Vinaire's Blog

Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)

Planets in our solar system move around the Sun on their own, without being pushed. Similarly, the electronic field swirls around the nucleus on its own; and so does light that travels at a tremendous speed in a straight line. 

All these are instances of intrinsic motion. This is a natural property of substance. Intrinsic motion is visible in an environment where no friction and other external forces are present.

It is a misconception that substance has no intrinsic motion.

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Newton’s Laws of Motion

Newton’s three laws of motion apply to matter of fixed mass only. These laws may be stated as follows:

(1) “Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.”

(2) “The change of motion is proportional to the motive force impressed; and is made in the direction of the right line in which that force is impressed.”

(3) “To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or, the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts.”

Newton’s laws do not take into account any variations in mass. The variation in mass corresponding to the range of motion of matter is infinitesimal and cannot be measured.

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Inertia

Newton attributes to matter an “innate force” that makes each body persist in its state of rest or uniform rectilinear motion, yet he explicitly denies any active internal principle that can generate new motion without external forces. Newton thus introduces “vis insita, or innate force of matter” as a power of resisting changes of motion. This is what we now call inertia, codified in the First Law of Motion.

According to Newton, if a body is accelerated by an external force to a higher velocity, then the body shall continue to move at that higher velocity even after the external force is removed. The removal of force shall not change the higher velocity, which shall be maintained due to inertia.

This is like saying that if a spring is compressed by putting load on it, then the spring shall remain compressed even after that load is removed. There seems to be something missing in this picture of inertia. 

For Newton, motion is explained by the interplay of inertia and forces in absolute space and time, codified in his three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation. According to Newton, motion does not need a continuing cause; only changes in motion do.

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The Fourth Law

But Newton was not aware of the motion inside an atom, which is intrinsic to it. That motion is not being generated by some external force. From the center of the atom to its periphery, the volume increases, and with that increase in volume the mass thins out, and the intrinsic motion increases. There is some law hidden here that relates the mass of substance to its motion. The motion relates to the extents of that substance. If Newton had known this he could have come up with the following fourth law of motion:

(4) “There is a dynamic equilibrium between mass of substance and its motion in space. As mass decreases the motion in space increase.”

There is a lot packed in this fourth law. It seems to define the mass (thickness), and intrinsic motion (space) of substance in terms of each other. There appears to be an inverse relationship between mass on one hand and motion on the other. This relationship is maintained dynamically.

This means that an external force may temporarily disturb the equilibrium of mass and motion of the substance, but when that force is removed, the equilibrium shall return. If Newton’s inertia resists the change in motion caused by an external force, then it should also restore the original motion after the external force is removed. If a body is accelerated to a higher velocity by an external force, then, upon removal of that force, the body must return to its previous velocity, provided the body has not changed.

In other words, inertia is not just a one way street. If it resists an increase in motion by an external force, then it also restores the motion after the force is removed. 

It is a misconception to think of inertia only as a resistance to change in motion of a body. Inertia also acts to restore intrinsic motion whenever it is changed.

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Motion

Motion needs to be redefined under the fourth law:

Motion has to do with thickness and volume of substance. Motion is continuous yet finite like the surface of a sphere. Therefore, it must repeat. This relates motion to space and time and gives it a cyclic nature. As volume decreases, the cycles increase and the substance becomes thick and increasingly centered. It then takes force to change that centeredness of motion. That resistance is called inertia. When that centeredness of motion is disturbed by an external force, it is restored when the external force is removed.

Nucleus of an atom has very small surface; motion is highly cyclic motion and centered; inertia is very high. In comparison, an electron has as much larger surface (equal to that of a hydrogen atom); motion is less cyclic and centered; inertia is much lower. Light has an extremely large surface; motion is low in cycles and centeredness; inertia is infinitesimal. 

In a galaxy, the central black hole is extremely dense. As the distance from the black hole increases, the average thickness of the galactic bodies decreases and their motion increases. The galactic bodies appear to rotate around the black hole. 

The velocity is low when highly centered and very high when not centered at all. Thus, velocity of substance depends on its thickness. The thickness of substance is difficult to change; therefore, motion of substance has a tendency to be restored after it is disturbed.

It is a misconception to think of motion limited to the velocity of a body or a particle. Motion is also occurring within the body or particle. 

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Considerations

The major concepts introduced in Chapter 8 is INERTIA. This concept is defined in Glossary: Postulate Mechanics.

1. Substance has intrinsic motion. 
2. Intrinsic motion varies inversely with thickness of substance.
3. Newton’s laws of motion apply to matter of fixed mass.
4. Motion of matter may vary with infinitesimal change of mass.
5. When the mass does not change, any change in motion is restored.

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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)

Enlightenment lies in restoring awareness from identification back to knowingness. This depends on a power hidden deep within us. 

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The Power

The Vedic religions refer to this power as Brahman. The origins of the word BRAHMAN has the sense of “to swell, expand, grow, enlarge; to make firm, strong.” It indicates an active or manifest principle, yielding the sense of an expanding, sustaining power. In the Rigveda, brahman often refers to the potent word, hymn, or sacred formula—speech endowed with a mysterious, effective power in ritual. 

