Goethean Science to See the World Differently, in its Entirety

 

We all have that innate longing to know the world. To date, we have been seeing the world predominantly through one reductionist way, and this has diminished our connection to the whole. One of the dimensions articulated in Sustainable Agriculture is holistic, integrative science. But do we have the means to achieve this given our current training in thinking and learning, our mental framework, and our educational background?
Einstein said that… “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” So we need a different kind of science to approach scientific inquiry; not the one or from the program that created chemical based, monocropping type agriculture. Let us see how Goethean Science may be of help.
An excerpt of the following articles will give us a glimpse of what it is… Then we see that the mainstream way to science or of knowing the world is a far cry from that which would lead us to the greater and deep truth. It will be a long way to reach the reform that we dream of, but we can start somewhere. Immersing ourselves in nature and in art and doing deep organic agriculture brings us back to the path and be at one with nature. Read more.
***

More may be found here:

https://regarding-landscapes.blogspot.com/p/science_14.html

https://www.dynamisch.nu/feno/english/e3pheno1.html

https://elements.spiritalchemy.com/t10-AppendixC.html

Goethean vs Newtonian Science

Quantum Initiatives Springing from Mt Makiling, Philippines

Societal Threefolding, Presencing… these are tools or techniques to achieve quantum leap or do quantum change. Sustainable societal change must be animated by a critical mass of enlightened committed citizens. That is the basis of the Liwanag World Festival that happened last 29th Jan to 2nd Feb 2013, in Davao City, which is part of the island of Mindanao. The festival aimed to let the special light from the Philippines and other parts of the globe be seen by the whole world… light from the Philippines, being collectively lit by imaginals or individuals who have a vision of the future and are connected to their special life task (purpose) and are doing strategic projects in society. MISSION of Imaginals is spearheading events like the Liwanag. To get a glimpse of the event one may visit the website of  Liwanag, or view some photos of  the Liwanag event which I put together for sharing and memory aid. Select individuals who live in, or have at one point lived in Mt Makiling (or are doing something elsewhere but are connected to Mt Makiling initiatives), have been presented at the Festival through an exhibit. Special feature is on the visionary (Flor Pablo) who is in touch with spiritual teachers or guardians; her mission is described in a set of slides. In the same event I also described  my own “quantum” initiative.

Here are some videos to give one an idea about the Liwanag event.

Light from a Visionary in Mt Makiling: Revelations on Agriculture, Spirituality, History and Culture, Genesis

There is a very interesting phenomenon occurring in my area… Mt Makiling , a mountain bounded by Laguna and Batangas provinces in the Philippines. One would find extraordinary happening in her area. The lady (Flor Pablo) is in touch with spiritual beings and receives various messages, from gardening, to mushroom production and others which come to her intuitively or through her writing using an ancient Filipino script called Baibayin (or baybayin as populary spelled). Instructions are often out of the box or beyond textbooks. She learned only later that what she was writing was Baibayin. One thing that intrigued me was her affirmation of scientific and biblical facts and sometimes she reveals some aspects which baffled scientists and the religious alike… a true meeting of science and spiritual science occurs in her garden. She is revealing some teachings in anthroposophy, such as homeopathy, earth and human evolution, and many others. She is also blending this with some vedic truths and practices. She is into Agnihotra-Homa Therapy and use of Sangeevini healing symbols. New messages come to her almost every day… I will be posting more later. But for now here is a set of slides which I prepared for the Liwanag World Festival ( Exhibit section) which concluded last week. https://liwanagworldfest.net/web2.2/.

Here is Liwanag or Light in a nutshell: There is another world and another Philippines emerging in the very midst of decay and pain. To reveal, see, experience and fully appreciate this world, is the task of Liwanag: World Festival on Creativity and Sustainability… From 29 January to 02 February 2013, thousands of people (and millions more thru tri-media) will converge in Davao City, Philippines to see the glowing contours of such a world. Liwanag will showcase brilliant, heart-centered initiatives in all dimensions of sustainability: ecological, economic, cultural, political, societal, human, and spiritual… Our hearts will pound with resonance, excitement and Love as we start to truly see and experience this diversity of inspiring initiatives. For these initiatives, taken together, are the elements of the future world that is alive and growing amidst us today…Come to LIWANAG. Contribute your inner Light to the flame of hope and Love that is permeating the world!

The Liwanag Festival is an initiative of MISSION  (https://www.imaginalmission.net/web2.0/) aiming for societal transformation through a quantum approach. The meaning of MISSION explains it all:

MISSION stands for Movement of Imaginals for a Sustainable Society through Initiatives, Organizing, and Networking.

Wellspring of Initiatives for Spiritual Development

 

This artwork-mushroom image may be found in the internet, but the way it found itself into the laptop that Flor was using is most amazing; more mysterious is the Baibayin writing that appeared on it minutes later.

