Mason at Burning Man 2012. PHOTO: Mason Dwinell

CC: At one point in the commentary portion of your book (p. 73), you say: “I have been told that 44 minutes of time is required for the whole amount of blood in the human body to pass through the retina. The retina is the only place in the human body where sunlight touches the blood (directly or indirectly).” Later in your commentary (p. 95), you say: “Sunlight increases the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood. This extra oxygen helps to cleanse the bloodstream and tissues as well as encourages the body’s immune system to work more efficiently.” I take it that this is what you mean when you say that a kind of photosynthesis occurs when sunlight hits our blood through our eyes. Do you think that the time of 44 minutes was devised by HRM for his sungazing protocol for this reason, because that is how long it takes all the blood in an individual’s circulatory system to be “solarized” at one time? And if you think it is, can you explain why the protocol does not require an individual to continue this practice?

MD: I am not convinced HRM devised anything—he was simply a spokesperson utilizing information passed down from generations of the Jain religion.

Every body runs a bit differently, but yes, I believe once the physiology of the eyes can handle the intensity and duration, coupled with clean body and blood vibrating at a high frequency, photosynthesis (or some similar clean energetic process) occurs.

CC: And do you have any idea why the protocol would advise that a person reach the point of 44 minutes of viewing, the time period that allows all of a person’s blood to be exposed to the sun through the retina once only, and then cease looking at the sun completely after that? It would seem that such a process may be beneficial to repeat at certain intervals.

MD: I do not know. And I agree, something seems amiss. Perhaps the mind gets to a point of evolution it can create whatever energy it needs through imagination. Without a doubt, there are some pieces and parts missing from of theory, instruction, or direction.

CC: Thanks for being so honest. And to continue in the same vein for a moment: You have no doubt heard it said that all the cells in the human body are replaced about every seven years. What do you think could be the result if an individual were to continue sungazing regularly for seven years, and thereby “solarize” every cell in his or her body? What are your thoughts on this concept, if any?

MD: Maybe—although I have heard many things said. I have learned not to hold much credence in media or Western medical limits. I exist more along the lines of: live, taste, attempt, feel, digest, and, possibly, evolve. When you are truly present and have an experience, that moment in time becomes yours, your experience. No one can tell you differently. Perhaps cells replenish at set rates, perhaps not. I’ll wager there are enough different people hosting different cells that many unique possibilities could come to be.

Yes, it may be helpful to use printed material and lore to lend parameters, but nothing is set in stone—life is constantly ebbing, flowing, and changing. Indeed, we can look to the past for guidance, but we must be careful not to become attached to such standards. Apathy coupled with limitations can create stagnation, and frankly, such patterns are boring.

You, any and all of you reading this, are pioneers. It is your job to be curious about human potential, to push the limits, to imagine a future, and then be present and focused to manifest the impossible as possible. To help create a new way of being, seeing, thinking, feeling, and existing. Oh, and have fun! Giggling, laughing, and dancing along the journey.

We received this photo from Mason at this point in our conversation.

CC: At one point in your journal, you bring up the concept of the “true self” and mention that sungazing led you to knowledge of your true self. Why do you think that it was the act of sungazing that led you to this knowledge, and not something else?

MD: Something else certainly could have aided in this revelation. Yes, meditation can access many of the same realizations; however, the sun helped amplify sensations and awarenesses. When i was able to fully relax and let go, it was as if layers of an onion were falling away. Limitations and foreign programming sliding off, and the true me was birthing itself into the world. People resonated differently, not only with their actions, but also with comments about how I felt and appeared: richer, deeper, peaceful—more.

CC: That is a beautiful description. Elsewhere in your book (p. 81), you mention that man is a photobiotic being and that “our aura” is our “true self.” I assume that you are speaking here of the combination of color bodies related to what are sometimes called chakras or energy centers or force centers, the whole of which is sometimes called the psychic body. Is that correct? And have you ever considered the possibility or found evidence of an even higher type of body, a Light body?

MD: Hmmm—I didn’t see mention of that on page 81. Nonetheless, no. Our aura is our aura. Our true self, our true self. Our soul, our soul—all different, all unique, all energetic. Our chakras are different from our meridians; yet, all of it a swirling mass of an individual. Yes, there are many different aspects of the energetics and light bodies that incorporate the human being. We are truly awesome, complex, and incomprehensibly powerful. All aspects of our energy is around us all the time having an experience. Only with awareness can we begin to feel, listen, and alter our status quo. As we quiet the mind, slow down our lives, learn to breathe, and live more in the present—only then are you able to begin the objective journey into all of the varieties of your energetic makeup that makes you, you.

CC: You’re right. It was pp. 91–92. At one point in your book (p. 78) you mention that you have been told that “the sky is the limit” with sungazing, and you mention that it is up to each individual to decide where this path will take them. You, of course, have written this book about your experience, your path, and where it took you. Could you take a moment to explain why you did not “decide” on another path, a different path; for example, continuing your work with the sun specifically for spiritual purposes?

MD: Hmmmm—while many doors opened during my brief dance with sungazing, I feel my experiences from a decade ago were simply a teaser. Perhaps the main event has yet to occur.

