FRONTIER SCIENCE/SOCIAL CHANGE

by Paul Von Ward

"A Retrospective of Natural Science and Philosophy"

The University of Science and Philosophy, promoting and expanding on the principles espoused by Walter Russell, reflects a historical, natural approach. Natural Science and Philosophy characterize humanity's innate approach to knowledge, even when a majority becomes temporarily enamored of unsubstantiated beliefs in Supernaturalism. This hypothesis is supported by the following synopsis of selected developments in human thought. These examples indicate humans instinctively combine inner and outer ways of knowing in analyzing human experience.

Conventional history asserts that early humans were naive and that their inner lives must have been based on mistaken beliefs about the universe. They have been described as unrealistically fearing natural forces, believing in and offering sacrifices to a pantheon of gods. However, we have no direct evidence that this was the case. From what we can infer, Early Humans appear to have been closer to advanced science's understanding of the universe than we have given them credit for. If true, then the current dualistic, supernatural view held by both conventional science and religion must be an artifact of some particular human experience.

I believe this artificiality came about when advanced beings (AB's) exposed some of our ancestors to high-tech inventions and more sophisticated societies. Early Humans, without understanding the larger context, believed what they saw was magic, i.e., unnatural or divine. They were encouraged to treat ordinary, but more advanced beings as "gods." Not unlike European conquerors expected to be treated by indigenous peoples only a few hundred years ago. [This story of how AB's influenced Modern Humans requires an entire book. References to it in this article are based on recent interpretations (by Zecharia Sitchin and others) of Sumerian texts and other ancient sources.]

The view that the first humans had a natural science approach enjoys support from quantum physics and consciousness studies. The so-called "primitive animism" of Early Humans, ascribing spirits or consciousness to all objects and aspects of nature, corresponds to what modern physicists have labeled nonlocal or universal consciousness. Physics, subtle energy, and consciousness research now confirms early human beliefs in their connections to and communications with all species.

Researchers must always remain cognizant of the blinders through which we look at ancient myths and artifacts. Early Humans were not affected by our cumulative experience of several thousand years of Western Supernatural Religions (Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). As we do, our ancestors had morphogenetic fields (emotionally charged conscious intentions) and archetypes (subtle energy attached to concepts). When we label the symbols of their morphogenetic fields and archetypes as "gods," we superimpose our current interpretation of "gods" as "divine beings to be worshiped."

The Early Humans' were conscious of their bonds to all creatures, bonds now scientifically validated through DNA and consciousness studies. This understanding led to their adoption of appropriate animals (much as modern sports teams do) to focus their own morphogenetic fields. Totem animals or sacred places were not worshiped as we do our "gods." They were regarded as archetypes of motivation (as many people do today with natural phenomena like a calm sea or thunder and lightning ). The projection of modern prejudgments about the nature of Early Human intentions and states of consciousness leads to misinterpretations.

A brief look at early Japanese Shinto myths illustrates this danger of misinterpretation. Western scholars steeped in the Supernatural tradition called the following aspects of Shinto cosmology "gods." They could have been more accurately labeled as "personalities" given to natural events and forces (like the name for an archetype such as "sturdy oak"): Daikoku = field of prosperity, Inari = essence of rice, Ebisu = energy of fishing, and Hotei = zest of joviality. Shinto affirmations using these words/symbols served to connect them with the respective morphogenetic fields or archetypes, not to worship anthropomorphic gods.

I believe only after the influence of Mesopotamian culture seeped into Japan was the element of anthropomorphic divinity (Supernaturalism) added to their myths. Ama-Terasu-Omikami, originally representing the Yin role of the Sun in human life, was labelled divine (goddess) ancestor of the Mikado Emperors. (This follows the Sumerian concept of divine kingship propagated by AB's.) The same thing occurred with the Shinto name for masculine Yang energy: Susa-no o-Mikoto. When described as fleeing abuse from her brother Susa-no-o (associated with the underworld as was the AB Enki who ruled the lower African region), Ama-Terasu parallels the AB goddess Innana who fled Enki for similar reasons. Adopting the Sumerian model that royal lineage passes to the progeny of an AB ruler and his half sister, the human Mikado family was described as descended from the offspring of these sister and brother gods.

