Letter to Green Egg
Oimelc 1975

Dear Green Eggers:

Life to the Deathist Pig!

Penny of the House of Novack (GE 67) offers an eloquent defense of emotionalism in response to my previous article (GE 65). Alas, since her argument is entirely by analogy, it doesn’t prove anything, but merely expresses an assertion. I can only shrug dubiously and say that, her assertion failing to compel conviction, I remain obdurate in my heresy; and that I hope that my being lost in darkness doesn’t cause her too much worry and unhappiness on my account.

However, this hangs a bit stale in the air, so in my usual mood of revolting cheerfulness, I will pretend that Penny’s allegory is an argument and criticize it as such. First, then, it is based on an Aristotelian dualism (the “accursed dyad” of the Cabalists), and we now know that the universe can count above two. Second, Penny’s specific dichotomy (between “mind” and “emotions“) is even more absurdly over-simplified than most dualistic systems, and I mention Korzybski’s Science and Sanity (1933) as a good summary of reasons why hip neurologists and biologists have rejected that simplification for over 40 years now. Third, still filled with obnoxious desire to please, I do not leave Penny hanging in the void without her dualism to guide her, but offer again the ancient octave on which my original article was based. It is possible, after all, that the universe can count to at least eight… Although this may leave Penny still “disappointed” in Leary and me, she may understand us better, which is all we ask.

We assume 8 stages in the DNA/RNA dialogue, 8 phases of evolution, 8 neurogenetic circuits. Our cosmic script is frankly Gurdjieffian-Sufi in origin, and dates back to at least the octave of Pythagoras and the 8 trigrams of the Ching; the modern neurogenetic reformulation is Dr. Leary’s own. Since space is limited, I ignore the interstellar background and concentrate on the normal bio-programming of the normal human at this time.

Circuit 1, Gurdjieff’s 384 vibration, mediates forward-back bio-neural survival, imprinted in infantile crawling explorations. Circuit 2, G’s 192 vibe, mediates conditioned emotions (glandular reflexes) determining territorial and hierarchical status, imprinted with kinesic and proxemic parameters and typical emotional “games” when the toddler meddles in family politics and is trained in the family’s favorite conditioned emotional cons. (Leary’s Interpersonal Diagnosis of Personality and Berne’s Games People Play catalog the most common emotional game-imprints of this society today.) Circuit 3, G’s 96 vibe, is the digital left-lobe computer, linear-engineering “thinking,” imprinted when the child begins to handle, grasp. manipulate and question adults about names and reasons; this is the epistemological game-grid of the society, consensual “reality.” Circuit 4, G’s 48 vibe, mediates sexuality and nesting, imprinted at puberty by the tribal sex-game rules.

After the fourth imprinted circuit, typically there is no further neural development; most people 90 on playing the games there imprinted at 25, at 45, at 65, etc. to death. The still-evolving circuits, only imprinted in neurological “mutants” at present are:

Circuit 5, G’s 24 vibe, leaping the Hedonic Gap from the left-lobe digital computer to the right lobe analog-synergy system: the neurosemantic Turn On or Satori state. (All previous bio-survival, emotional reflex, intellectual “know-ledge” and sex-role games are suspended and the universe of experience re-discovered on analog sensory-cellular rapture Gestalts.) Circuit 6, G’s 12 vibe, mediates meta-programming (self-remembering), i.e. re-imprinting, serial imprinting, multi-ego, no-ego, serial reincarnation in the same body (to be vastly extended by life-extension and Immortality in the near future). Circuit 7, G’s 6 vibe, mediates hook-up with the genetic archives, the Sufi-Nietzschean blueprint of future evolution, in which the DNA mission on this planet (True Wisdom and Perfect Happiness) is to be achieved; the Sufi “Great Work.” Circuit 8, G’s 3 vibe, is metaphysiological fusion mounting Beethoven-fashion to cosmic (not planetary) Chardinian Omega Point.