CC: Well, that is not the answer I expected. After reading your book, I got the impression that you had simply put your experiences with the sun aside and gone on to something else. But there is a comment you made to close the section of your book that contains anecdotes about sungazing that should have alerted me to your continued interest in the information that sunlight carries. This is the line (p. 99): “There is plenty that is unknown about the practice of sungazing.” What are the unknown areas that continue to interest or intrigue you?

MD: RE: pages 49–50: One of the experiences that scared me, and intrigued me, was when I had the sensation of voltage traveling up my arms. It was beyond anything I could have imagined. I feel as though now I’m standing on more stable ground, and would very much like to tap into that energy once again. I can only imagine where it would lead. This and having better awareness of all the systems within could make for quite an odyssey.

I also know we have yet to really express our potential. We are capable of so much more.

I am curious.

CC: I remember how awed you were by that sensation. You describe the experience quite clearly in your book. In our Academy we take a more moderate approach to the sun and its energies, and the kind of sensation you are describing is treated late in the first year of practice in our program. There it is described as more of a deep and harmonious tingling and a loving energy rather than an unexpected jolt. I think the difference may lie in the more gradual nature of the approach we take over a more extended period of time. And it now seems to me that you might approach sungazing differently if you were to take it up again. Do you think you would be more interested in such an approach to the sun, a milder and more continuous approach, now that you are more mature and experienced than you were when you were “younger,” or do you see pitfalls in such an approach?

MD: Either gentle or jolting could probably be beneficial depending where in life the practitioner is at the time. For me, I had never even heard of such an experience. So it was a tad on the wowzers side of things.

Yes, now I’m in a different place—almost welcoming such sensations.

<PART 3>

The Earth Was Flat, Mason Dwinell (Xlibris, 2005)

Mason Dwinell PHOTO: from the back cover of his book

For our first Insight Interview, we speak with Mason Dwinell about his 2005 book on sungazing: The Earth Was Flat. Mason was the subject of the 2011 documentary film Eat the Sun, which followed his exploits as a young man searching for information on the ancient practice of looking at the sun, or sungazing. We met him for the first time during the filming, when he came to Northern Nevada to speak to Bishop Gene Savoy Sr. and other members of the Community about their experiences working with the sun and to attend a Sunrise Divine Service with us at Red Rock Consecrated Sanctuary.

Mason wrote The Earth Was Flat a few years after the footage for the film was shot and while the filmmaker, Peter Sorcher, was still editing the film. (You can read more on the film and acquire the DVD at the film’s splash page. You can read more about the book and purchase a copy at Mason’s web site.)

We ran into Mason again this summer during one of his speaking engagements here in Reno. At that time we arranged to carry on an extended email interview with him about his book, which we did from May 15 to September 15, 2012. What you read here, with minor editing, is the result:

CC: Hello, Mason.

It was nice seeing you last weekend at the Psychic Fair in Reno, and I’m glad we could make arrangements to interview you about your book.

MD: Yes, Bob—[I’m] alive and well.

CC: This weekend I was able to read Part 1 of your book and took a bunch of notes, enough to begin our email interview if you are ready to do so. I plan to finish the text in the next day or two.

If you have time to go back and forth with emails every day or two for awhile, let’s get started.

MD: Now is as good a time as any.

CC: Okay. Let’s begin then. There are a number of questions in my notes, so it may take a good number of back-and-forth messages, maybe twenty or so. There is no rush, and I would appreciate full responses when you can give them.

On the acknowledgment page of your book, you thank your friends and family for giving their unconditional support to you so that you were free to “chase the sun.” What kind of support did you receive? And do you think that a community of sungazers could have provided a similar kind of support, or do you think that the kind of support you received specifically from your friends and family was irreplaceable?

MD: By unconditional support, I meant they were there for me if I ever needed them. But more importantly they were not going to hinder [me]. One of my pet peeves is when people actually hinder someone’s quest. Quests are challenging enough as it is, and to have people so entrenched in their issues that they stand in the way is silly and unproductive.

CC: Early in your book, you quote Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, who was the head of the Great White Brotherhood and a teacher of solar viewing. Since you knew of that organization and the organization continues to exist, how is it that you did not connect with the Great White Brotherhood and their system for sungazing instead of ending up following Hiram Ratan Manek (HRM) and his protocol?

MD: HRM was my introduction into the world of sungazing. I had reached about fifteen minutes of gazing prior to beginning research into other techniques or gazers. The experiences I was having were rich enough (which is an understatement), that I figured I might as well let HRM’s protocol run its course before I dipped my toes in other waters.

CC: It took you about four months looking at the sun every day for you to reach fifteen minutes of gazing. That is a pretty long time. Did you begin getting direct personal coaching from HRM during those first four months, or did you go it completely on your own without much concept of what you were doing or what you were in for?

MD: Yeah—it was mostly the blind leading the blind. Four of my friends and I headed into the void on our own. All we had to draw from was our own and each other’s experiences. At about twelve minutes, when things really started to change, i reached out to HRM for some guidance, but even then, I was very much on my own. Eerie, wonderful, terrifying, and totally awesome.

CC: Since you had that experience of “the blind leading the blind,” why do you recommend [pp. 20, 74] that each person approach sungazing in his/her own way rather than under the guidance of experienced practitioners?

