The Blackness of Gravity

A Perfect Storm of Turbulent Gases in the Omega-Swan Nebula, Photo by NASA

“Gravitation is a natural phenomenon and one of the fundamental forces by which all objects with mass attract each other. In everyday life, gravitation is most commonly thought of as the agency that gives objects weight. It is responsible for keeping the Earth and the other planets in their orbits around the Sun; for keeping the Moon in its orbit around the Earth, for the formation of tides; for convection (by which hot fluids rise); for heating the interiors of forming stars and planets to very high temperatures; and for various other phenomena that we observe. Gravitation is also the reason for the very existence of the Earth, the Sun, and most macroscopic objects in the universe; without it, matter would not have coalesced into these large masses and life, as we know it, would not exist.” (Wikipedia, 2008)

Beyond a critical point within a finite space, freedom diminishes as numbers increase. ...The human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who do survive.

Frank Herbert (1920 - 1986), Dune

The kinematical and dynamical equations describing the trajectories of falling bodies are considerably simpler if the gravitational force is assumed constant but bodies never fall in unison. This theory is useful to explain the dilemma we all face in the search for happiness and spiritual balance. Humans by their nature, encoded deep into their being are solitary souls that preserve a secret world of existence that is inaccessible to all. I call this the secret garden where we sequester our hopes, fears, desires, and the inner realm of our dreams. Over the course of a life we allow precious few to glimpse past the door of the garden. All of us float in isolation in space subject to the attractive or repulsive forces of gravity. Our family, friends, relatives, mentors and strangers all exert the force of gravitation on us to varing degree. In thermodynamics the closer two bodies are the greater the gravitational bond, although this might not be the case with spiritual influences.

As the gravitational pull grows within the closest of relationships an elliptical orbit is established which represents a balance of energy for a small moment in time. We find our selves falling into comfortable orbits that may or may not allow the individual to nourish and tend the secret garden. As relationships build and families grow the gravitational forces change and shift, creating new orbits some of which are closer, others than travel further from the nucleus. It’s most important to realize that at any moment in time everything is in constant motion and dynamically changing. Each new experience, each new acquaintance, each new flower in the secret garden changes the balance of gravitational forces in our lives. Relationships in order to survive must allow orbits to change and seek new balances. Excessively close orbits can implode and collapse like a black star, consuming all light and energy, destroying both bodies. These orbits are inherently unstable and destructive, but the pull of gravitational forces appears too great to overcome creating a death spiral in the secret garden as the blackness of gravity blinds us.

The Aristotelian theory of gravity was a theory that stated that all bodies move towards their natural place. For some objects, Aristotle claimed the natural place to be the center of the earth, wherefore they fall towards it. For other objects, the natural place is the heavenly spheres, wherefore gases, steam for example, move away from the centre of the earth and towards heaven and to the moon. I like to think that all bodies move towards their natural place eventually overcoming the influences of gravitational forces that traps us into artificial or obsolete orbits. Therefore is becomes our primary challenge to find our natural place where the secret garden flourishes. We must always be moving toward finding the natural place regardless of the consequences, because denial of this state of balance is spiritual destruction and emotional bankruptcy. In this balance a new series of orbits will be established that foster personal growth and fulfillment.

This explanation oversimplifies the inherent contradictions in life which is the duality of existence. Gravitational forces are just one example of the duality of life, being pulled in two directions by opposing forces. We all seek to balance between opposing forces in seeking happiness. Yet it must be understood that happiness is illusionary always fleeting and can not be guaranteed without constant toil and mental exertion. Each of us must always tend the secret garden, unending in our journey to find those precious few souls which we can allow for a moment in time a glimpse past the door into the garden. Over the years, I have become comfortable with the duality of life, since most of my existence is bifurcated by travel, a constant state of disconnection. Acceptance of the duality of life in seeking our natural place, our balance, while always in motion and changing is the essence of spirituality and emotional bliss.

Many religions embrace the struggle in finding balance in the duality of life. Hinduism seeks enlightenment through the acceptance of Advaita or the concept of oneness with the duality of life. Advaita (a+dvaita = non-duality) simply means that the Source, by whatever name known - Primal Energy, Consciousness, Awareness, Plenitude, God - is Unicity, Oneness, Non-duality. The manifestation that arises or emerges from the Source is based on duality, the inevitable existence of interconnected opposites: male and female, beauty and ugliness, good and evil. At any moment there are bound to be interconnected opposites. The sage accepts the duality that is the basis of life and is anchored in peace and tranquility while facing the pleasures and pains of life exactly like the ordinary person. The ordinary person does not accept the duality, the existence of interconnected opposites at any moment of life, chooses between them and is unhappy.