In Japan, for reasons of geography and social inclination, Natural Philosophy has remained influential throughout its history. The concept of an underlying field or consciousness as the origin of the universe persists to the present. Even the Izanagi and Izanami forces of the Japanese creation myth represent Yin and Yang energies (the Hermetic Principle of Gender). The influence on China and Japan of personalities like Lao Tzu, the putative founder of Taoism in prehistory, and Confucius stressed an ultimate reality beyond religion and ritual. Lao taught the universe was primarily energy, subject to inner principles of creation and behavior. Confucius' subsequent influence helped maintain a natural, humanistic focus. Additionally, Early Buddhism helped reinforce the natural perspective in East Asia.

The eminent international scholar Herbert Guenther has translated relevant ancient Buddhist texts found in Tibet (See Cosmic Light, Autumn 1999). They purport to contain the basic concepts of undiluted Buddhist philosophy (circa 2,500 BP) that resisted Hinduism's growing supernaturalism. The texts clearly describe a singular, but three-faceted universal reality (see my book Solarian Legacy: Metascience & A New Renaissance) in which humans are local intelligent expressions of the pervasive Beingness of all creation experiencing Itself (Snang-ba means both verb and noun). This concept of the whole and each individual's participation in it very closely tracks quantum physics' concepts of an alive universe, where material forms rhythmically phase in and out of existence.

This Buddhism, untainted by other-worldly religious ritual, came from a process of self-reflection and inwardly accessing knowledge from the noumena (the non local field of consciousness from which all aspects of the universe arise). Unlike later Buddhism, it stressed the need to apply inner wisdom to full individual participation in society. This perspective, "by their fruits shall ye know them," was later reflected in the teachings of the Essene Jesus (See The Lost Gospel "Q," Ulysses Press, 1996.) after he returned to Galilee from study in Asia. The naturalistic teachings of Jesus indicate he was privy to the below described conflict in Asia between Natural Philosophy and Supernaturalism.

The natural purity of the concept of Brahma (6,000 BP or earlier) as the ultimate creative force, self-existent and omnipresent, had been weakened by the Aryan (5,000 BP) introduction of AB's as intermediary creators. AB's identified as transferring advanced knowledge to humans were given the names of local archetypes and then called "gods": Sarasvati, the teacher of science and writing (like Ninki/Venus), and Ganesa, the giver of learning (like Thoth).

As in the above analysis of Japan, local archetypes began to be treated as "gods" and associated with the Sumerian pantheon. Kali the archetype of thunder and destruction became associated with the AB Marduk. Vishnu, the force of preservation, was equated with AB Enki who took the side of humans in AB policy debates. Shiva, symbol of destruction and regeneration, was labeled as a "god" in the tradition of Enlil. He had wanted the Cataclysm to destroy humans, but after a change of heart gave the survivors seeds and tools to revive civilization.

Additional documentation for the Natural Science perspective of Early Humans comes from beliefs held before the advent of the Near-East's supernatural religions. For example, there is some evidence that people in what is now Tibet have been guardians, since before the Cataclysm, of advanced knowledge. Early Zoroastrianism, proto-Hinduism, pre-Kabbalist traditions did not initially show the influence of a clique of divine beings. The concept of anthropomorphic gods came about as result of the behaviors of AB's flitting about in flying machines and exercising life and death control over humans.

Pre-pharaonic Egypt appears to have been characterized by Natural Science, before the machinations of AB in-fighting that Zecharia Sitchin describes in his book The Wars of Gods and Men. Solon, as late as 600 BCE, described the earlier traditions reported to him by Egyptians who attributed some of them to the influences of Atlantis. The Golden Age of Greece was congruent with the more natural Eastern thought. Ancient libraries, particularly at Carthage and Alexandria, were reservoirs for documentation of the collective wisdom of pre Supernatural civilization. Their destruction by the Romans wiped out much evidence of earlier science and philosophy, imposing a militaristic and commercial regime supported by Supernaturalism throughout the Mediterranean region.