MD: Every body is different and every soul is different. An experience, based on a technique or approach, will not relate equally to each person. At the end of the day, the individual experience is all that matters—all that is. Awareness, focus, relaxation, letting go and allowing the time and space in one’s life for change may be the greatest assets one could host for this practice as well as the practice of living life.

CC: If you understand individual sensory and perceptual experience to be what matters most, I can see then why you might say that there is “no wrong way” to approach the sun and that “every person may carve out their own form of sungazing.” However, even if you do not recognize that the sun affects all humans in a similar way or that there is a proper way for all humans to approach the sun that is “The Way,” your journal seems to suggest that you have recognized a process that is common to all who look at the sun, a sequence of experiences that you recognized: An overwhelming sensation of blissful and calming reverence for the sun, the feeling of being immersed in love, the practice of sungazing growing into a form of deep meditation, an incredible sense of peace, conflict with yourself, recognition of the potentials of sungazing on a global level, the intense tingling sensation in your hands and arms as if plugged into a power grid, increase in your overall energy, speeding up of your mind that culminates in a total and complete peace, intense emotional disturbances that you could sense as an intense body odor, supersensitivity in your gastrointestinal system, a wonderful feeling of liberation, sensations in your energy centers (chakras), evidence of solar information factors, etc.

What significance does this sequence of experiences have for you? Do you think that this sequence is peculiar to you individually, or do you think this sequence represents a series of new feelings that is typical to anyone who is getting into the sun? And did HRM or anyone else make you aware of what kind of experiences you would have before you began looking at the sun?

MD: The main reason my friends and I embarked upon the sungazing journey was to save the world—to save humanity. I concluded that if people could understand, or at the very least come to peace with their hungers (the energetic subtleties that drive our choices), then real change would occur. Tranquility, wonder and blissful expression would ensue; no more war due to insecurities, want for power, riches, lust—more more more.

One of the most powerful aspects of the practice was that it is free to every human on earth. Tomorrow the sun will rise.

Yes, any meditation will create a spell of space and quiet within and around one who is still for any length of time. However, I significantly underestimated the power held within the sun’s light. The clarity and peace that I experienced went well beyond anything I had read, seen, or felt prior. Change was afoot. With a balanced and neutral approach, I feel what I experienced can be mirrored by anyone.

While HRM should be credited for sharing information about the practice, short of [his being] a cheer leader, there was no insight instilled. But perhaps that is one of the keys, simply allowing folks to go out and experience life for themselves; not sold, pushed, or bullied by other’s ideals.

CC: How were you made aware that not all transformations that come with ingesting solar energy are necessarily pleasant or beneficial? I remember you mentioning a particular event when you were able to “smell” your bad mood. What kinds of transformational experiences have you had or witnessed that were not beneficial or were especially unpleasant? And what did they tell you about the nature of the energies of the sun?

MD: First off, I wish to reiterate that before embarking upon a journey with the sun (or life for that matter), one must without a shred of doubt, be willing to take 100{1fa2ef75e2e78439128d99df03acfe1d8ee3047374abe3d4676fe3470ff8b909} responsibility for everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen in the their life. 100{1fa2ef75e2e78439128d99df03acfe1d8ee3047374abe3d4676fe3470ff8b909}.

Yes, many of the transformative aspects of my evolution were a tad bumpy. Awareness may be one of the greatest assets we can cultivate; however, awareness does breed awareness. Becoming aware of blocks and limitations that have been slumbering within our systems all along can be uncomfortable and unsettling. Also challenging was having patience with ancient (occasionally past-life) issues bubbling up through my skin in the form of rashes and such. I learned a couple things—fasting can be a powerful and helpful way to help access some deep-rooted issues.

And, utilizing the full vibration of the sun’s light spectrum, if people allow the time and space in their lives for change, and if one is willing to focus, relax through, and let go of emotional history, then evolution will follow. Yes, this process can certainly occur without the sun; however, for better or worse the sun helps isolate and magnify different blocks.

Now, that is all simply the energetic side of things. Regarding the physiological component, I believe that when direct sunlight hits our blood through our eyes, photosynthesis occurs—free, clean, energy!

Mason as he appeared sometime before we contacted him for this interview. PHOTO: Mason Dwinell

Tom Fee (aka Tom McFee)

The pain and sorrow 

of losing someone 

can be very deep 

yet 

seems to be 

in proportion to 

the joy and happiness experienced 

with that special someone 

with the sharing of deep thoughts 

and meaningful moments. 

In parting 

the tears of sadness 

are but a hint 

of the joys that will be missed 

and the pleasures known 

within. 

From Love and Other Painful Joys (1970) by  Tom McFee

Cross at Church of New Epiphany. PHOTO: Tom Fee

  LONELY PEOPLE ON A CROWDED BEACH

                                                    The ocean breeze teases skin and hair

                                         as the carefree sound of children

                                                                             is carried across the sand.

                                                    The beach is covered with sand, small twigs

                                        and people–

                                                                  people together

                                                                                            yet alone and lonely.