Lectures and movie to help in understanding and internalizing quantum

For learning about quantum agriculture intuitively or the usual way, there exist many helpful videos, lectures, articles and the like. What I present here are some short and simple ones, or are highly inspiring ones that would connect us to the greater whole, to the cosmos, the universe, and even (or especially) God… to our Home. We are a holon and learning about a small part would actually already reveal the greater part. We are grateful to have now rich materials for knowing and what is left is the greater challenge of applying and doing. More will be posted later…

 

Lecture series by  Yervant Terzian at Cornell University…

… a discussion of “why is there a universe? Why is there something rather than nothing?” and  how humans think about their place in it.

… a three parts video in the Cosmology and the Anthropic Principle series.

Cosmology, Galaxies and the Milky Way

The Solar System

The Anthropic Principle

 

&&&


Video/Movie Home by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

for the video

 to use the video as a teaching tool

Overview …

The documentary chronicles the present day state of the Earth, its climate and how we as the dominant species have long-term repercussions on its future. A theme expressed throughout the documentary is that of linkage—how all organisms and the Earth are linked in a “delicate but crucial” natural balance with each other, and how no organism can be self-sufficient.

The first 15 minutes include footage of the beginning of the natural world, starting with single-celled algae developing at the edges of volcanic springs. By showing algae’s essential role in the evolution of photosynthesis, it also explores the innumerable species of plants which all have their origins in this one-celled life form.

In the rest of the first hour of the film, the documentary takes on a more human-oriented focus, showing the agricultural revolution and its impacts, before moving on to talk about the harnessing of oil, leading to fire, industry, cities and inequality gaps like never before. It portrays the current predicament regarding cattle ranches, deforestation, food and water shortages, the use of non-renewable “fossil water”, the over-quarrying crisis and the shortage of energy, namely electricity. Cities such as New York CityLas VegasLos AngelesShenzhenMumbaiTokyo and Dubai are used as examples of the mismanagement and waste of energy, water and food. The recession of marshlands and glaciers are shown in vast aerial shots of AntarcticaThe North Pole and Africa, while mass emigration and refugee counts are shown currently and forecast in the event that these events remains unchanged.

It is at this point that the film begins to focus on global warming and the carbon crisis. Home shows how melting glaciers, rising sea levels and changing weather patterns are ravaging the people who have least to do with climate change, but also how it soon will affect rich populous areas.

Here, about three minutes of film is given to displaying harsh facts in large white text on a black background followed by a video representation of the fact. This is followed by a positive conclusion. The documentary claims to show the “awful truths” regarding our impact on the Earth, but also what we are now doing to combat and reverse it, including: renewable energy, the creation of more and more national parks, international co-operation between various nations on environmental issues and the extra education and reform being had across the globe in response to the current problems facing the earth. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_(2009_film)

 

Yann Arthus-Bertrand at TED Talk :

Fragile Earth & Man Made Climate Change

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1tXH38O3QE

The Quantum-Secret Power of Smoke on Seeds, Plants and People

I have heard about the power of smoke on seed germination, such as after a forest fire, about 15 years ago… seeds that need to be scarified to sprout may be given a softer treatment: smoking, or smudging, and the result is the same. Is it just the fire, the smoke, the combination of fire and smoke that bring the seeds to life after a bush fire? Sometimes it appears that smoke can be a substitute treatment for a harsher germination promoter like fire.

Sample of a research on smoke

In https://plantsinaction.science.uq.edu.au/edition1/?q=content/8-1-2-seed-dormancy

 

I kept this interest alive and let it stay in my consciousness until this year when I got introduced to a liquid that is smokey… some call it smoke-water. The product can greatly stimulate plant growth, among others. Here is a good link to the smoke-germination subject: https://anpsa.org.au/seed.html An extract follows:

” Smoke

Research in South Africa and Western Australia has shown that smoke is a critical factor for promoting germination of seeds in areas subject to bushfires. The following articles outline some of the general principles involved:

On a large scale, an apparatus like that below can be used to apply smoke to batches of seed. However, this is not particularly practical for the average home propagator.

 

smoke apparatus
Diagram from Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Short Report No.48
 

One practical method of applying smoke treatment is the use of smoked water as a pre-treatment where seed is soaked for 12 hours in a 9:1 water:smoke-water solution. Smoke water can be produced by bubbling smoke through a container of water for about 60 minutes after which the solution is frozen until needed. However, even this is a bit messy…”

So, what is in the smoke? Some 10 years ago, a friend told me that she had all sorts of  health problems as a young child, including having a congenital cyst or growth on top of her head. The local healer included a daily exposure to smoke and this lasted for weeks. Of course this is something that is usually done along with other treatments. But the use of smoke has been a phenomenon especially among indigenous cultures, from food to agriculture, from worship to healing, especially for cleansing of energies. “Luop”, “palina” are among practices still being done by local folks to reverse negative situations and  to remove negative energies or factors. Rituals in religious practices also use smoke through incense, herbals and others.