Beyond the reach of Rome, the Teutonic peoples (Scandinavians, Germans, and Anglo-Saxons) had developed a set of labels for natural phenomena (Elder Edda, 11th century manuscript). For example, Woden symbolized the wind and warriorhood. Thor symbolized the power of thunder. Freyr was the name for the essence of agriculture. These natural symbols were later interpreted as divine "gods" by the Indo-European historians.

Other evidence of the natural origins of Natural Science comes form peoples who appear to have largely escaped the influence of AB-shaped cultures. For example, many Early North Americans (Amerinds) viewed the ultimate universe as consciousness or energy that manifests in matter. They understood the modern science concept of the unity of all things, including their "brothers and sisters" in other species. They knew about the use of conscious intent for healing and depended on the inner senses to add to their understanding of life's flow. Awareness of the indestructibility of consciousness gave them a sense of detachment in this incarnation.

Another example of being able to avoid the influence of Supernatural Religion may be that of the pre-Incas of South America. They apparently learned to tap into the realm of subtle energies and use inner modes of communication. The Mayans, on the other hand, may have received the worst of AB influence. They seem to have gotten stuck in the dark side of worship. At least that appears to be true from what we know of their reliance on bloody ritual in attempts to appease the "gods" and elicit their return. They were eagerly awaiting the second coming of their AB benefactors when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century.

Whatever its origins and earlier manifestations, history records that Supernaturalism reigned supreme in the West from the 4th century CE. An earlier bastion of Naturalism, exemplified by the Golden Age of Greece and Alexander the Great, was weakened by the Roman Empire and its Emperors' appropriation of the budding Christian Church. Roman Catholic dogma and other mysticisms held sway from the 4th century throughout the so-called Dark and Middle Ages. Naturalists hid in esoteric schools and secret societies, a necessary practice due to church persecution and the Inquisition that began in the 13th century.

Continuing the track of Egyptian and Greek science, the European alchemists, epitomized by Roger Bacon and the Nominalists in the 13th century, kept the natural science perspective alive. (Alchemy means "art of Egypt" in Arabic.) They believed all matter is animated with a life force, stressed free thinking, and urged individuals to prove truth for themselves. During these fifteen hundred years, the Kabbalists maintained some understanding of natural science, but frequently became tangled up with parsing supernatural treatises. Some believe that the Rosicrucians assisted in the survival of a natural perspective as early as the 14th century. Others consider that the Freemasonry, although not publicly organized until the 17th century, was a repository of perennial wisdom throughout the Dark and Middle Ages.

Clearly the naturalistic approach animated people like Copernicus, Bruno, Galileo, Newton and others who catalyzed the European Renaissance during the 16th and 17th centuries. Their impact, rooted in Natural Science, resulted in a renaissance of individuals, institutions, and society.

For three hundred years Natural Science saw successes in astronomy, anthropology, archaeology, physics, and biology. Its adherents were beginning to win battles against Supernaturalism until much of science became devoted to the growth and profits of the Industrial Age. While Supernatural Religion and the new Industrial Science squared off in the struggle epitomized in the spurious debate between "Evolutionism" and "Creationism," several groups held the candle for perennial wisdom and natural science.

The Theosophical Society (founded in 1875) and the Arcane School (founded a short time later), initially based on the inspirations of women, sustained the conception of a truth higher than Supernatural Religion. It included a recognition of the existence of universal consciousness, local consciousness in both incarnated and non-physical forms, multidimensional beings with inner senses and powers, matter as a facet of energy, and a metascientific view of reality. The human vessels of this perspective did not always measure up to their ideals, like the short-lived Hermetic Golden Order of the Dawn from 1888 to 1900. Nevertheless, they kept alive the flame of Natural Science and Philosophy that Walter Russell (and the University) would feed with his works of the 1920's and later.

Copyright 1999
Paul Von Ward
All Rights Reserved