                                                    Couples paired off

                                                                             distant physically from the others

                                        A great deal distant emotionally

                                                                                                      from the others

                                       somewhat distant

                                                                            from each other

                                       and each within himself

                                                                                        a stranger.

 From Love and Other Painful Joys  (1970)  by Tom McFee (aka Tom Fee)

Cross at the Church of New Epiphany. PHOTO: Tom Fee

TRANSITION

My soul feels free

slowly drifting upward

becoming  one  with Spirit

as I leave my body behind

rising toward the Light

and Eternal Peace

as the vibrations  of my soul

become one

with the Rhythm of the Universe

as I again return

to the flowing Life Force

of His Divine and Holy Love.

Written 9-9-71 / Revised 11- 25-10

Submitted by Tom Fee (aka Tom McFee)

Into the Light by John Lerma MD (2007)
Messages from the Light by Christophor Coppes (2011)
Saved by the Light by Dannion Brinkley (1994)

PHOTO: HowStuffWorks.com

Late last year (2011) the story of a high school student from my town appeared several times on the local news. The student was Ben Breedlove, who had been born with a heart condition that caused doctors to predict that he would not live beyond his teen years. In December of that year he created a YouTube video called “This Is My Story,” which “went viral.” In it he described (using only note cards) the near-death experiences that occurred to him during traumatic episodes resulting from his heart condition and concluded the video with the simple question and answer: “Do you believe in Angels or God? I do.”

This powerful and unusual story prompted my curiousity about other reports of near-death experiences, so I went to an online book seller and chose three books from among the many available: Messages from the Light by Christophor Coppes (2011), Into the Light by John Lerma, MD (2007), and Saved by the Light by Dannion Brinkley (1994).

In Messages from the Light, Christophor Coppes attempts to sum up and organize the entire body of known near-death experiences (NDEs). His approach appears to be to regard NDEs as evidence of a nonphysical parallel universe that can be known by examining the fragmented descriptions of those who have glimpsed it, almost as I imagine Renaissance Europeans might have tried to understand the New World by analyzing tales from returning explorers.

He describes the typical elements that appear in such experiences, some of which have become almost cultural clichés; for instance, the dark tunnel with a beckoning light at the end. Of course, not all NDEs begin this way, nor do they all contain all of the commonly reported elements. Nevertheless they all display a remarkable consistency. For instance, the “life review,” whereby a loving being of light meets the person and reviews all the events of the individual’s life, is almost universal. This is not done in a judgmental way but in a way that all the consequences of the person’s decisions and actions are experienced firsthand. Another common feature is the insistence by the NDE experiencer that the experience is “more real” than this life.

Coppes picks out messages from NDEs that seem to be of universal interest (as opposed to those that are of interest only to the person involved) and draws his own conclusions from them about how to live a better life in this physical world. He also investigates NDEs that are negative or frightening in character (which do make up a small fraction of reported experiences) and NDEs of those who attempted suicide. He considers an obvious question: If the life on the other side is happier and more real, then why not end one’s own life? Here he notes that whenever this thought comes up during an NDE, the answer comes back that suicide is a mistake: Everyone has a specific purpose in this life that is short-circuited by exiting prematurely.

Dr. John Lerma, author of Into the Light is a palliative-care physician who practices at a large and well-regarded hospice in the Houston area. He is responsible for prescribing pain medication that allows patients to be as comfortable as possible without being comatose and arranging for other care as might be required by the patients or requested by their relatives. His book contains sixteen fairly detailed accounts of individual patients and their near-death experiences, ranging from a nine-year-old boy who had three Angelic buddies and swam with dolphins during his NDE, to a retired Catholic priest who joyfully refused all pain medication because he was convinced that his experience of pain was beneficial to humankind.

Dr. Lerma, by the very nature of his practice, spends a great deal of time at the bedsides of terminally ill people, and so many patients begin to open up and honestly describe their experiences to him. NDEs, at least during the period of time covered in the book, were routinely dismissed as hallucinations or delirium by other MDs, and in the face of such treatment, most patients learned to keep quiet. By maintaining an open mind, Dr. Lerma slowly gained the confidence of these sixteen patients and, by his account, personally much more.

All the near-death experiencers in this book also insist that their experiences are more compelling and real than the life they are about to exit. They report Angelic beings of various forms and statures who appear to them when awake, as well as compelling experiences during sleep. These patients sometimes were also able and willing to let Dr. Lerma ask a question or two himself to a visiting Angelic being.

The figure of Jesus also appeared to two or three patients, each time at the foot of the bed, unlike the Angelic beings, who appeared in corners or other places in the room. Dr. Lerma asked about this, and the answer was that it was symbolic of the washing of the feet as a sign of respect and that those in the spiritual world hold us in the physical world in high regard. He also once asked another patient, “Why Jesus, and not Buddha or some other great religious figure?” and the answer was, “Dr. Lerma, is that really important?”

Despite there being only sixteen experiences in this book, as opposed to the hundreds that were surveyed in Coppes’s book, they make up for that by their depth, the contexts of the persons who experienced them, and the conversational quality of many of them. The phrase “negotiating with Angels” appears more than once in this book. Negotiating not about whether to stay in this world or not but about arrangements to either forgive or provide for their family members before they leave permanently. I get the feeling that there is much wisdom embodied in the experiences documented here—what is said in the context of a person’s life, what is said for the benefit of everyone else (presumably including the readers of the book), and what is left unsaid. I plan to visit this book again.

