Anthony J. Fisichella...
The Numbers Game Part I
An excerpt from “One Solitary Life Book II - From the Unknown to the Known?”
"In the beginning God geometrized."
With this succinct, powerful and insightful statement, the great mathematician and metaphysician, Pythagoras, reduced the creative process to the science of numbers and geometry. He also said, “Every thing is a number.” Pythagoras believed that numbers were the key to understanding the Cosmos. His premise was that the language of nature is mathematics. “They”, (referring to the Pythagoreans) “supposed the whole heaven to be a harmonia and a number”, said Aristotle. In the words of Balzac, “The smallest as the most immense creations, are they not to be distinguished from each other by their quantities, their qualities, their dimensions, their forces and attributes, all begotten by the Number?" What it all boils down to is that, in the phenomenal universe, all can be reduced to the science of numbers.
Couple this with the Hermetic philosophy, articulated by Hermes Trismegistus, "As it is above, so it is below," and we have two of the metaphysical cornerstones of the spiritual foundation upon which rests the entire creative process. Man is essentially an analogist; he studies relations in all objects. Hermes applied this tendency to analogize to the extreme and asserted that analogous conditions traverse planes of reality; ergo, as above, so below, or if you prefer, "on Earth at it is in Heaven". Pythagoras assigned these relationships numeric and geometric values. He called attention to that which has become known in New Age parlance, as "Sacred Geometry". Thus we have two critical concepts: the universal application of natural law across planes of reality, and the numeric and geometric identification of same.
As language is emblematic of things, things may be seen to be emblematic as well, in this case of the natural processes. Thus, every object represents some aspect of consciousness and every natural condition is a symbol of some spiritual fact and may be seen to have a metaphoric, numeric or geometric value. The world is a web of intertwined and interrelated forms and events. To most the connectedness is invisible and seemingly non existent, but it is there buried just beneath the surface. Hermes’ aphorism, as above, so below, insinuated that this is true across planes of reality. With the application of these two complementary ideas we may be able to gain insight into the working order of the cosmic scheme of things, above, as well as below.
Evolution, I have suggested, is helical. We find evidence of this in the spiral like formation of galaxies; the growth spirals, characterized by the circular motion and elongation to be found in plants, as they reach for the sunlight and moisture; the equiangular spiral as depicted in the spiral formation of sea-shells such as the chambered nautilus shell. Leonardo (“Fibonacci”) da Pisa, in effect, married these two concepts (that of Hermes and Pythagoras) with the development and application of the set of numbers that now bear his name, Fibonacci numbers, that run as follows; 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34, 55,89…etc. Each succeeding number is attained by the addition of the two preceding, consecutive numbers, although “0” is occasionally omitted from the sequence. However, by the inclusion of the zero, we have, symbolically speaking, a representation of the starting point or frame of reference for creation, inasmuch as the universe emerged from no-thing, into some-thing, rather than from smaller to larger, as we shall discuss shortly. Thus, the use of zero provides a more complete, metaphysical representation of the creative process.
Although an apparent curiosity, Fibonacci numbers bear a surprising relationship to many forms manifesting in the physical world, ergo, as above, so below. Fibonacci suggested that the relations contained in this series of numbers are indicative of that which exists in the natural order of things. Examples of Fibonacci numbers in nature include the spirals of the tiny florets in the core of daisy blossoms. Florets running both clockwise and counterclockwise have a predetermined number of spirals – 21 clockwise and 34 counterclockwise – a 21:34 ratio, corresponding to the two adjacent Fibonacci numbers. This is also true of the growth pattern of sunflower seeds. A seemingly curious coincidence until one notes the opposing spirals in pine cones bear a 5:8 ratio and the leaves on several trees and the bumps on pineapples bear an 8:13 ratio, also adjacent Fibonacci numbers. In other words, the Fibonacci sequence is represented in nature, in living things. But it doesn’t stop there. Adjacent numbers in the sequence have a ratio of approximately 1:1.618. This is essentially the value of the Golden ratio or Golden Section which occurs in circles, decagons and pentagons. The Golden Rectangle upon which the Parthenon in Athens is patterned and the Great Pyramid of Gizeh also bears this same ratio. In Medieval times it was referred to as the “Divine Proportion”.
The ratio of the diameters of the nautilus shell, one to the other, is 1.618 to 1. Leaf arrangements on plant stalks, insect segmentation, the proportions of the human body, all follow this Divine Proportion.
The point to be grasped is that nature follows a numeric or Divine Geometric Pattern in Her creative process and that this pattern may be discerned across planes of reality and is reflective of the inner working order of nature’s Process. The seeming chaos of the world has an underlying order. Following nature’s guidance we have employed Her numeric formula to assist in developing our man made environment. If we look closely at the apparent randomness, definable patterns begin to emerge. Behind what looks like total chaos there is great order and beauty too be found, but it takes vision of a unique and transcendental nature to perceive it.
Using these two profound and essential concepts, Sacred Geometry and the Hermetic philosophy, we shall now begin to explore and wrestle with a series of what I believe to be the most complex, perplexing and profoundest of philosophic and metaphysical abstractions, without which the nature of Reality or the mysteries surrounding Christ cannot be properly understood, nor can we fully appreciate our spiritual identity and our purpose here on earth. In so doing we will have quarried the keystones essential to forge a foundation for that which shall be our proverbial temple of knowledge and wisdom. To do so I must ask you to attempt to tap a too seldom used aspect of consciousness, the abstract mind.
Abstract consciousness transcends rigid, concrete, and conceptual or so called rational, logical thinking. Einstein once commented, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” But we try, don’t we? Might we not be more successful if we tried another faculty? He also said, “I did not come by my understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe through my rational mind.” Obviously another faculty was at play. My suggestion; let us set aside our rigid models, at least for the time being. They only tend to keep us grounded, a viable and practical condition, sometimes, but not for now. You can always reclaim them later if you deem it necessary.
A material model of the universe can sometimes prove effective, but not if your agenda is spiritual growth and higher understanding. The challenge here is to go beyond, and even beyond the beyond, to an appreciation of the animating Essence, the radically ambiguous, abstract field of Actuality, that gives figure and form to a universe we perceive as absolutely real, but that truly isn’t. Let us permit our minds to break the bounds of earth and hopefully, soar into archetypal levels of abstract awareness. I hope you’re not afraid of heights.
Let us further attempt to shatter the “rock logic” that has become so confining in our thinking. Bear in mind that which begins in the abstract, must be brought forth and expressed tangibly, on the physical plane, if it is to have any meaning in human terms. We must, therefore, translate our lofty vision into workable models of conception and creation, with the understanding that, in so doing, a certain amount of distortion will, perforce, creep in.
As Pythagoras suggested, various numeric symbols represent seemingly diverse though truly universal aspects of the creative process. Once these relationships are identified and understood, they can be seen reflected on every level of the multidimensional universe. Thus, as it is above, so it is below.
Return to Main Archive Page