The Abrahamic religions refer to this power as God. The origins of the word GOD has the sense of “that which is invoked.” It indicates the mysterious and awe inspiring power called upon in prayer or sacrifice.

This power has been invoked since ancient times to help overcome human limitations, ignorance, and suffering. 

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Piercing the Veil

“Piercing the veil” signifies overcoming spiritual, mental, or physical barriers to directly experience this power deep within. Various methods have been used to invoke this power, such as,

(1) PRAYER AND DEVOTION: Here  a person praises God admitting faults and seeking forgiveness, showing gratitude for blessings, and asking for personal needs or intercession .

(2) STILLNESS AND MEDITATION: Here a person sits quietly observing thoughts without judgment and being present in the moment. He may concentrate on a single point, such as the breath or a word (mantra) to quiet the mind; or release tension by bringing awareness to different body parts; or focus on cultivating compassion and kindness toward oneself and others.

(3) FAITH IN THE ATONEMENT: Here a person repents his sins and strives to live in obedience to the Gospel. He submits his will to God, especially during trials, acknowledging them as opportunities for growth. He recognizes that return to God’s presence is possible only through the merits, mercy, and grace of the Messiah. And, he places complete trust in Christ’s ability to save, which brings peace and removes fear.

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Approach in Postulate Mechanics

In Postulate Mechanics, a person looks rather than thinks. He focuses on what does not make sense. He looks at it more and more closely until it starts to make sense. This is the mode of mindfulness. The person applies mindfulness to both misconception and anomalies.

Immediate restoration of awareness towards knowingness starts with the clearing of misconceptions. Most misconceptions have come about through interrupted observation, misunderstanding of language and suppression of anomalies. The discipline followed in Postulate Mechanics is,

1. Never go past something you do not understand.
2. Be there and confront.
3. Narrow down the target.

Therefore, when reading, a person must always look up the meaning of words that do not seem to fit in the sentence. Upon encountering a difficulty, he must not flinch and look away. He must follow the trail of what does not make sense, until it clarifies.

Enlightenment occurs as one approaches the resolution of all major misconceptions and anomalies.

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Considerations

The major concepts introduced in Chapter 6 are PRAYER, DEVOTION, STILLNESS, MEDITATION, FAITH and MINDFULNESS. These concepts are defined in Glossary: Postulate Mechanics.

1. The power to overcome human suffering lies deep within us.
2. Spiritual, mental, or physical barriers exist to accessing this power.
3. Various methods have been used to invoke this power.
4. Postulate mechanics explores the path of assimilating sensations.
5. This approach examines and clears misconceptions and anomalies.
6. The method used in this approach is mindfulness.

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Reference: Postulate Mechanics (PM)

Awareness is the ability to sense the substantiality of the universe. Sensations take the form of feelings, emotions, pain, perception, memories, experience, knowledge, etc. Sensations are identified and assimilated towards knowingness. Based on the degree of assimilation, there comes about a continuum of awareness from identification to knowingness.

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Identification

Identification is superficial awareness that is limited to labels and symbolisms. Therefore, identification is memory intensive and lacks absorption.

We know from our schooling that we enjoyed certain subjects, and got good grades on them without much effort. But there were other subjects that we had to memorize with great effort and regurgitate them in exams to get good grades. These latter subjects fell under the category of identification. We never got to know them fully.

A physicist, who has accepted the basic ideas from physics without questioning them, develops a materialistic viewpoint, and rejects spirituality. He no longer has the curiosity about the universe, which he had as a child. His awareness is tied to working with symbols. His awareness has become identified with current physics, such that he cannot think beyond it.

You meet people who never question their religion, but they even get upset when others question. Such people practice their religion only through rituals full of symbolism. They identify themselves as Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, etc. They have never assimilated their religion fully. They become biased against all who, they think, disagrees with them. They themselves are not happy.

At the level of identification a person himself has become an identity. He is unable to look beyond labels and symbols. He acts mechanically.

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Knowingness

At the other end of the continuum of awareness is knowingness. Knowingness is deep and intuitive awareness that operates instantaneously. All substantiality disappears. One does not require memory because one simply knows.

A musician who has fully assimilated sounds from his musical instrument with his feel for music and emotions, plays that instrument effortlessly with great effect and creativity. His awareness of music has reached the level of knowingness.

A physicist, who learned all the fundamentals of physics, still questions anything about nature that he does not understand. Instead of rejecting he investigates. He is operating with knowingness.

A person who has achieved knowingness in life can see things as they are. He does not need to separate one religion from another. He sees the similarities among the. He investigates where differences exist. He is not attached to anything. He is carefree. He is said to be enlightened.

At the level of knowingness, a person is full of compassion for others, and he wants them to become enlightened and happy. He guides rather than preaches, for he knows that others must discover on their own.

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Considerations

The major concept introduced in Chapter 4 are SENSATION, IDENTIFICATION, IDENTITY, and KNOWINGNESS. These concepts are defined in Glossary: Postulate Mechanics.

1. Awareness is the ability to senses substantiality.
2. Awareness ranges from identification to knowingness.
3. Identification has the least assimilation.
4. Knowingness has the most assimilation.
5. Assimilation resolves lack of awareness.

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