Being on the Same Page

The expression 'being on the same page' connects at least three notions. First there is the idea that people can be together sharing what they observe, with the idea that people can comprehend what is 'on the page' in the same way, with the further idea that they can communicate meaningfully to each other that they comprehend what is on the page in a like manner. What is troubling is that with each step in the above ideas from location, to comprehension, to communication, there is an immense probability of failure.

The complexity of it all

'Being on the same page' with someone takes loads of practice learning with that individual personally, plus an immense amount of skill specifically targeted to that person's very individual ways of viewing, understanding and communicating. We are all very different from each other so it is very unlikely that we will be on the same page when we first observe the same thing.

The point that I wish to communicate is that we each individually develop complete operational systems for being on the same page, but we can operate these systems very differently from moment to moment. The processes of observation, of comprehension, and of communication may each individually be conducted in very different ways and as a system be integrated for the individual in many ways from beginning to end.

In other words, the individual has redundant systems for doing the same thing and will use these systems alternately. One system may be used if ultimately a particular form of communication is planned. Another system may address the tenor of that communication even though it is being done through similar means.

What may be involved

Indeed, there are so many personal systems for the individual to use that anyone observing the individual in full operation will probably be confused as to which system is operational, or when different systems are substituted. A person may not even know from moment to moment which system their own body will select.

As it happens, the system that one's body uses is decided by one's body even before the mind of the person is aware. How is this?

Possibly, it is due to conditioning. Within the conditioning process, a person may respond to stimuli from within or outside the body. In any event, even conditioning may occur without the person even being aware. One may, for example, because of one's original genetic structure, condition oneself to a specific form of 'being on the same page' in very specific situations.

Observing such behaviour, an observer might then sense that the person is talented at 'being on the same page' beyond any training actually received. The person's systems for conducting observation, comprehension, and communication were pre-programmed into the person's repertoire of operational systems.

How difficult it is

What we may fail to realize, when we are trying to be on the same page with someone else, is how immensely difficult the whole process can be for all involved.

I paint, write and illustrate. For each of these forms of communication there is an infinity of possible process packages that can be employed. Yes, an infinity! No, double infinity!

Let me give an example.

Want to see how difficult it is! I frequently make use of the notion of exploding. Try to conjure up in your mind a picture in which there is a central point from which there are many many straight lines flying apart in all directions. You may have a linear vision of exploding, but if I ask you to curve the outward bound lines in some way so that they are not straight, your vision of the explosion should change immensely.

Now, assume in your mind that the angle of curvature of the explosion is such that the lines go out in a complete circle and then curve back to the point from which they originate. Vary this next, so that the lines curve around in an imperfect circle with a long curve and then a small squiggle at the end like a pigs tail.

Next assume that the lines curve from the central point but define circles as they get further and further away from the center, and larger and larger.

Using words, I have created images in your brain. The question is whether your brain has translated, or can translated such verbal images into picture images. You will be surprised how many people cannot carry out the translation from verbal to visual, or have great difficulty doing so.

The next challenge is recognizing the implications of the verbal images that I have suggested when they are translated into visual images. I suspect that some people will be able to imagine one or more lines following the suggestions I have made, while others will conjure up the complete result. Thus, some people will respond for the first image that they can see a sphere made up of lines originating from a central point.

If they were to cut all the lines to the same distance they would see loads of points. The question is how far away from the central point would one imagine loads of points of the emerging lines. What if someone said that they do not see any points at all? What if there were no points arising from the straight lines, but instead a very smooth surface which looked much like a solid sphere. What if that sphere were opaque for some people, but shiny for others and reflective such that the sphere was like a mirror?

And so on!

Try the experiment and see what you will get when you add curly tails to your lines; when you return the lines to the central point; when you have the lines swizzle outwards in a spiral fashion.

Now the Wuh Lax Experimental Cosmic World

In the Wuh Lax experimental cosmic world, all outward bound lines originate from central points. The points grow very large very quickly, at the speed of light, so that the separation between lines increases by an enormous amount. Each line is capable of being straight, but being straight is a special case. All lines relate to each other such that they appear to be on a single page. That single page is our visible universe. The end points on the lines that emerge from a central point are a single observation, and the observer has only the ability to focus in on one set of points at a single observation. The act of observing, or sampling of the end points of the emerging lines is relatively slow, such that by the time the observer recognizes what has been observed, the event has moved away from the observer by a conceptual infinity.

In the Wuh Lax universe, our universe, the lines are never distinguishable as lines, but we do see points and aspects that seem to be waves. Our observations of the waves notes that these are of different frequencies. What we cannot do is locate the end point of our lines and the description of the waves simultaneously. The expansion from our central points is much too fast for us to do this. We do not have the instruments to observe both position of the end of the lines and wave frequency at the same time. We do, however, know that both exist.

Where we get really confused is when the lines curve back and the end points are scattered across the universe. We have to assume that this does not happen, because if it were to happen, we could not comprehend what was happening. It is far too complex to understand visually, verbally or symbolically in mathematical terms. It is sufficient to recognize that the end points are permanently related to each other except when they are not. When they are not, most of us we get confused and cannot comprehend what is going on.