In the teachings of the Yoga of Devotion Retreats, the sage accepts the 'duality' of life; the ordinary person chooses between the interconnected opposites, and lives in the unhappiness of 'dualism'. The man of understanding certainly sees preferences being made in daily living between the polaric opposites, but is totally aware of the fact that the preferences happen according to the individual programming in each case, and are not made by any individual person doing the preference. The man of understanding is, therefore, always in tune with the Source or in balance with gravitational forces. When the final flash of total understanding happens, it is not at all unlikely for the individual to realize the unbroken wholeness of the universe and to clearly see the whole range of polaric opposites as a great illusion or a play of a feigned quarrel between lovers.

Another source of insight and inspiration on the challenge of duality is from a chapter in the book 'The Tao of Physics'. A basic conjecture in Tao, the Chinese philosophy is that there is an underlying equilibrium of two opposing forces in nature. The Chinese call these the yang and the yin. The yang symbolizes the masculine nature of reality, the rational, calculating, analyzing side; whereas the yin represents the feminine, the more sensitive, delicate, conscious side of things. Chinese believe that all human life is interplay between these two forces, and equilibrium is desired between the two for a smooth functioning of things.

This duality is not only seen in human nature, but also in all things in life. Every aspect of life has this dual nature, or rather everything has these seemingly opposite extremes to itself. Good-evil, success-failure, life-death, expansion-contraction, up-down, positive-negative are all examples of these opposites. The greatness of Tao and Hindu philosophies lies not in the realization of this duality of things, but in overcoming the so-called opposite natures of the duality, and realizing the underlying unity in them. It is the art of seeing good in evil or success in failure and living between the lines in harmony.

The duality of life is most prominently in conflict between our inner secret garden and the world around us which requires allegiance and strict codes of behavior. Whereas our dreams, hopes and desires more often lead us into an orbit which is in conflict with the gravitational forces that are pulling us in another direction. It is the inability to escape artificial or obsolete orbits which fuels conflicted emotions and ultimately creates greater and greater instability as one suppresses the need to seek the natural space of self actualization. Living to sustain another’s orbit is not living at all, its indentured servitude of a life denied.

In the early 20th century, Sigmund Freud attempted to define the duality of the human mind with the psychoanalytic model of the id, ego, and superego. Freud posited a structural model of the mind in which these three parts interacted and wrestled with each other for dominance; the result of this constant struggle is the whole of each human's behavior. The gravitational forces that we place upon ourselves are also in constant motion, ebbing and flowing attempting to seek a natural balance. Any state of emotional equilibrium is fleeting as we grapple with new thoughts and experiences.

The term id is derived from Latin meaning inner desire and is dominated by the pleasure principle standing in direct opposition to the super-ego. “The id is responsible for our basic drives such as food, sex, and aggressive impulses. It is amoral and egocentric, ruled by the pleasure–pain principle; it is without a sense of time, completely illogical, primarily sexual, infantile in its emotional development, and will not take "no" for an answer. It is regarded as the reservoir of the libido or "love energy".”

The super-ego tends to stand in opposition to the desires of the id and acts as the conscience, maintaining our sense of morality and the prohibition of taboos. Freud's theory implies that the super-ego is a symbolic internalization of the father figure and cultural regulations. Fractured relationships with one’s father can manifest itself in an over compensation of the super-ego at the expense of the id or keeper of the secret garden.

“The ego is the mediator between the id and the superego; trying to ensure that the needs of both the id and the superego are met. It is said to operate on a reality principle, meaning it deals with the id and the superego; allowing them to express their desires, drives and morals in realistic and socially appropriate ways. It is said that the ego stands for reason and caution, developing with age.”

“When the ego is personified, it is like a slave to three harsh masters: the id, the super-ego and the external world. It has to do its best to suit all three, thus is constantly feeling hemmed by the danger of causing discontent on two other sides. It is said however, that the ego seems to be more loyal to the id, preferring to gloss over the finer details of reality to minimize conflicts while pretending to have a regard for reality. But the super-ego is constantly watching every one of the ego's moves and punishes it with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inferiority. To overcome this, this ego employs methods of defense mechanism. Denial, displacement, intellectualization, fantasy, compensation, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression and sublimation were the defense mechanisms Freud identified.”

As we struggle to seek a natural state of balance it is easy to see how both internal and external forces can create conflicted emotions which can paralyze an individual, manifesting into feelings of helplessness, confusion and conflict ultimately laying the foundation for depression. All of us must embrace the duality of life recognizing that some actions of self survival may be viewed as instability in the orbits surrounding us. Acceptance of the duality of opposing forces allows us to embrace adjustments in our orbit by the ones that love us the most, for it is a principal of natural law that no orbit can remain static or fixed. As a result no one should expect to keep someone confined to an orbit that is in conflict with the natural place of self balance.