Saved by the Light was ghost-written by Mr. Paul Perry, who in his foreword to the book describes wanting to write a book about the best and most revealing near-death experience. Putting this question to Dr. Raymond Moody, the “father of near-death studies,” in 1992, Perry found out about Dannion Brinkley. Perry subsequently spent an extensive amount of time with Brinkley, interviewing him, and even living for a period of time in Brinkley’s home, sleeping on Brinkley’s couch.

Brinkley was by his own admission not the nicest of people. Most of his early life was spent as a contractor for the U.S. Armed Forces, in what seems like a special operations role. In 1975, at the age of twenty-five, Brinkley was struck by lightning while talking on a landline telephone in his home state of South Carolina. The resulting injuries were severe enough that doctors did not expect him to live, even after he recovered from being clinically dead. It was during this latter event that he had his long and detailed NDE.

The description of his NDE life review consists mostly of the recounting of things that he regrets, such as the numerous fights and other trouble he got into while growing up. After the life review he was ushered into a wondrous lecture hall in a crystal cathedral, where thirteen beings of light behind a podium communicated information to him. The first twelve each presented images of future events such as images of hollow people, who symbolized the Spiritual emptiness of America after the Vietnam War, nuclear and other ecological disasters, and wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. The book jacket states that 117 revelations were given, 100 of which have been realized. Nowhere near 117 are described in the book, and while many of the revelations have come to pass, the dates ascribed to many others in the crystal cathedral have passed without the associated events transpiring.

The thirteenth light being did not have predictions but instead stated that the preceding visions of future events were not necessarily cast in stone—that humans are powerful Spiritual beings. He said that those who go to earth are heroes and heroines who have the courage to go to earth to expand their beings and become cocreators with God. In furtherance of this the thirteenth being went on to direct Brinkley to establish healing centers. There were seven types of rooms to be used in these centers, each being specially designed to perform a specific function.

After this, the NDE ended, and most of the rest of the book is taken up with Brinkley’s recovery from the debilitating physical effects of the lightning strike. Like others who have experienced near-death, Brinkley found his experience so compelling that he was moved to try to communicate it and the importance of establishing the healing centers, even though his ability to talk was shattered. His friends and family described him as constantly babbling like a madman the first few weeks and months after the strike. His ability to walk and speak eventually returned after much effort. This story is of interest in itself; however, I wish that more of the book had been oriented toward describing the healing centers and his progress toward making them a reality.

These three books provide a good enough introduction to NDEs, but there are now available extensive writings on the subject. Coppes’s book contains a bibliography and is well documented. Both Dr. Lerma and Dannion Brinkley have published additional books, and there exists a Journal of Near-Death Studies, as well as at least two websites that are dedicated to this topic. (Near Death Experience Research Foundation and International Association for Near Death Studies).

Cosolargists will not be surprised by the appearance of the word “light” in the titles of these three books as well as many others. There can be little doubt that Spiritual life is composed of light or some form of energy that is closely related to light. Also of note is the report of a vibratory level in some NDEs with higher, brighter beings and regions having a more rapid rate of vibration than lower and darker regions.

Finally, one of the most fascinating aspects of these experiences is the insistence that they represent a form of existence that is more real than physical life. For me this is strong evidence that this physical plane of existence was either created by mistake or for a purpose which has not yet been generally revealed.

Submitted by Ron Theriault

Carlos Suares (1892–1976). The Cipher Of Genesis: Using The Qabalistic Code to Interpret the First Book of the Bible and the Teachings of Jesus (2005)

A book by Carlos Suares of a little more than 200 pages, translated into English in 1970. This book presents us with a translation of the book of Genesis using a code to decipher the traditional meaning of the Hebrew words in the text. Originally each of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet represented archetypes emerging as cosmic forces whose interplay not only creates this Earth, but all Worlds and every dimension of Being. Suares reveals this lost Ha-Qabala, held by ancient Rabbans that unlocks the true understanding hidden in the first book of the Torah. Relentlessly, the contents in Cipher of Genesis teeter on the brink of understanding, but always unfathomable, and not quite fully grasped.

Genesis in its original content is not lore from the distant past, but expresses states of consciousness, living forces present now, intended to project into our very being. Each letter in the text has a designation, interacting with other letters within the word to form a concept. This concept is then put in syntax with other word-concepts within the indigenous verse, revealing something quite unlike any conventional reading. By no means would one word convey the entire meaning of the line, but let’s take one word from Gen 1:3 “And God said, Let there be . . .

AWR. The Hebrew word for light.
Pronounced ‘Or’, it is composed of the three letters: Aleph, Waw, and Raysh. Each letter corresponds to the following:

Aleph— the unthinkable abstract principle of all that is and all that is not. It is the creative immanence but was never created, the imperishable pulsation penetrating all existence, timeless and elusive, emanating from beyond all realms.

Waw (or Vav)—expresses a copulative or connecting mediator, a fertilizing agent.

