Of ‘White Holes’ and NDE’s

The darkest Night comes always before the Dawn.

I read and watch a lot of science books and documentaries about cosmology and (astro- and ‘New’) physics.  Why?  Because I am fascinated by the intersection between contemporary science and universalist spirituality, and I find cosmology and recent ideas from physics offer an interface between these two domains of knowledge and exploration. One concept that I have been particularly interested in is the notion of White Holes.

Some recent astrophysicists have speculated theoretically that: The other side of a Black Hole is a White Hole. This notion lights my imagination, literally. When a colleague who was primarily atheistic himself was approaching his immanent transition (death), I sent him a card with the above statement: “The other side of a black hole is a white hole.”  I sent this message because of the well-known experience, reported by Near-Death (NDE) survivors, of transitioning through a dark tunnel of sorts toward and into a realm of Light.

I wanted my dear colleague to potentially be aware during his transition process that death of the physical body may be but a release or transformation of individualized conscious awareness and energy, rather than a loss.

This notion of Light associated with White Holes is to me a fundamentally significant consideration.  Based on some of my own recent active-contemplative probing on this subject (what Einstein might call thought experiments or Jung, active imagination), without choosing to describe my subjective experiences directly, I can offer some questions for your own contemplation:

• What If:   At the center (or, edge) of the entire Universe is a MACRO ‘black hole’ or wormhole; on an order higher than the ‘Massive’ black holes found at the center of galaxies?  Many have already postulated that what we think of as a Big Bang could actually be the expression of a white hole issuing from a black hole in another dimension or universe.
  
  
• Then, What If:  Given a Multiverse or Metaverse scenario, every universe’s Macro black whole/wormhole empties its energy into—and receives its originating impulse from—the SAME, central or CORE-MACRO ‘White Hole’/ Light?  Hence, at the convergence and originating thrust of all universes is Pure Light (and I would speculate pure Sound as well as a motivating impulse).  Alpha and Omega without beginning or end, but with transformation and cycles of creation and dissolution, as we experience on a miniscule scale with our own lives, and with all that appears to exist and transpire and dissolve.

images are from pixabay.com

Perhaps William Butler Yeats expressed some of this awareness with his poetic musing about a dialectical universe, in his obscure but magnificent theosophical treatise, A Vision.  Therein Yeats envisioned:

The Universe like an Egg,

Turning  Itself inside out,

Without breaking Its shell.

Through the Eye of the Needle

What do the following plot devices (or spiritual practices) have in common?

• Alice stepping through the Looking Glass
• Dorothy transported over the Rainbow, from B&W to the colorful Land of OZ
• Star Wars rebels or the Star Trek Enterprise popping through Hyperspace
• Robert Conway rounding a Himalayan mountain pass, to descend into the verdant Shangri-La
• Rumi spinning as a whirling dervish to explore the heavens of his departed Teacher, Shams
• Near Death and general Out of Body Experiences
• Magic Eye art that transforms 2-D images into 3-D hidden objects
• Transitioning from waking consciousness into your Dream world awareness

There is a common thread running through these devices listed above, which I will call traversing “through the eye of the Needle.”  The commonality of this theme occurring in fiction as well as in accounts and techniques of spiritual exploration speaks to the naturalness of the underlying phenomenon of seeking and achieving higher consciousness awareness. 

I call attention to this phenomenon of traversing through the Eye of the Needle because it is a central aim of most human experience to transcend the mundane, to elevate one’s experience of life to its highest potentials and to discover and explore what lies Beyond.   Meditation, centering prayer, contemplation, and even daydreaming—all of which rely on cultivating our imagination—allow us individually to transcend any life experience, to gain higher understanding and wisdom. 

When I first began to study spiritual topics and to practice contemplative techniques some 48 years ago, my goal was to eventually be able to shift between states of consciousness “at will.”   I now realize how this is a natural human capacity, but we do benefit from developing this capacity with conscious awareness.  For example, we gain much more from our dreams by focussing on utilizing our dreams to help understand daily life as well as to plomb the depths of spiritual understanding (e.g. see The Art of Spiritual Dreaming, by Harold Klemp, about which I am currently in a discussion group).

