The Boltzmann Principle Undermines Both Idealism and Materialism

[Robert Arvay]

Your comments, if I understand them correctly, seem to coincide closely with what I believe.
I am a bit put off by the quote about "The plant can show it thee."
It may be a profound thought, but I am just a "meat and potatoes" man.
I'm not really trying to achieve a higher state of mind, but rather to
live my life in communion with God, despite my continual failings.
I am somewhat the tradesman, seeking not ALL the tools that there are,
but only the few which are sufficient for me to ply my trade.
One need not know much to know completely, to have that complete set of tools,
however few they may be. Once I can comprehend a drop of water, the ocean's mysteries
need not be solved, but savored.
I welcome your thoughts, but I may disappoint you if you expect much from me.
-

[AshvinP]

Your comments, if I understand them correctly, seem to coincide closely with what I believe.
I am a bit put off by the quote about "The plant can show it thee."
It may be a profound thought, but I am just a "meat and potatoes" man.
I'm not really trying to achieve a higher state of mind, but rather to
live my life in communion with God, despite my continual failings.
I am somewhat the tradesman, seeking not ALL the tools that there are,
but only the few which are sufficient for me to ply my trade.
One need not know much to know completely, to have that complete set of tools,
however few they may be. Once I can comprehend a drop of water, the ocean's mysteries
need not be solved, but savored.
I welcome your thoughts, but I may disappoint you if you expect much from me.
-

Robert,

Please don't think that I am expecting anything from you. This is why I asked if you are interested in exploring the possibility - if not, that's perfectly fine. I appreciate your honesty. Often we will exchange many comments here with others about such topics only to find out much later that they were never really interested with the investigation of such things to begin with.

The plant quote is from Schiller - it's interesting how the plant is sort of an upside down human being, or vice versa. The plant has a univocal striving towards the Sun (or the molten core of the Earth), in what generally gives us a sense of devotion and reverence for God. Meanwhile humans are too busy traveling horizontally in all sorts of directions, tending to their strictly material concerns. The plant exposes its reproductive organs up towards the chaste light of the Sun, while we turn them towards the Earth and hide them in shame. Of course, the plant does not do this with free spiritual activity, in the full light of consciousness, but is compelled to do it by natural instinct. In that sense, humanity can purify its soul-life and embrace the Spirit if it learns to be more like the plant, but with conscious intention.

I will leave you with this thought. God has graced all of his creatures with the capacity to know and serve him. As we saw with the plant, that service is accomplished completely out of natural instinct. The same is mostly true of the animal kingdom, although now the instinct is raised to the level of the soul, i.e. passions, feelings, and very dim thoughts. I think any Christian would agree that we should not worship God as the plants and animals do, but rather, because our 'God-instinct' has been raised by God to the level of the Spirit which lives in our clear thinking, we should show our gratitude for this grace by worshipping God in lucid thoughts. In that way, we not only worship for our personal pleasure or benefit or salvation, but also to communicate God's eternal truths in the World and edify one another.

But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare for battle? So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.

Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how will he who occupies the place of the uninformed say “Amen” at your giving of thanks, since he does not understand what you say? For you indeed give thanks well, but the other is not edified.

Now we should ask, why should God only be limited in his power and grace to develop our God-instinct to the level of conceptual understanding and no further? Does that make sense of His loving nature? Or, rather, might it be possible that God has graced us with germinal capacities of understanding that will allow us to even further attune our consciousness to his Will, so that we may further edify one another and his Kingdom may be more effectively established on Earth as it is in Heaven? Although we may be perfectly comfortable and happy with where we are in our service to God, could it be that God desires we sacrifice a certain level of comfort and happiness to further develop the capacities he has implanted in us, out of gratitude and love for Him? These are questions we can all contemplate in the inner forum of our consciousness, in complete freedom.