Raysh—Each germ of life has an envelope. Raysh is the ultimate expression of this. It is the cosmic container and is conceivable in the same manner one might ponder the finiteness of the physical universe.

The schema Awr (translated as “light”) can be cognized as the unconditional movement of the discontinuous and unthinkable Aleph imprinting itself on Raysh, the exalted multiple and infinitely expanding container. The true context of AWR is an ever-occurring primordial event: the wedding of Two Infinites. It is around all everywhere. In all everywhere. Beyond all everywhere . . . it is alive. Although this is only a single word from Gen 1:3, one might get the sense that the verse is not confined to a ‘Once upon a time’ episode, but a continual process outside of “moment by moment.”

Such is an example that Suares admits he cannot offer the truth of Genesis, but only images of that truth, because to understand it in its original intent is not to synthesize a language but to experience “a would-be transmission from the unknown.” This book is not a leisurely read. Although the subject matter is laced with commentaries of psychology, sociology, politics, and physics that lend the reader breathing space, it is still a very dense publication.

The author conveniently offers a formatted Code of the Hebrew letter-numbers, and while the initial letter code is brief, oftentimes a letter’s explanation is expanded throughout the course of the book. Because the quintessence of the letters is by nature conceptual, it is risky to confine them in any brittle terms of our languages. The interaction of these primal archetypes do not occur linearly but more in a simultaneous sense. Even so, The Code can be viewed as an ordered emanation of existence, one primordial essence sequentially leading to the next. An explanation of the first five letters, in their order, illustrates such an idea:

Aleph, no.1 the unthinkable life-death, abstract principle of all that is and all that is not. Aleph does not possess the qualities of existence in duration. It is beyond that.

Bayt (or Vayt), no.2 is the archetype of all dwellings, of all containers. Bayt conveys the whole duality of existence, it allows energy to reflect so energy can discern that which is not itself.

Ghimel, no.3 is the movement of every container animated by Bayt. Ghimel is motion expressed as uncontrolled function, action that is not predisposed.

Dallet, no.4 is the resistance to destruction. Dallet is the archetype of resistance, allowing energies to order.

Hay, no.5 is the archetype of universal life. The previous four emanations bring about the emergence of Hay, which does not exclaim individual existence, but is rather its potential.

Following the explanations of the letter-numbers six through nine, we come to Yod, the 10^th letter, which culminates as a projection of Aleph into temporal continuity, creating duration, which by its very nature creates its own demise.

Yod is existence. Intent on itself. In contrast, Aleph, open to all possibilities, is timeless— yet deeply hidden, almost absent, buried by Yod’s pronounced disposition to mimic it. As Yod struggles to re-invent Aleph in an effort to perpetuate itself, it must eventually yield to Aleph or otherwise be consumed by its own duration. In order to prolong itself, Yod is constantly balancing resistance and flexibility: resistance to maintain its identity and flexibility so that it can be transient.

These letter-numbers are aspects, issuants, of one cosmic energy just as every color of a rainbow is of, and in, the light. They begin to express their complete meaning only through interaction with other letter-numbers, and their play is not restricted by phonetical positioning as are secular characters. Shemesh (Sheen-Mem-Sheen) is the Hebrew word for “sun.” Sheen the “Breath of God”. Mem the maternal waters. Sheen: the “breath of God”. Fusion! And then again something else . . . left entirely to the reader. That is the nature of Autoit Qabala. Open. Breathing. Aborting the meticulous.

Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, The Garden of Eden, Elohim, Jehovah, and many other archetypes are addressed, decoded, and placed in context to the Genesis story events, opening an entirely new vista, never imagined by most. These biblical figures seen in the light of the Qabala become what Suares calls “abstract formulas of cosmic energy focused in the human psyche.” As the book progresses, Suares leaves it more for the reader to make in-depth inquiries into the specific translations.

It is worthy of mention that Suares received a degree in architecture in Paris. Later he went on to be a painter for fifteen years, researching the composition of light and color, which resulted in his book L’Hyperbole chromatique.

Forty years of effort culminated in Suares’ Cipher of Genesis, which some consider his pinnacle publication. Such a unique unveiling as this comes along only every 50 years or so. Anyone involved in language, psychology, religion, sociology, anthropology, architecture, or fine arts would find the disclosures of this book to be a welcome resource in their tool belt.

Reviewed by Michael McIntyre

Check out the book online at Amazon.com.

Popular science programs often revolve around the question of whether physicists will find a “theory of everything.” What that usually means is a single theory that explains the four known fundamental forces of nature: the two nuclear forces, strong and weak; the electromagnetic force; and the gravitational force. Physicists, however, usually refer to such a theory as a “unified field” theory.

Currently, a single theory or model that includes all four forces is a tough and long-standing problem. The current theory that explains the nongravitational forces is called the Standard Model, and is an outgrowth of particle physics and quantum theory. It is quantum in nature, which is to say that it explains the forces in terms of quanta, or indivisible quantities of mass or energy. The best gravitational theory (the General Theory of Relativity) is primarily geometric in nature and contains no feature that would allow for the quantization of gravitational energy. This is particularly frustrating for those who study black holes, as all four forces interact there as nowhere else. More significantly, the General Theory breaks down at the center of a black hole.

