Sunday, March 26, 2023

Tool for the Journey #42 - Trivium & Quadrivium

 


"Mathmatics is the language with which God has written the Universe." Galileo Galilei

quadrivium (n.)

"arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy" (the four branches of mathematics, according to the Pythagoreans), by 1751, from Latin quadrivium, which meant "place where four roads meet, crossroads," from quadri- "four" (from PIE root *kwetwer- "four") + via "way, road, channel, course" 

The adjective quadrivial is attested from mid-15c. in English with the sense of "belonging to the quadrivium," late 15c. with the sense of "having four roads, having four ways meeting in a point." Credit: Etymologyonline . com


One day in my reading I stumbled upon this word but didn't know what it meant. So...down the proverbial rabbit hole I went. The treasure I found and the things I discovered were insightful and beyond ideas I had previously considered. I also learned the use of the term 'crossroads' did not come into common usage until the late 1800s. Up to that point the word 'quadrivial' *(from the Latin: quadrivium) was used to express the meeting point of four ways. *(More on this in a minute).


From Plato and Socrates, from Antiquity all the way through the Renaissance period, the seven liberal arts were studied by the educated classes. According to Plato, a core of mathematical knowledge – later known as the Quadrivium – was essential for an understanding of the Universe. The curriculum was outlined in Plato’s Republic. The name Quadrivium means four ways, but this term was not used until the time of Boethius in the 6th century AD. Credit: https://thatsmaths.com/2017/07/20/quadrivium-the-noble-fourfold-way/


The term Liberal Arts and their division into the TRIVIUM and the QUADRIVIUM date back to the Middle Ages. The trivium includes those aspects of the liberal arts that pertain to the mind.  The quadrivium, those aspects of the liberal arts that pertain to matter. The liberal arts consists of seven branches of knowledge that prepare students for lifelong learning.

The Trivium: grammer, logic, and rhetoric.

The Quadrivium: arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy. 


Logic is the art of thinking; grammar, the art of inventing symbols and combining them to express thought; and rhetoric, the art of communicating thought from one mind to another, the adaptation of language to circumstance. Arithmetic, the theory of number, and music, an application of the theory of number (the measurement of discrete quantities in motion), are the arts of discrete quantity or number. Geometry, the theory of space, and astronomy, an application of the theory of space, are the arts of continuous quantity or extension.


These arts of reading, writing, and reckoning have formed the traditional basis of liberal education, each constituting both a field of knowledge and the technique to acquire that knowledge. 

Credit: https://kevincorbett.com/the-trivium-and-the-quadrivium/


As Proclus wrote:  The Pythagoreans considered all mathematical science to be divided into four parts: one half they marked off as concerned with quantity, the other half with magnitude; and each of these they posited as twofold. A quantity can be considered in regard to its character by itself or in its relation to another quantity, magnitudes as either stationary or in motion. Arithmetic, then, studies quantities as such, music the relations between quantities, geometry magnitude at rest, spherics [astronomy] magnitude inherently moving.

Thus arithmetic is number in itself, music is number in time, geometry is number in space, and cosmology is number in space and time. - Credit: https://equivalentexchange.blog/2011/07/22/the-medieval-quadrivium/

All of this preamble is meant to inform about the historical basis for the trivium and the quadrivium for those who may not be familiar. My particular interest is in the quadrivium because I feel it represents more than meets the eye. The quadrivium/quadrivial/crossroads is also an important concept which has spiritual implications I have been pondering in my meditations.


Is the quadrivium the intersection of science and spirituality, spirit and matter? What exists at the meeting-point of this intersection? It isn't just the meeting-point of two lines, there is something energetic at the junction of the two. What about Christ hanging on the cross *(a quadrivium)? He is suspended between heaven and earth, between matter and spirit. And what is at the very center of the 'cross'? His sacred heart. There is something much deeper here worth considering.


Think of a time when you came to a quadrivial in your life. Perhaps you were facing an intersection of your old life and a completely new life. At this quadrival-intersection you were faced with a choice...stay on the same, known road or muster the courage to head into the unknown, into completely new and unfamiliar territory. When we find ourselves standing at Life's quadrivials, invariably a decision must be made. The temptation is to use our heads at these critical moments. However, I'm learning as I get older that listening for heart-wisdom is often the better choice. In my experience the heart is a truer compass. The heart is always 'true north' not merely 'magnetic north.'


If I stand with my arms outstretched I too become a cross, a quadrival. And what is at the center of the cross, the quadrival of me? My sacred heart. Somehow, in ways I cannot express, I sense there is power not just in the frequency of our hearts, but also in the actual energetic 'structure' of the cross. Someone very wise recently said to me: "Don't see the cross, BE the Cross." He was speaking to the energetics contained within the structure.


