Taoists claim that in ancient times, primitive humans were in touch with Tao, and through some misguided evolution of mankind into the reaches of existence, and the complexities of life, we lost the vital connection. Other spiritual philosophies put forth similar notions of manifestation being misguided, a mistake, or fall from grace. I agree... partially. I agree that participation in the compounding complexity of existence will move one away from Divinity, but I don't agree that such things are misguided, I believe they are inevitable, based on a Law of Sequence that is described in detail within the book All Things Are Numbers (located elsewhere on this site.

Students achieving oneness will move on to twoness - Woody Allen

In the book All Things Are Numbers, The Law of Sequence uses a pattern known as The Fibonacci Sequence to suggest a mechanism for birthing a universe from a paradoxical beginningless beginning into stages of alternating balance and flux. In the Fibonacci pattern numbers are added to each other produce an exponential pattern. As each equation is established, the result of one equation become the component of the next. Each number is then added to the result of a previous equation to produce another result. Each number is then the sum of the preceding two. Each number is thus simultaneously an end, middle and beginning... at the same time!

I've added a zero to The Fibonacci Sequence to remind us of the ineffable Absentia that births our effable Universe of opposites.

The Law of Sequence, put forth in the book All Things Are Numbers, deals directly with the ever perplexing notion of which came first, the chicken or the egg. Thus, by analogy, when a number in the Fibonacci Sequence is in the middle of an equation, it is consider to be both Chicken and Egg. When a number in the Fibonacci Sequence is at the beginning or end of an equation, it is considered to be a Chicken or an Egg. Thus, by analogy, we see how each equation hatches the next, while at the same time being hatched by the previous. Except for the paradox of The Absentia!

In the chart below, I've added a zero to the sequence to remind us of the ineffable Absentia that births our effable Universe of opposites. By occupying the beginning state in the sequence, we can see how The Absentia (0) is in fact a middle and a beginning with no end! Thus, The Absentia hatches the universe, and remains excluded from it. The universe is then forever beginning and never ending! In the book All Things Are Numbers, this idea of an absentia hatching a universe that is forever beginning, and separate from its source, was compared to a string leaving a top, after putting it into motion. But, perhaps, because we've already used the word "hatching" the metaphor of The Cosmic Egg would be more appropriate

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Unity vs. Complexity

I think that what Taoists, and many other philosophies that attempt to reunite us with the spiritual side of things are doing, is simply shepherding us away from complexity and toward simplicity, as a means of getting closer to what they perceive to be a spiritual, divine source. Even though, as mentioned in the analysis of Verse 82:

You can compound to complexity and never find it
... and
you can reduce to simplicity and never find it.

By reducing to simplicity, we discover how we are all the same in the unity of nothingness. By compounding to complexity, we discover how we are all different in the diversity of everythingness. Neither one is Tao. But, from the perspective of a Law of Sequence where we are viewing things in a distinctly linear fashion, one could argue that indeed Unity is closer to Divinity than is Diversity. And so it is that spiritual teachings almost unanimously recommend reducing to simplicity as a means of connecting to spiritual, divine forces. The chart below suggests that the emergence of Unity from Divinity to Duality and all the Complexity of Diversity that follows, is similar in form to that of The Fibonacci Sequence. In the regular Fibonacci Sequence, two 1s equal a 2. In this sequence two Unities equal Duality. By repeating the idea of a leading zero, we are reminded of the ineffable Absentia (or Tao) that births our effable Universe of opposites.

In the regular Fibonacci Sequence, two 1s equal a 2. In this sequence, two unities equal duality.

Even though the paradox of The Absentia is both Chicken and Egg in one... as an element of sequential development, characteristically removed from the universe it creates, it can also be thought of as a negative to the positive presence of the universe that results. So, using the now modified Fibonacci Sequence we can visualize an important concept put forth in the book All Things Are Numbers; that the universe is actually created in stages, wherein the deep dark empty reaches of space evolve from paradox, and then subsequently give birth to the manifest existence we know as things. So, even though, as Verse 82 suggests, being infinitely less is not Tao/Absentia, when the path to enlightenment is viewed in this distinctly linear fashion, one could say that being infinitely less does get you close.