Whatever the reader thinks of this scheme, it is at least an attempt to formulate objectively-scientifically the known neurogenetic potentials of Earth WoMen, incorporating all significant neural states described or experienced in shamanistic, yogic, Tantric, alchemical, Sufic, bio-feedback and assorted metaprogramming arts and sciences. In comparison with such data from hundreds of cultures over thousands of years, Penny’s dualistic over-simplification into “emotions” and “mind” is over-defined intensionally and under-defined extensionally.

Turning now to Penny’s allegory, the trees evidently comprise circuits I, II and IV, while the smog is circuit III. I suggest that a little observation of child-rearing practices will indicate that we are closer to the truth in regarding the nervous system per se as the trees and the normal social conditioning as the smog. This is, Circuit III is as stunted in most citizens as any other circuit; the higher circuits are not developed at all; and the general picture is as the yogis, Sufis and (lately) Behaviorists have so depressingly told us: told roboticism in reality, combined with a comforting delusion of egoistic freedom.

Finally, let me note most carefully that the description of the trees as “ugly,” “unpleasant” and “evil” is Penny’s own projection and does not represent the views of Dr. Leary or myself. That is, the conditioned emotional game-circuit is regarded with some irony by us (admittedly!) but not with the ethical-esthetic horror that Penny imagines we must feel. All these territorial and other conditioned games simply exist; our reaction-evaluation when confronting them depends on which circuit we are presently acting from. My “I” perceives exactly what it chooses.

Indeed, words like “ugly,” “unpleasant” and “evil” are semantic snarl-reflexes, basic Circuit II responses to inconvenient Circuit II behavior by others. Such behavior, whether in my dog Fang or in Nelson Rockefeller, when scrutinized from Circuit III is just there, a fact to be confronted. On Circuit-5 rapture vibes, on the other hand, such behaviors are as beautiful and awesomely glorious as every other aspect of the universe and Rockefeller is just as “cute” as Fang. Again, on Circuit 6, Rocky and Fang are just signals that can be integrated into any Gestalt “I” choose. On Circuit 7, they are both perfect just as they are, but also larval-primitive DNA experiments to be outgrown in our evolution toward Cosmic perfection and bliss.

In short, I am not in the business of passing moral judgements. I point the way to the higher circuits, but I am not such a fool as to think everybody “should” evolve into those circuits. Mother DNA has Her seasons and Her reasons, and those who are evolving, are evolving, while those who are not, are not.

William Divine’s letter (GE 67) objects to Tim Zell’s attempt to think scientifically about Our Lady. I, on the other hand, found Tim’s “The Gods of Nature – The Nature of Gods” to be the most exciting, stimulating, trippy ane thoroughly glorious piece GREEN EGG has ever published. It seems to me that Divine’s warning comes precisely 30,000 years too late, since every intelligent shaman has been objectively-scientifically studying Her lawful rhythmic expressions (stellar, solar, lunar, terrestrial, etc.) at least that long. I suspect Divine of harboring dualistic fallacies similar to Penny of Novack. As an amateur scientist of the occult, I can only say that the more I know of Hr, the more I love Her; whilst as an experimental mystic, I must add that the more I love Her, the more I am able to know Her…

I also dissent cheerfully from Mr. Divine’s defeatist conclusion, “Thou art mortal.” Nobody alive today need ever die, except by choice. See Ettinger’s Prospects of Immortality and Man Into Superman, Harrington’s The Immortalist, Segerberg’s The Immortality Factor, Esfandiary’s Upwinger and Leary’s Terra II for current status of such research. Or send $10 to the DNA Society for a year’s subscription to Starseed Newsletter, reporting on efforts to achieve immortality, star-flight and higher intelligence (through Neurologic) in this century.

Don’t buy the lie: you don’t have to die!
    Robert Anton Wilson
    DNA Society
    2035 Channing Way
    Berkeley, CA 91704

 

Letter to the Forum/editor
Green Egg, Vol. VIII, No. 68, Oimelc AA15 (Feb. 1, 1975)