Outlining a framework for happiness is the easy part, actually finding and maintaining that natural state of grace is a life long pursuit, a journey without end that will take us to places unimagined. We should not fear where the attractive forces of nature may take us as long as it toward balance where the secret garden flourishes and dreams are realized. I have found that taking my hands off the wheel, eliminating the desire to steer and manage gravity, is the most empowering feeling of all. Seek out whose individuals who make the garden grow, allow the gravitational forces of attraction to move you to your natural place or otherwise fall into the blackness of gravity.

The great majority of us are required to live a life of constant, systematic duplicity. Your health is bound to be affected if, day after day, you say the opposite of what you feel, if you grovel before what you dislike and rejoice at what bring you nothing but misfortune. Our nervous system isn't just a fiction, it's part of our physical body, and our soul exists in space and is inside us, like teeth in our mouth. It can't be forever violated with impunity.

Boris Pasternak (1890 - 1960), Doctor Zhivago

In the space which thought creates around itself there is no love. This space divides man from man, and in it is all the becoming, the battle of life, the agony and fear. Meditation is the ending of this space, the ending of the me.

Krishnamurti

Poutine, Pernot & Poussé

Notre Dame Cathedral, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2007. Photo by Mr. Blue

“The beginning of knowledge is the discovery of something we do not understand.”

Frank Herbert (1920-1986)

The sounds of the calèche or horse-drawn carriages echo on narrow cobblestone streets, flanked by 18th- and 19th-century greystone buildings as I watch the snow swirl and dance on the sidewalk. December has brought me to Old Montreal for a board meeting. Our hotel is a delightful historic stone structure over 200 years old, which is considered by Conde Naste as the finest hotel in Canada and I have found no reason to disagree. The holiday spirit fills the air as Christmas decorations adorn the restaurants beckoning to come in and sit by the warm fire to indulge in the exquisite French cuisine. Montreal is the world’s second-largest French-speaking city but is also a melting pot of cultures from around the world, as its mosaic of neighborhoods and diversity of restaurants fill Old Town.

As I walk along the St. Lawrence River waterfront under a long allee of snow covered trees, I am following in the footsteps of Jacques Cartier, who became the first European to reach the area now known as Montreal in 1535 when he entered Island of Montreal while in search of the Northwest Passage and gold. Montreal was named for the Island of Montreal, which in turn was named for Mount Royal a mountain, immediately north of downtown Montreal. As I turn my back to the river the historic facades of Old Montreal frame the dome of the Gothic Revival Notre-Dame basilica which is renowned for the dazzling opulence of its interior. Within an hour I’m completely at home in this beautiful city which is as close to being in Europe as you can find on the North American continent.

Half of our board members are Canadians, who are intent in sharing every aspect of Montreal culture, which makes the stay even more special. Our first new delight was traveling across town to have lunch at the finest Poutine restaurant in Montreal. None on the Canadians would explain what Poutine was as we huddled in the cab. All they would say in that you can’t adequately describe Poutine, it needs to me experienced. A few of the more fussy Americans are concerned when they could not discover the origin of Poutine. In preparation for not partaking in this mystery food, one board member states “I just want you to know there are things I will not eat.”

Curious the Canadian guide begins to prompt the board member on what types of food are off the list?

“Well I don’t eat any type of animal organs.”

Everyone stuffed in the cab breaks out into laughter as the Canadian responds “By God what type of barbarians are you Americans?”

The cab pulls up to a small nondescript small lunch counter in a blue collar neighborhood as we pour out of the backseat and head inside. The interior resembles an old dinner with chrome 1950 style tables and chairs. Everyone inside has the same large dish of Poutine in front of them along with a coke. Poutine is a French-Canadian food that slightly resembles American Gravy Cheese Fries (Uuukkkk), but is actually very, very different in many respects. Poutine is readily-available across Canada, but as locals say it only really tastes good in French Quebec.

According to legend Warwick Quebec is the place where Poutine was invented back in 1957 by restaurateur Fernand Lachance, who died leaving not only his calorific imprint but also some serious questions about the low-carb fuss. Poutine is Acadian slang for mushy mess and is best described as a heart attack in a bowl. By the way, there is a proper way to pronounce poutine, and it's not 'poo-teen'. The phonetic pronunciation is 'peu-tin', which always elicits a vacant stare when one orders it using that word.

The French Fries - The potatos must be hand-cut and very fresh. Fast-food-type fries will not taste quite as good. Also, you must fry the potatoes in pure lard. Vegetable oil and other politically-correct oils spoil the unique taste.