If a unified field theory is found, it is doubtful that it would be a “theory of everything” that explains all that there is to know about the physical universe, but the question itself is worth pondering. Could there be a point where everything is known about the physical world? A self-consistent set of theories that completely explains the physical universe would imply that the physical universe is a closed system; i.e., that there is nothing beyond, for if there were something beyond, it too must be explained by the theory or else be completely isolated from the physical. Perhaps the close relationship between physics and mathematics can provide a few clues.

The ability of mathematics to explain the world we live in has been noted several times by scientists and philosophers. Nobel laureate physicist Eugene Wigner referred to the “unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics” in explaining physical phenomena, and Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, “How is it possible that mathematics, a product of human thought that is independent of experience, fits so excellently the objects of physical reality?”

Time and again, mathematical concepts and structures developed in isolation have turned out to apply to the physical world, and mathematical models developed to describe some observed phenomenon have predicted previously unobserved phenomena. For instance, when the physicist Paul Dirac developed a key equation that describes the behavior of moving electrons in the late 1920s, he noticed that there was another solution where the charge of the electron was positive instead of negative. In 1932 just such a particle was discovered: the anti-electron.

Mathematics is of course based on axioms, or simple statements that are accepted as factual and are not required to be proven, with everything else being derived logically from the axioms. The axioms themselves seem to be observations of the world we live in. If there are two pencils on a table, and I add two more, it is a directly observable fact that there are now four pencils on the table. Whatever axioms result in the conclusion that 2+2=4 can comfortably be said to be directly observable facts of the world we live in.

But what of the logical processes by which deductions from axioms are made? As some have put it: Is mathematics only a product of the human mind, or does it have an existence independent of human thought, as Plato and his followers thought? Without attempting to answer such a deep question, it is still possible to accept this close relationship for what it is, with the aim of gaining an insight into the physical world, by examining the mathematical one.

In light of the above, it may be helpful to look more closely at the concept of a closed system by considering a simple closed mathematical system consisting of the set of integers (all whole numbers, the negative whole numbers, and zero) and the operations of addition and subtraction. Any two integers when added together will always produce another integer. Likewise, any two integers when subtracted from each other result in another integer. This system is closed, i.e. every possible operation within it results in an object which is a member of the system. This system is in fact a special kind of closed mathematical system called a “group.”

Now add the operation of multiplication to the system. Here again, the system is still closed, as any two integers when multiplied together always produce another integer. If the operation of division is added to the system, however, one sees immediately that it is no longer closed: 2/5 and all other such fractions are not integers, and the concept of number must expand beyond integers in order to accommodate division of integers.

Of course fractions (the rational numbers) have been part of mathematical knowledge for at least three thousand years, but this is hardly the only time in which the concept of number had to be expanded to accommodate expanding knowledge. Another example is the conundrum faced by the ancient Greeks when it was proved by the Pythagoreans that the square root of two could never be exactly represented by a ratio of two integers. The Greeks were quite familiar with representing lengths numerically: the impetus for calculating the square root of two was in fact to determine the length of the diagonal of a unit square. Since they only knew about rational numbers, imagine their surprise when they determined that numbers as they knew them, could not represent the diagonal length! This proof was in fact kept secret under penalty of death, for fear of unsettling consequences.

If a theory that unifies gravity and the other three forces in a single framework is ever developed, there is a real possibility that it may require a re-envisioning of some fundamental physical concepts, such as time, space, matter, and energy, in much the same way that the computation of the diagonal of a square required an expansion of the concept of number. Even so, it would still not be a “theory of everything,” as it would not prove that physics, and by extension, the physical universe is a closed system. So is mathematics itself a closed system, the extent of which simply hasn’t been found yet?

There is an account in Euclid’s Elements of an argument that addresses the aforementioned Pythagorean problem, but the issues raised by this problem were not really settled for over two millennia and required that numbers be represented by an infinite string of digits. In the nineteenth century Georg Cantor and his students explored this new concept of number, which today comprises irrational numbers. As any grade school student today knows, using decimal notation, rational numbers are represented as a string of digits that eventually becomes an infinitely repeating sequence of digits, whereas irrational numbers never repeat and therefore cannot be exactly represented by a finite set of quantity symbols. (The radical sign, which is used to represent roots, symbolizes an operation on its argument and not a quantity per se.)

Many mathematicians of Cantor’s time objected to the inclusion of infinite processes in mathematics; nevertheless, irrational numbers are an accepted concept today. Even Cantor’s description of infinite (or transfinite) quantities by means of set theory is now commonly accepted. The notion of number has expanded several times since the days when shepherds needed to know whether a sheep was missing at the end of the day!

So mathematics now includes, and reasons about, infinite quantities (an “infinity of infinities”), but can it be said to be either open or closed? After all, calculus, which is centuries old, deals with infinite and infinitesimal quantities. For instance, an integral is nothing more than the sum of an infinite number of infinitesimally small quantities that , when done correctly, results in a finite quantity.

The question of the closure of mathematics was raised more directly in the early twentieth century by the eminent mathematician David Hilbert, who is most remembered for his list of twenty-three important unsolved problems, which was published in 1900. Hilbert and many of his contemporaries espoused a “formalist” view of mathematics whereby all of mathematics could be based on a few well-chosen axioms and that all derivations from these axioms would be complete and self-consistent.