By not being part of any universe, The Absentia is a negative to the positive presence of a universe. By being infinitely excluded from a universe of opposites, The Absentia is also neutral. By being both neutral and negative, it gives birth to the negativity that we know as the dark empty reaches of space, or the dark reaches of our subconscious minds. Two negatives then equal a positive, and we begin to know the physical or material world and the conscious mind.

By not being part of any universe, The Absentia is a negative to the positive presence of a Universe. By being infinitely excluded from a universe of opposites, The Absentia is also neutral. By being both neutral and negative, it gives birth to the negativity that we know as the dark empty reaches of space, or the dark chaotic reaches of our subconscious Minds. Two negatives then equal a positive, and we begin to know the physical or material world and our conscious Minds.

Hmmm, where have I seen a pattern like this before? I know, the The Tree of Life, used by the Kabbalah. The Tree of Life, used by the Kabbalah, is also very linear in its presentation of manifestation from the Divine, or in the Divine reaching down to the mundane. Maybe the one Neutral and two vertically stacked Negatives, along with the three vertically stacked Negatives, together, could be seen as analogous to the three veils of "Negative Limitless Light" that begin the linear sequence of the Tree of Life! One Neutral = Ain, Two Negatives = Ain Soph, Three Negatives = Ain Soph Aur. It's the same kind of buildup pattern! Maybe there's a connection. Well, it's just an idea...

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The Glass Ceiling

The Tao/Absentia is ineffable. It resides in a special noplace that we can't get to, and can't even begin to conceive. Yet it is the source of all we do conceive. It allows us to conceive everything... except it! In the Tree of Life, the three veils of Negative Limitless Light are also considered "unknowable" to the humans of the manifest world below.

The Tao that can be spoken is not the true Tao - Lao Tzu

The way this study has chosen to illustrate this inconceivable noplace of Absentia/Tao/Negative Limitless Light, is through paradox. Paradox uses opposites. When opposites interact in ways that produce paradox, we are virtually put out of our universe of sensible opposites and into a world of nonsensical opposites - i.e. a world of impossibilities, which stands as a logical opposite to our universe of possibilities. Taoists use paradox extensively. Paradox is a way of giving someone something that is nothing, and by doing so, illustrating Tao. By giving someone something that is nothing, you put their mind in a place that is no place, and in doing so, illustrate Tao. By giving someone something that is unresolvable - paradox - you give them something that is ineffable, and in doing so, illustrate Tao, or what this site calls Absentia.

The Tao/Absentia/Negative Limitless Light is ineffable. It resides in a special noplace that we can't even begin to conceive. Yet it is the source of all we do conceive. It allows us to conceive of everything but it! The Glass Ceiling is of course a very linear way of explaining a universal concept. But it helps.

By being something that is nothing, the Absentia/Tao/Negative Limitless Light is ineffable. By being a place that is no place, the Absentia/Tao/Negative Limitless Light is unobtainable by any means. Even paradox is but an artificial covering or clothing that only hints to the ineffable, unobtainable Tao/Absentia/Negative Limitless Light for the sake of talking about it. The Tao/Absentia/Negative Limitless Light is like the string that has left the spinning top, leaving us with a universe of nothing and something, or YIn and Yang.

The table above illustrates how, like a glass ceiling, we will never pass beyond the nothingness and everythingness of our universe. It also illustrates how an inevitable evolution into complexity leads to the difficulties that many view as the source of all life's suffering. It illustrates the path that many spiritual philosophies try to put us on - i.e. away from the complexity and toward the simplicity of spirituality. Thus the glass ceiling idea illustrates how, reduce as we might, we can only press our faces up against that glass ceiling and wonder about what lies beyond.