The Gravy - French-Canadian gravy (also known as BBQ Chicken Gravy) is very different than American gravy. First of all, it is very dark and thick, like molasses. Secondly, it has a very flavorful taste which cannot be described...very much like pepper and vinegar and other 'magical' ingredients. Apparently if you can stand a spoon straight up in it, it's good!

The Cheese - The cheese is the most important part of good Poutine. You must use fresh white, cheddar cheese curds. These curds have a taste and texture very different than actual cheddar cheese. The cheese curds actually squeak in your teeth as you bite them.

Traditional Montreal Poutine

The overflowing plates of Poutine arrived at the table without ceremony. Poutine is a French Canadian equivalent of comfort food for a winter day. It was a delightful treat, but I’m not sure I’ll need to experience Poutine again anytime soon as it was almost impossible to finish the excessively oversized portions. I did notice that the fussy Americans seemed to like the Poutine the best while constantly asking “No really what is cheese curds made from?”

The following night for dinner we were treated to one of the top 10 restaurants in Canada which specialized Portuguese Italian fusion food. The restaurant was in a nondescript trendy urban neighborhood which had a lot of street life. The interior of the restaurant was very euro clique and only seated about thirty people. Our crowd of eighteen completely took over the restaurant as we joked with the owner. We allowed the owner to serve us anything he wanted as the plates of incredible food rolled out of the kitchen. There was grilled octopus in a wonderful rich smoky lentil stew, grilled whole squid marinated in olive oil and vinegar, smoked spicy Chorizo sausage, plates of cheese and grilled vegetables, tender lamb shanks in a lemon reduction, cubed pork with clams in a spicy tomato sauce, tiger prawns and scallops. This type of gourmet dining is the standard reward for donating time all year to the organization and the group was reveling in the hospitality, friendship and food. We spend the entire time in the restaurant in a ruckus debate of the differences between Canadian and American culture. “Ya know what I mean, eh?”

Our Canadian guide finally leaned over to me and said “Let me order you an after dinner drink, something I only drink here in Quebec.”

A short time later the owner brings two glasses of ice and two small beakers of a clear liquid. As he pours the clear liquid over the glass of ice it turns cloudy with a pale lime green tint. My guide holds his glass up in a toast and whispers “Pernod, my friend. Remember I graduated from McGill University just down the road here in Montreal and it’s my tradition for you.” As I sipped the Pernod , the leading characteristic was a licorice flavor, which is produced with anise.

According to the Pernod Company, “We owe this elixir to "Docteur Ordinaire", a French doctor in exile in Switzerland. In 1805, the Pernod Fils Company from Pontarlier in France began distilling the secret formula. From 1830 on, artists took to this elixir in the cafés of Paris. "Green fairy" to artists and poets seeking new pleasures, absinthe became one of the strongest symbols of its era with its enigmatic color and the ritual surrounding it. It is sublimated in the works of Verlaine, Rimbaud, Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec, and later Picasso.”

Seduction by The Green Fairy (cira 1885)

With the new temperance movement growing around the world at the turn of the century, many prominent French politicians and scientists turned their interest to France's new, most popular alcoholic beverage: absinthe. Absinthe was the subject of much stormy, impassioned debate, and was banned in 1915 in France. Today, with the legalization of Thujone and Absinth Wormwood in alcoholic beverages in the European Union, the Pernod Company has attempted to recreate what they thought would be the new Pernod-Fils absinthe.

Once we began drinking Pernod there was no stopping the group. The “Green Fairy” took control as we laughed and carried on until after 1:00 am. I one point I think I actually began speaking French. Since it was the last night the group was going to be together we decided to stop at a bar across the street from the hotel, for one final Pernod.

Outside the bar there was a steep series of steps leading to the door. I became accustom to the collection of young women hanging outside the bar door since smoking was banned in all buildings. As we passed the girls I reached for the door and pulled it. It can’t be closed there are a number of people visible from the windows, so I pulled harder assuming it was stuck. All of a sudden I hear the girls next to me giggle and start saying “Pussy, pussy, Monsieur.” Each time they repeated it then would once again begin giggling at us. I thought to myself that the women are quite accommodating here in Montreal, embarrassed to look for fear they might be serious. I smile and utter “Yes, Yes very nice, Mademoiselle.” It this response they all broke into laughter as one of the girls reaches over and points at a small sign above the door which says “Poussé” It only takes a second for my high school French to kick in as I translate the word as “Push” in English. I guess I’ve had enough of the Green Fairy and turn away from the door explaining to the young women that if we are unable to enter the bar on our own we should call it a night. As I say goodbye to the group, I can’t wait to return to this delightful city and experience some more Poutine, Pernot and Poussé.

“Custom is the great guide of human life.”

David Hume (1711 - 1776)