                                                             Credit: Leonardo da Vinci


Our hearts are also tied to numbers, just as with the arithmetic of the quadrivium. 


Your heart beats about 100,000 times in one day and about 35 million times in a year. During an average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times. Credit: Nova Online/pbs. org/heart facts 

Thus, our hearts are intimately tied to numbers in time...just like music. There is more power than we can imagine in the 1, 2, 3, 4, musical beating of our oh-so-human hearts. I sense our hearts are both human-matter but also supernatural energy generators. Even the earth has a 'heart-beat' which is measured at 7.83 hertz and is called the Schumann Resonance. My sense is this is all connected in more dynamic, fractalized, holographic ways than we can conceive because like Pi, it goes on to Infinity!


If we go into most Christian churchs in the western world we will see the image of Christ hanging on the cross. Is it significant that we are also shaped like a cross and each of our hearts are at the very center of the cross, the quadrivial that is us? Is there something hidden in plain sight that we may not have noticed or discovered yet? Perhaps the Cross is the physical structure and the Quadrivium is the energetic force which that structure represents in the Quantum Field.


Our heart is the power-station for us to funtion in this human life. The brain can stop, other parts of the body can fail and life can still be sustained if the heart continues beating. What is this heart-energy creating and can we harnass it in evermore creative, expansive, intuitive ways? The science of HeartMath*(heartmath.com) holds important scientifically proven perspective worth learning about. 


I believe each of us has hidden gifts, buried treasure that is only accessible through the portal of our own hearts. Maybe our hearts are wormholes to other dimensions? So much is sparkling and twinkling and waiting to be discovered. When you want answers, when you want access to "higher-states," assume the position of the Cross and feel the energy of the Quadrivium. There is something important about listening to the sound, the music and the wisdom of your own beating heart! Energy. Frequency. Vibration. 3,6,9. The vortex math of Nikola Tesla beating inside our treasure-chest!


Did you ever notice that the first for letters of the word heart are...HEAR!? Be sure to listen!


The CROSS/QUADRIVIUM of YOU is a completely YOU-nique antenna. YOU are already hard-wired to receive customized information from the Blessed Quantum! Your sacred heart knows how to tune in. Trust!


BE the attenna! BE BOLD! BE BRAVE! BE A LISTENER! BElieve in Higher Potentials!

Ask The Quantum and you shall receive! 



In-Joy and gratitude,

Cheryl

QuantumAlchemy.world


"When I look with my eyes, I see what is there. When I look with my heart, I see what is possible." - Cheryl Page

Friday, December 31, 2021

Tool for the Journey #41 - Knowing vs Gnowing

 

                                "May your GNOWING be ever flowing!" - Cheryl Page

 

Knowledge     vs.    Gnowledge

Knowing         vs.    Gnowing

Head               vs.     Heart

 

 

Gnôsis is the Greek word for “knowledge” or “insight”. In a modern context gnosis signifies knowing through observation or experience. However, gnosticism is the name given to a philosophical movement which thrived in the first and second centuries. The gnostics were those who traveled this spiritual path, as it were, and gnosticism historically has emphasized personal spiritual knowledge above the traditional and more orthodox religious teachings and dogma.   

Gnosticism, as an intellectual product, is grounded firmly in the general human act of reflecting upon existence. The Gnostics were concerned with the basic questions of existence or “being-in-the-world” (Dasein)—that is: who we are (as human beings), where we have come from, and where we are heading, historically and spiritually (cf. Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion 1958, p. 334). https://iep.utm.edu/gnostic/

I’ve spent a fair bit of time examining what I think I ‘know’ and believe to be true. We’re taught in school to diligently study the ‘right’ answers so we do well on the test. We tend to stick with this model of learning throughout our entire lives. We seek and find what we believe *(or are told) to be the right answers and this is where we stop. After all, if we have the ‘right’ answer then there is no purpose in looking any further, right?

Looking back across the long course of human history we can pick any point in the progression of time, and see the contemporaneous versions of ‘truth’ and ‘knowledge’ were always only partial. Hindsight, as they say, is twenty-twenty. At some point our ancestors got more information and their perceived ‘truth’ changed – no matter how much some may have kicked, screamed and resisted the new knowledge. Why would today’s truths be any different? Looking at the historical evidence, it is reasonable to suggest that truth is always partial.

A wise person told me: “Be very careful of the mesmerizing bias of what you think you know.” These words changed me. I have arrived at a deep understanding that all knowledge truly is partial - even the things I think I know - and if I want to keep learning I must be open to new information. My dear friend, Steve Villalobos said: “The power of the vessel is in it’s emptiness.” This includes me! Thus, I strive daily to practice ‘kenosis’… to continually become an empty chalice with room for new knowledge/gnowledge.

