Dear Complexifiers,
Frank Wood <frank@COMPLEX-SYSTEMS.DEMON.CO.UK> writes:
>I know animals dream as is sleep dreams but do you
>mean day dream as we do? To do that they would have
>to be able to conceptualise and although they may have
>mental models of their own as when they hunt I think you
>may be a little too antrhomorphic here.
Greetings Frank,
By some strange synchronicity I did something peculiar yesterday
afternoon. I was working in the back yard, building some structure. As
usual, our two Alsasion dogs after much excitement and attention seeking,
were laying down with their heads on their front legs, staring at me open
eyed. When I became aware of this, I decided to wave my hand at them
rather than calling their names. Only at the third wave the bitch Gena
became aware of me, jumping up first in bewilderment and then going into
excitement. I base this on this sounds which she makes. Then Jack
followed.
They were not sleeping and they were also not following my doing. So what
were they doing? It is a pity that dog language is not human language.
They seem to understand me better than me understanding them. My greatest
joy is that they never question me as their friend. My neighbour's agony
is that they question stray dogs passing by on the pavement as possible
enemies.
Is it not a strange thing -- watching out for enemies among the same kind?
>>Dreams to an animal with an advanced neurological
>>system are as imported as physical excercises.
>>Without dreams humans soon exhibit "spiritual obesity"
>>with which they crush the creativity of fellow humans.
>
>Could you explain "spiritual obesity"?
I will try to do so, keeping in mind the points which are important to me.
Whether the explanation makes sense to you, is another question. So
question me again and again so that you can create sense yourself.
I think of myself as body and mind. Both body and mind have a complex
organisation and together their organisation is even more complex. This
organisation of each and of both together is meausred by entropy S. I
think of myself as energy E. Most of this energy E is bound up in
maintaining the present organisation of body and mind as is expressed by
S. Only a small remainder which I call my "free energy" F is available for
"entropy production" so as to change my internal organisation.
Producing entropy uses up free energy. When the latter has been used up, I
become fixed-rigid in organisation. Hence I have to sustain my "free
energy" to keep on organising myself in body and mind. When I import all
my "free energy", my organisation will become obese. I have to give up
some of my organisation to release the corresponding energy E bounded by
it so that it can become free energy too. Fitness is to maintain a balance
between the "free energy" which I take up and the "free energy" which I
supply self by letting go of excess baggage, using it for higher service.
Body fitness is accomplished by physical excercises while mental fitness
is accomplished by spiritual excercises. I have become deeply aware how
dreaming (awake and asleep) is essential to my spiritual excercises and
hence spiritual fitness. Dreaming is freeing my mind from self-imposed
conformation.
Is it not a strange thing? We live in in an old world which has become
dead to our dreams, but that new world which will be alive once again to
our dreams is not yet ready to be born. I dream about this new world, but
others do their best to shatter this dream because it involves too much
entropy production, taking us too close to the edge of chaos.
Best wishes
--At de Lange <amdelange@gold.up.ac.za> Snailmail: A M de Lange Gold Fields Computer Centre Faculty of Science - University of Pretoria Pretoria 0001 - Rep of South Africa
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