So, by analogy, the zero that I've added to the Fibonacci sequence would represent the unity of Tao/Absentia-like Paradox, while the first 1 would represent the Unity of universal Nothingness, and the second 1 would represent the Unity of manifest Oneness. When combined in Fibonacci fashion, adding one to the other, we establish Duality, and the inevitable nature of sequence, development, and evolution, as a universal, archetypal pattern from nature.

Some might be inclined to describe the exclusionary nature of the Absentia/Paradox to "God" stepping out of the picture in an effort to see himself, thus repeating, with more religious overtones, the same idea presented elsewhere on this site of a string leaving a top after putting a universe of opposites into motion. Pythagoreans use the idea of a Monad, reflecting itself, as an explanation of how the Unity of a 1 ever becomes anything more than 1. In taking 1, or a Monad, and repeating it, the concept of opposites is born. This creates what is called a Dyad. A Monad is described with a circle. A Dyad is represented by two circles side by side. But while, in most minds, a Monad reflected equals a Dyad, the view of creation being presented here thinks that it is important to acknowledge that a Dyad is in fact made from two Monads, sitting side by side. Two Unities (!!) side by side - Absentia and Universe creating the very IDEA of a universe, or Nothingness and Oneness birthing the duality and complexity of that universe, take your pick. This is a very subtle point to get across. The Fibonacci Sequence, with its two 1's that inevitably lead to infinite complexity, are an important pattern to combine with this idea of an exclusionary "God" creating a universe that is a reflection of "Himself."

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Evolution and Awareness

Life evolves. Our pseudo-Fibonacci Sequence shows us just how inevitable development is. If development is inevitable, complexity is inevitable. When viewed in this distinctly linear fashion, one might indeed argue that simplicity is closer to a Divine source, but I don't think that that should imply that complexity is misguided, or impure and unworthy. There are ways to approach the unity of The Absentia by way of the complexity of diversity, as outlined in the process of coagulation put forth within the book All Things Are Numbers (seen elsewhere on this stie). Just because some people get all wrapped up in the complexities of physicality and materiality doesn't mean complexity is an evil to be avoided at all costs. The physical world is where we live. The physical world is where we see "The Hand of GOD" (for lack of a better term) expressing itself in tangible ways, through nature and the cosmos. To reject the physical world is like saying: "As artists go, I don't find God's work very inspiring."

In some people, the pursuit of Unity can become obsessive to a ridiculous degree. Seeing our manifest state as impure, or as the result of an undesirable "Fall" from a more divine state, that now holds us back in some way, and for which we must now redeem ourselves of the burden put upon us by this Fall, is a popular theme that many faithfully believe and obediently follow (see Consider the Source elsewhere on this site). I see it as extreme and obsessive. I don't buy it. I agree that the further into complexity we go, the further we get from Unity. Complexity does remove us from Unity, and most of us, out of natural curiosity, long to know and/or experience the Unity from which all things have logically been born. But I do not accept the idea that our manifest state is a mistake, a sin, or a fall from grace that needs to be redeemed. This concept might be an important pillar upon which great and powerful belief systems are built, but beliefs that diminish the value of one form of life in preference for another have no place in the universe of ideas being put forth on this site.

In my world, a tree starts as a seed and grows to great complexity. It can never return to a state of seed, it can only grow, until it dies. At what level of growth should we consider it too complex or too far removed from Unity, and cut it down, in preference for a more spiritually inspired state of no tree? Or... can the complexities of a tree teach us as much about ourselves and our universe as the simplicity of no tree? A tree's physicality is seen in its many rings. But within its physical form, it has a center. The center reduces to nothing and transcends to the same Absentia as the nothingness outside the manifest form. The many rings compound to define something. Both tree and no tree have value. Neither one is the Tao/Absentia seed. Both together are the Tao/Absentia seed.