Wikipedia states: “Kenosis” is derived from the Greek word “kenoo” which means “to empty.” In Christian theology, kenosis (Greek: κένωσις, kénōsis, lit. [the act of emptying]) is the 'self-emptying' of Jesus' own will and becoming entirely receptive to God's divine will.” I keep the word, kenosis on a sticky-note on my mirror – a reminder of the importance of continually emptying myself of what I think I know.

If I’ve learned anything in the last four years since Scott transitioned it is that there is always more to learn and far more to know/gnow than I ever imagined. I make the distinction of knowing *(head) vs. gnowing *(heart) because each are different and both are important and have their place. There are things I need to know in my head but others can only be found with my heart.

“Consciousness does not, by itself, give knowledge. Knowledge must be acquired. No amount of consciousness can give knowledge and no about of knowledge can give consciousness. They are not parallel, and cannot replace one another. When you become conscious you can see things you could not see before.” – P.D. Ouspensky/The Fourth Way.

The most significant ‘jump’ I've made in my own consciousness and gnowing over these past few years is regarding the idea of ‘continuity of consciousness’ after the physical death of the body. A strong body of evidence exists pointing to the ‘truth’ of the idea that we continue to exist in some form after our body dies. The religious and spiritual communities are open to this idea, but now even the scientists, researchers and quantum physicists are coming around.

That being said, we may think we understand the 'truth' of the continuity of consciousness; certainly many religions have their doctrines suggesting what happens after physical death. We may have read books, attended workshops and gathered information from very smart people and we believe this information is the ‘truth’. However, no matter how accurate we feel our understanding is, the full depth and breadth of how we function after death can only ever be partial while in 3D life – even for those who have had near-death-experiences. There are sundry spiritual opinions about how the ‘afterlife’ works and countless beliefs presented as 'truth'…but as soon as we ‘know’ the 'truth' we’re in our heads and access to more information is cut off. Once we know the ‘truth’ we are a full vessel with no space for new information.

Our ‘truths’ are akin to the shadows on the wall in Plato’s allegory – we see the part and decide it is the whole. We make decisions based on partial information we believe to be the whole truth. The shadows tell us is something is there. We see the general shape, we decide what it is based on the information available but the information is always partial. The shadow cannot tell us the color, size or contents of the thing we are observing any more than looking through a single window can tell the contents of an entire house.

I like how author, Itzhak "Ben" Bentov put it:

“I have decided to start writing at my present level of ignorance simply because the circumstances forced me to do so. [..] For example, when one acquires a bit of new information, there are many new questions that are generated by it, and each new piece of information breeds five or ten new questions. These questions pile up at a much faster rate than does the accumulated information. The more one knows, therefore, the greater his level of ignorance. [..] Therefore, I do not claim that the information contained here is the final truth, but I hope that it will stimulate more thinking and speculation by future scientists and interested laymen.

Excerpt From: Itzhak Bentov. “Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousness.”

So, dear readers, on this New Year’s eve 2021 I will bring us full circle:  

May your GNOWING be ever flowing. We would be wise to learn the way a river learns! We would be wise to travel light, flowing over the watery, often mucky liquid path before us, observing all, but holding onto nothing too tightly. We will, not doubt, encounter downed trees and rocks which may, for a time, impede our progress; portages may be necessary. However, if we remain fluid and receptive, we will undoubtedly find our way around these obstacles and learn to live the lessons they offer. The River loves the river bank. The River gnows it will never be separate from the riverbank because they are integral to each other, and thus it keeps flowing onward without fear. The River knows every point along the waterway is ‘truth’ and yet every truth-point is partial. The River knows the boundlessness of the reservoirs of truth; it appreciates the deep confluence of knowing and gnowing...and so it sings and laughs, it dances and breathes and lives only one sparkling question: ‘What if?’

Truth, like The River, is a force of nature that is fluid. Ride the waves, listen, see, taste, feel and trust the ever-flowing process. Always travel with your head but remember to trust your heart. A cup of water scooped from the river is still…The River! You are The River and the 'truth' of you is still partial and ever unfolding! Enjoy the ride and...

Gnow what you Know!

Happy New Year!

Cheryl

 

“It is one of the commonest of our mistakes to consider that the limit of our power of perception is also the limit of all that there is to perceive.”-  C.W. Leadbeater

 

...At the source of the longest river 
The voice of the hidden waterfall 
And the children in the apple-tree 
Not known, because not looked for  
But heard, half heard, in the stillness 
Between the two waves of the sea. 

-T.S. Eliot/Little Gidding