But the real reason this topic is important to me right now is because I have recently rediscovered—for me anyway—a wonderful “transport” device, at the local gym!  When I ride a rowing machine, I am able to close my eyes and enter into a contemplation activity that absolutely allows me to approach and traverse through ‘the eye of the needle’, to explore consciousness states at will!  I think this is similar to the whirling dervish activity of Rumi and the Sufis, who likewise use the spinning and internal prayer to transcend the physical body to higher states of spiritual awareness and exploration. Something about the regular physical activity as with the rocking of the back and forth motion of the rowing machine, I find frees my imagination to soar! 

images are from pixabay.com

The benefits of traversing through the Eye of the Needle, howsoever you choose to do this, are limitless. Being more mindful and aware of whatever we choose to focus our attention on allows us to consider our options and choose, or repair if need be, our course of action.

Better Endings to All!

Changing the Narrative

We are in a crisis of narrative schismogenesis in the sociopolitical climate of America (at least) today.   Gregory Bateson, in Steps To an Ecology of Mind (1981), described schismogenesis as an ever widening schism of viewpoints between opposing sides or persons in argument with one another.  An example Bateson gave was how an argument can escalate between spouses. The more each person “digs in” to their position as antithetical to their opponent, the further apart their viewpoints become until there is no way to bridge the chasm behind the barriers of which they are each entrenched.

Let’s say the husband asks where they would like to go to eat dinner, for instance, and the wife says Chinese, knowing that her husband is not particularly fond of Chinese cuisine.  He then declines and suggests a polar-opposite sort of cuisine, say Mexican for example, to which she declines and then they dig into why each of the choices they have proffered are not only the best solution but an absolute necessity for that evening’s meal.  In the end, perhaps the two spouses each go their separate ways for dinner that night, leading to hard feelings for days.

This is a trite example, especially given the deep gravity of the dangerous schismogenetic chasm so many are entrenched behind with today’s fractious tribalism of the Partisan Divide.  We harbor two tribes living within distinct reality fields, each accusing the other side of not only being wrong (using “fake news”) but even regarding each other as “evil” in their supposed intentions and actions.

I try to remain as neutral as possible, aware that truth is absolutely relative, after all, depending on one’s basis of evidence and their sources of information.  People dig in to the banks of the side they have chosen—or to which they have been conditioned—often unwilling to even listen to let alone to hear or comprehend statements from the enemy tribe.

Anthropologically (my professional field), it is clear that schismogenetic ruptures have often led tribal groups to divide or fission into distinct, rival factions, sometimes—where there is space enough available—resulting in the opposing factions actually moving away from each other to establish separate villages.  The Blues and the Reds do not have such luxury of spatial expanse to divide into.  North and South are no longer culturally divided in toto, so we live side by side with neighbors from rival factions every day.  We are thus divided within the same village, state, nation, and global society.

How can we overcome this Divide? We must somehow, locally and personally as well as collectively, find ways to change the narrative.  Couples psychotherapists–and Bateson himself in Steps to an Ecology of Mind–would suggest mediation is a key first step to confronting and dismantling a factional schismogenetic divide. Representatives from each tribe or faction need to convene and meet somewhere at the middle, in the company of an agreed upon mediating person or agency. 

Each side’s story needs to be aired—and heard, without opposition or resistance—with the mediator serving as a buffer.  After both narratives are fully expressed, the mediator might summarize each point of view succinctly, validating facets of both viewpoints and helping to delineate some commonalities that could begin to construct a narrative bridge, upon which both persons or sides might at least meet upon to acknowledge the availability of a middle ground.

After such an open hearing and mediation process, each representative returns to share with their members and then of course each tribe is free to do what they will with the knowledge gained. They carry the awareness of a willingness of the Other to have at least sought mediation with them. This can lead to a gradual rebuilding of trust and mutual acceptance, at least.

images are from pixabay.com

I speak from some experience about the therapeutic value of a mediation process.  I and a dear friend, she now being departed, once ran into a barrier with one another that grew into a painful schismogenetic chasm for many months.  We agreed to meet with a psychotherapist, which made all the difference in helping each of us to find a greater balance in understanding and mutual acceptance.  We came away remembering our ultimate friendship, which has remained vital ever on.

So when faced with an immoveable common barrier between opposing narratives, seek mediation.  

Give it a try!