To elaborate a bit on formalism, computer-programming languages are all formal languages, as opposed to the natural languages that are spoken by people. Each word and each element of syntax has, and must have, one and only one meaning or function. If there is ambiguity in any element, it can result in ambiguity of any statement expressed in the language. Imagine how the English sentence “My car needs to be washed badly” would be interpreted by a formal language system where the word “badly” can have only one meaning!

Curiously, this formalist impulse parallels the thinking of physicists of about the same era. In the late 1800s it was generally thought that only a few more details in physics needed to be worked out, such as why things glow when they are heated up, and determining what the medium was in which light waves traveled. In fact these two small and troublesome details turned out to be just the tips of larger icebergs of knowledge. Unraveling the former led to quantum theory, and investigating the latter led to the theory of Special Relativity.

The expectations of the formalist school of mathematics were not to be realized, however. In 1931 Kurt Gödel published his Incompleteness theorems, which proved the impossibility of mathematics’ ever being completely self-consistent, which has forced the formalists to retrench and set more limited goals. In essence, Gödel demonstrated that no logical system that is complex enough to include arithmetic, can prove or disprove all possible propositions that are expressible by it.

A simple example of an undecidable proposition is: “This statement is false.” The self-referential nature of the statement is understandable, but the statement taken by itself is neither true nor false. Such a statement is useful in the more inclusive sphere of human reasoning: it has just been used as an analogy of a mathematically undecidable proposition. Of course the human mind is not a formal logical system, but Gödel showed that any more-encompassing system of formal logic in which this statement is decidable in some way, would itself contain undecidable propositions.

So where does all of the above leave the issue? Is there a “theory of everything”? Assuming that the close parallel between physics and mathematics continues to hold, physicists will never know everything about the physical universe due to Gödel’s remarkable theorem. There arise inevitable gaps in what mathematics can prove, and it would be surprising if the physical sciences did not share the same characteristic.

Moreover, the trends in both physics and mathematics would argue against a theory of everything. Seemingly small, unsolved problems in physics often turn out to be the tips of much larger issues, and concepts about numbers and operations on them have constantly expanded to become more inclusive. Neither mathematics nor physics seems to be closed, which leads the reasonable observer to conclude that the physical universe itself is not a closed system.

If the universe is not closed, is it infinite? Since the histories of both mathematics and physics demonstrate that complete understanding of a subject usually requires inclusion of elements of a more encompassing body of knowledge, it is plausible that there is no end to this process and that existence in general is infinite.

Ron Theriault 2011.12.31

For further investigation:

Burger, Edward. “Zero to Infinity: A History of Numbers.” DVD Lectures. Chantilly, VA: Teaching Company, 2007.

Kramer, Edna. The Nature and Growth of Modern Mathematics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Univ. Press, 1981.

Livio, Mario. Is God a Mathematician? New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.

Pollock, Steven. “Particle Physics for Nonphysicists.” DVD Lectures. Chantilly, VA: Teaching Company, 2003.

THE AUTHOR: Ron Theriault earned a B.S. degree in physics from the University of Michigan, and has been working as a software engineer since then. He holds a ministerial title in the International Community of Cosolargy, and is an active supporter of the church.

Starling murmuration. PHOTO: ad551/Flickr

Sample one of the intelligences on our planet through the video link below.

Murmuration. No one knows why they do it. Yet each fall, thousands of starlings dance in the twilight above England and Scotland. The birds gather in shape-shifting flocks called murmurations, having migrated in the millions from Russia and Scandinavia to escape winter’s frigid bite. Scientists aren’t sure how they do it, either. The starlings’ murmurations are manifestations of swarm intelligence, which in different contexts is practiced by schools of fish, swarms of bees, and colonies of ants. As far as I am aware, even complex algorithmic models haven’t yet explained the starlings’ aerobatics, which rely on the tiny birds’ quicksilver reaction time of under 100 milliseconds to avoid aerial collisions—and predators—in the giant flock. After a tour de force in the dusky sky, the birds roost in Britain’s rural pastures, settling down to sleep (and chatter) after their evening ballet.

Two young ladies who were out for a late afternoon canoe ride caught the wonderful murmuration display on video. The URL for the short video is below. Watch the variation of color and intensity of the patterns that the birds make in proximity to one another. And take a look at the reaction of the girl in the bow of the canoe watching the aerial display. Enjoy.

Watch the amazing 2-minute video of a massive flock of starlings “dancing” in the sky of England.

Video link and accompanying text submitted by Robert Anderson.

REVIEW: The Healing Sun: Sunlight and Health in the 21st Century by Richard Hobday, PhD

Two contrasting paradigms of our health relationship to the sun are presented in this book: advice from the modern medical community to avoid the sun, and the record of healing work done using the sun during the first half of the 20th century. Dr. Hobday also explores the health importance of natural light in buildings and the orientation of buildings that produces the best natural light. This well-researched book is full of good, practical information on how to derive health benefits from the sun.

Read the review of this book by Rebecca Willis on Cosolargy.org.