Some Science on Smoke

Recently there was an article written about smoke in relation to seed germination:  https://news.discovery.com/earth/plants-smoke-growth-fire.html : SMOKE’S PLANT-BOOSTING POWERS FOUND. The gist is this: Scientists are zeroing in on the molecules in smoke that help plants grow. Here is another one… https://www.redandblack.com/news/prof-researches-plant-growth-caused-by-smoke/article_3f257560-8f1f-5a58-ab88-67301c812fa2.html : Prof. researches plant growth caused by smoke.

And another: https://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/30/science/la-sci-smoke30-2010mar30 which says… Smoke linked to stronger, thicker plant growth… Researchers find that chemicals in smoke called karrikins trigger plant genes associated with light sensitivity. The findings could have implications for commercial farming and fire recovery.

 Indeed one can see more articles written (popular or scientific) on the subject in the internet. Visit the following for more:

https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1219989.htm

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945209001824 Karrikins: A new family of plant growth regulators in smoke

https://www.sciencemag.org/content/305/5686/977.short A Compound from Smoke That Promotes Seed Germination

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/np900630w Butenolides from Plant-Derived Smoke: Natural Plant-Growth Regulators with Antagonistic Actions on Seed Germination

https://www.uv.es/jgpausas/teach/3469-Keeley1998Ecology79.pdf SMOKE-INDUCED SEED GERMINATION IN CALIFORNIA CHAPARRAL

https://www.pnas.org/site/misc/selections_3_29_10.shtml How smoke helps plants recover after fire

 

 

Why my current interest in smoke?

I am intrigued by the “quantum” aspects of smoke… something beyond the chemicals in smoke, on the esoteric or mystical nature of smoke. Some articles that I recently encountered are given below:

 

https://tribalglobe.com/freshnews/tag/ancient-knowledge/   : The Ancient Art of Smudging

https://www.entheology.org/edoto/anmviewer.asp?a=357 : Ancient Psychoactive Incense and Preparations

smoke.jpg

 

The subject is vast. Literature is equally overflowing. Suffice to say here that the science behind smoke can give explanation to the effectiveness of indigenous practices. Smoking partially releases the ether of a substance and in that ether resides the mystical power, the opposite or enhanced effect of the substance. There is interaction between the fire and the other substances and related practices, but also with the intention and nature of the healer her/himself. Burning can be also done biologically, and that is why microorganism are considered the firehouse of the soil. Thus the power of the compost, and our bodies, as our digestive system orchestrates transformation together with microorganisms and enzymes in the gut. It is also in these venues where transubstantiation or transmutation occurs, or where the nature of an element is altered to become an entirely different element (imagine how silicon may become phosphorus; milk from blood). Through smoke the principle of  ”like cures like” or of homeopathy is also actualized where the opposite effect may be imparted for as long as the preparation is very dilute and potentized. Imagine for example that coffee which is a stimulant can be the cure for mental hyperactivity.

One could look at the quantum phenomenon of smoke this way also… the organism is a product of a series of contraction and expansion. The property of the part (example fruit-seed)  may be opposite to the other part which represents expansion (example leaves). Thus, the pepper fruit’s spiciness is countered by the plant’s  leaves, the durian flesh’s smell is countered by the shell that contained the flesh, etc. There are many examples of these polarities which have been tapped by people of long ago. A favorite link which deals with biodynamics and contains this discussion is https://oregonbd.org/Class/Mod3.htm

The similarity of the effect of ash and smoke in healing is something that I would like to explore further. Ash is what remains after burning while smoke is the one that goes into the air/ether. In Agnihotra-Homa Therapy the ash is a major product with great and varied uses. Here is an extract from an article on Agnihotra in Compas: https://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/global/challenging-water-scarcity/experimenting-within-farmers-worldviews

Comparative experiments have been carried out to test the impact of Agnihotra. These experiments have been reported in Madan and Manohar (1990). Dr. B.G. Bhujbal of Pune’s M.J.P. Agricultural University has conducted experiments in germinating grape seed and rooting grape cuttings treated with Agnihotra. He reported that seeds germinate in 21 days whilst the control sample took 6 months to germinate. Cuttings treated with Agnihotra developed better roots than the control sample. Dr Ramashraya Mishra experimented with the germination and development of wheat plants. He compared the growth of plants treated with hotra, those grown in the traditional way, and those in a control sample.

Similar trends have been observed among my students who did their thesis on agnihotra.

 

More next time.

 

Return top

WAVE OF CHANGE

A new wave of change is here. This wave permeates all aspects of human and earth existence. On the other hand, new knowledge is being revealed and new tools are being developed to answer current challenges: illnesses, pests and diseases, climate changes, calamities, etc. Approaches have been 2-pronged: one hangs on to the old mechanistic reductionist model, the other explores what is beyond that, as well as the fundamental role of human beings in addressing all these challenges in a synthesis way. Einstein’s premise is that we cannot find solution to our problems with approaches that come from the same framework that created the problem in the first place. These solutions must be coming from outside the box. And that outside the box space has been there all along, among ancient practices and teachings, and is now confirmed by the new science of “quantum”.