The interesting result of our emerging world is that it follows chaotic patterns that we can assume apply both in the small and large clusters of points that are formed when the lines follow non-linear paths outwards from our conceptual central point.

Another result is that the lines do not break, nor do the relationships between elements within the lines that represent moments in our world of observation.

A further result is that the end of the lines are attracted towards very specific points of light, while being repelled by the very same very specific points of light. The points of light are not really points at all, but infinitely packed worlds of photons that have very specific relationships to the points of the lines that make up the relationships of our universe.

In our Wuh Lax universe, no two lines can occupy the same place at the same time, but each line is assoicated with a stream of light and each stream of light directs the path of the lines through immense curvilinear paths that returns it to its origin. The light path is an unbreakable field over which the matter of our 'point and wave world' normally has no influence. The light path can be influenced by other light fields.

Daily Yoga, Exercising, Meditation, Prayer and Stretching

In our world of today, it is normal for people to live beyond sixty-five years of age. What we sometimes forget is that our most flexible years probably occur within the first fifteen years before we start the process of ossification.

Puberty and the Teenage Conundrum and Doldrums

Apparently, as teenagers, we lose some critical intelligence, hopefully temporarily, as our bodies go through puberty and we emerge as the full article, for better or for worse.

What I mean to say is that I love teenagers and I do not wish to criticize teenagers. I was once a teenager myself and I know what it entails. There is nothing wrong with being a teenager. It is something we all have to experience. But, but, but, but, if one loses flexibility during one's teenage years and this means a loss of the ability to think clearly then everyone suffers in the long run. The teenager can grow up to be an unreasonable adult demanding quite insane things from his or her teenage off spring later in life. The problem of inflexibility gets passed from generation to generation.

If one does daily forms of yoga, exercise, meditation, prayer or stretching one is reminded how much easier these activities would be if one were a child before ossification, rather than a more mature individual.

Take yoga, for example, in which we sit, move, bend, reach, and stretch. Compare yourself to a child. It is quite noticeable how quickly we lose our flexibility as we age. The corollary of that is the notion that if we maintain our flexibility or bring it closer to that which we felt as a child, we gain something valuable.

Our years of ossification are a necessary step, but they appear to have consequences that reach well into the future. Indeed, the years of losing flexibility are damaging both to us as individuals and to society as a whole. Why do I say that? Well it occurs to me that ossification is like rigidity, and as you know I have a thing about linearity.

Linearity and linear thinking is pretty close in my mind to rigidity, and linearity is a special case of curvature, then linearity is a loss of flexibility. What I am saying is that our brains may ossify as much as our bodies as we lose intelligence during the period of puberty. This means that we fixate while we are going through a period of reduced intelligence. This has an impact on our potential. Would that we could maintain our intelligence more constantly without the negative impact of raging hormones that are the fodder for wars as well as love.

At the worst, it means that our teenagers become automatons behaving as though they are stupid and unthinking. The negative results can be so extreme that they go off to fight a war that has nothing ultimate to merit it other than death and destruction. The teenagers that lose their intelligence temporarily and are vulnerable to manipulation by terrorists, or destructive thinking end up in a world that is governed by fear.

We also see that many tennagers can be convinced to take drugs that are poisonous, that they are scratchy and snarly in their behavior, fight authority, exhibit cruelty. Yes, and if these characteristics ossify into the individual think what we get as a result. We get a population of people operating below their potential doing things that as children or more flexible adults, they would never do.

Ossification of the Mind, Raging Hormones and Insane Acts

The most insane or least intelligent act people of this period might do is commit suicide to terminate their own life through a form of addiction or become a suicide bomber and blow up a section of the community, or worse still organize a unit of insane killers.

We notice these people in our midst, the ones that seem to have lost their intelligence as they go through puberty, and we say and do little about it. They scare us and with their less intelligent ideas and arrogance, they bring the community into a world that is more ossified and less flexible. They bring about war and destruction. What we need is for young adults going through this period to be trained in the arts of flexibility.

The arts of flexibility are daily yoga, exercise, meditation, prayer, and stretching. We may not be able to control the effects of growth hormones ossifying their brains, but we can show these kids how to maintain a bit more of what their brains have to offer in the way of being more flexible and less rigid.

Now I am just skimming the surface on this, and there may be much more that schools can do to prepare their young maturing adults for a world in which flexibility is needed more than ever before. This is perhaps why such things as computer games, art, body building, and music classes may help our kids to be more flexible. But, we must not forget how inflexible we get as we mature beyond puberty.

Proposal for Maintaining Our Flexibility

It is important that we review our child skills, the ones we lose as we go through puberty. We need to get out doors, run around, play games, have fun, meet people of all ages, and backgrounds, of all nationalities and creeds and compete in sports. This is much better than protesting in the street, carrying rifles, and hitting head with sticks or blowing each other up!
What we need to do is maintain our flexibility as a continuing practice throughout our lives.