain to move, one has to get its cooperation. We've learned enough to do "little mountains" (as tested throughout nearly 30 years of tests at Princeton University). It's just a matter of scale, that's all.

See also

• More great stuff
• Good systems thinking