A New Appreciation for "2001: A Space Odyssey" -- The Monolith as Consciousness/the Universal Field of Life-Intelligence
I was in Navy boot camp, San Diego, when "2001: A Space Odyssey" was released. I saw it on my first liberty, and was blown away by it. I have seen it several times since and read the book, oh, forty-five years ago. Good stuff.
I recently have been exploring the implications of the potential for an electromagnetic field of life-intelligence either antecedent or subsequent to the materiality of the universe. The Great Debate is whether the field is (or is the product of) an ineffable being's imagination or is the evolutionary by-product of natural forces. It began either before or after the Big Bang. Whether you choose one or the other, the field is there; that is just a matter of fact.
All living things emit and receive these electromagnetic forces. The forces are scientifically measurable and transmit throughout the universe. Arthur C. Clark supposed that early contributors to this field left machines of consciousness -- symbolized by monolithic forms -- to generate and monitor conscious beings on the earth. I now see the monoliths as metaphor for the field of consciousness/life-intelligence itself.
From the field and because of it, their brains being annexed by it, our proto-human ancestors gained awareness of being. Spirituality. And unfortunately, voo-doo. We progress in semi-awareness until we get another spark of consciousness, metaphorically the monolith on the moon, and chase it with HAL (commercial religion? [HAL=IBM]). Ignorance and bad, even evil programming deter us -- killing the humans unless we are as determined as David to reach and enter the higher consciousness orbiting the moon of Jupiter; i.e., God's imagination, the electromagnetic field of life-intelligence/consciousness.
We -- our "spirit": consciousness, awareness of being, animating life power, and imaginations -- are this field of life-intelligence which has annexed our human brains and bodies and now are "humans." For this we meld spiritual living with this world of Caesar. We are the alien invaders. We have become humans repeatedly in an effort to move up to the top strata of the field -- space babies waiting to be born. Thanks, Arthur. And you, my friend, watch out for HAL on this trip.
I recently have been exploring the implications of the potential for an electromagnetic field of life-intelligence either antecedent or subsequent to the materiality of the universe. The Great Debate is whether the field is (or is the product of) an ineffable being's imagination or is the evolutionary by-product of natural forces. It began either before or after the Big Bang. Whether you choose one or the other, the field is there; that is just a matter of fact.
All living things emit and receive these electromagnetic forces. The forces are scientifically measurable and transmit throughout the universe. Arthur C. Clark supposed that early contributors to this field left machines of consciousness -- symbolized by monolithic forms -- to generate and monitor conscious beings on the earth. I now see the monoliths as metaphor for the field of consciousness/life-intelligence itself.
From the field and because of it, their brains being annexed by it, our proto-human ancestors gained awareness of being. Spirituality. And unfortunately, voo-doo. We progress in semi-awareness until we get another spark of consciousness, metaphorically the monolith on the moon, and chase it with HAL (commercial religion? [HAL=IBM]). Ignorance and bad, even evil programming deter us -- killing the humans unless we are as determined as David to reach and enter the higher consciousness orbiting the moon of Jupiter; i.e., God's imagination, the electromagnetic field of life-intelligence/consciousness.
We -- our "spirit": consciousness, awareness of being, animating life power, and imaginations -- are this field of life-intelligence which has annexed our human brains and bodies and now are "humans." For this we meld spiritual living with this world of Caesar. We are the alien invaders. We have become humans repeatedly in an effort to move up to the top strata of the field -- space babies waiting to be born. Thanks, Arthur. And you, my friend, watch out for HAL on this trip.
posted by Daniel C. Branham-Steele at
4:44 PM
3 Comments:
i saw 2001 in san diego when released, just got in the navy, and was slightly stoned in the front seat of the movie
By
Unknown, at 8:41 AM
What a trip, being enveloped in that movie.
By
Daniel C. Branham-Steele, at 11:42 AM
Continuing the above:
I might have been sitting right behind Mr. Hunt if he saw 2001: A Space Odyssey in San Diego. I do not know how the Navy organized its bootcamp, but I was in Company 607 in 1968. It took me a month of delaying induction into the Army to get into the Navy. Then spent 3 1/2 yrs. sea duty on destroyers USS Renshaw and USS Lang as Quartermaster. I loved being at sea, but in merchant marine union after Navy I couldn't get regular work.
By
Daniel C. Branham-Steele, at 7:11 PM
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