Verse 82 (seen elsewhere on this site) gives us a list of things we shouldn't do, if we want to know Tao. But it also implies that abandoning all those things to be nothing is also not Tao. The distinctly linear aspect of our pseudo-Fibonacci sequence suggest that being nothing might at least be a bit closer to Tao than the physical, conscious, material world. But are these two necessarily mutually exclusive? Can a person do all the "Don't"s of Verse 82 (live in the material world) and still be all the "Be"s (connect to the spiritual world when they want to)? The All Things Are Numbers approach says yes! The All Things Are Numbers approach consistently suggests balance as a way of life. So I say; embrace the material world as much as you want, just don't go overboard. And embrace the spiritual world as much as you want, just don't go overboard.

The pursuit of spiritual enlightenment should NOT be so similar or analogous to that of a criminal seeking forgiveness, or an alcoholic pursuing sobriety. ----- Manifest existence is NOT a disease in need of a cure.

Too many spiritual philosophies make a grand assumption that everyone they are talking to has already gone overboard in their participation in the material world. They assume that everyone they are talking to is greedy, overly ambitious, materialistic, addictive and trapped in the cobweb of life's complexities, and that what they so desperately need is to swing the pendulum to the other extreme in order to, escape, and reconnect or find God and redeem themselves of the guilt and sin of their Fall. I say no! I say, stop the madness!! The pursuit of spiritual enlightenment should NOT be so similar or analogous to that of a criminal seeking forgiveness, or an alcoholic pursuing sobriety - manifest existence is NOT a disease in need of a cure. I say balance your act! Our physical world has a lot to offer, it's not all about suffering and addictions, there is beauty and comfort out there as well. If one feels overwhelmed by the complexities of life, by all means reduce to simplicity (obey all the "Don't"s and be all the "Be"s of Verse 82). On the other hand, if you feel comfortable that your connection to spirituality is strong, go ahead and embrace complexity (do all the "Don't"s of Verse 82). The key is awareness. It takes awareness to balance any act. The All Things Are Numbers approach is all about enhancing awareness of BOTH sides of every issue - not just preaching the abandonment of one side for the other.

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The Binary Universe or The Duality of Unity!

To many, Unity is KING!... or QUEEN! As stated above, many spiritual philosophies see Duality, and the complexities of diversity, as the source of all suffering, and the simplicity of Unity as the source of all happiness. The quiet mind is happier than the complex mind - they posit. But by using paradox to define Tao/Absentia, we have shown (elsewhere on this site) how this ineffable source actually comes in two parts - an outer Absentia that contains infinity and an inner Absentia that is only apparent after manifestation has emerged as a coagulated mass with an infinite center from the outer Absentia! Thus it is, that our universe, and its opposite, are both rooted in Duality... not Unity! The book All Things Are Numbers uses a Mobius strip as a convenient analogy to visualize this perplexing state - a topographical paradox that is simultaneously one sided and two sided at the same time! It is never completely one sided. It is never completely two sided. Thus, in a similar manner, it is said of the Tao/Absentia:

It is never emptied
... and,
it is never filled.

So, in the chart above, the added 0 represents the never emptied and never filled Tao/Absentia. It is not the emptiness of nothingness nor the fullness of somethingness. It is paradoxically both and neither at the same time!

Whatever you take out, goes back in
...and,
whatever you put in, comes back out.

Or... in Mobius strip terminology...

Untwist the twisted half of a Mobius strip
...and
you twist what was untwisted.

Together the 0 and the two 1s of the Fibonacci sequence represent the duality of unity! The duality of unity, where things paradoxically contradict without resolution, and then, ultimately, lead to a universe where "nothing" and "something" unite as opposites to create duality. Thus the unity and duality of our universe themselves become a duality of creation that ultimately leads to diversity, and then to complexity. When combined in Fibonacci fashion, adding one to the other, we establish the inevitable nature of sequence, development and evolution as a universal, archetypal pattern.

But wait! There's more! Look at that last diagram...we've described both Nothing and Something as expressions of Unity. Two Unities, that oppose an Absentia that, through paradox, is itself twofold in nature. The Absentia and The Universe are a duality of dualities!! Or are they? To continue with this analysis, consult the essay The Three Unities, elsewhere on this site.