Portals for intercourse with an imagined reality

Concordian Mandala as a Symbolic Nexus (Part #8)

This argument has used the Eastern "mandala" as a way of framing what might be recognized as some combination of meanings, paralled by the Western rose window (M. Brauen, The Mandala: sacred circle in Tibetan Buddhism, 1997; Giuseppe Tucci, The Theory and Practice of the Mandala, 1973; Painton Cowen, The Rose Window, 2005). In cognitive terms these may be variously associated with a sense of portal, gateway or doorway (Aldous Huxley, The Doors of Perception, 1954; Vortices, Portals and Dimensional Doorways, Rodin Coil Project, 1998; Philip Gardiner, Gateways to the Otherworld, 2007). Naming a popular computer operating system and interface as Windows is consistent with this pattern.

Sphincters and orifices: The operation of such a device may be imagined in mechanical terms as an annular valve, or physiologically as with the mitral annulus or some kind of sphincter, like that of the iris.

The sphincter is a circular muscle that normally maintains constriction of a natural body passage or orifice and which relaxes as required by normal physiological functioning. There are over 60 types in the human body, some microscopically small (Robert W. Lam and Shinya Fukuda, Sphincters: properties, types and applications, 2012).

Portals of the imagination: Through science fiction and fantasy the collective imagination has cultivated the sense of a portal -- now variously rendered ever more fascinatingly attractive (if not hypnotic) through special effects. This is understood to be a technological or magical doorway that connects two distant locations separated by spacetime. It usually consists of two or more gateways, with an object entering one gateway leaving via the other instantaneously.

One example is the stargate of the TV series (the theme of the Stargate Wiki; notably evoking the creativity of artists such as Silvia Hartmann, Stargate Symbols). Another is that of the imaginative mechanism presented in the movie Contact (1997), as shown below --imagined in the light of science fiction novel by astrophysicist Carl Sagan (Contact, 1985).

*Images associated with the Contact* movie** (1997)
"The Machine" (animation)	Shoulder patch (distributed by SciFi Geeks)

As described by John DeNardo (Portals in Science Fiction and Fantasy, Kirkus Reviews, 20 November 2013):

The most obvious definition of portals -- doorways to other places -- is too simplistic to convey the true nature of them. Sometimes those places are real, but far away. Sometimes they are fantasy worlds that shouldn't exist but do. Sometimes they are physical, sometimes metaphorical, mere plot devices to advance the story. They could take many forms, from holes in the ground, to mirrors, to large constructs big enough to fly a starship through. Sometimes they aren't about traveling distance at all, but instead are about traveling through time.

The numerous references to one design of such portals (or the doorways commonly depicted in the space ships of science fiction) can be traced through terms such as "irising doorways" ("irising portal", "irising sphincter"), but curiously there would seem to be little indication as to how these might be designed in practice -- other than for their use in theatre. Notable exceptions include: the work of Carolina Rodriguez (The Swivel Diaphragm: a geometrical examination of an alternative retractable ring structure in architecture, 2006); the irising window of the Computer Science Department (University California San Diego); and some work on irising apertures (T. Galal, Solar Central Receiver with Irising Aperture, 2010).

Curiously a report on NASA-sponsored research has recently noted a newly discovered portal phenomenon (as previously imagined by science fiction), namely places where the magnetic field of Earth connects to the magnetic field of the Sun, creating an uninterrupted path leading from our own planet to the sun's atmosphere 93 million miles away (Hidden Portals in Earth's Magnetic Field, NASA Themis, 2 July 2012) :

Just one problem: Finding them. Magnetic portals are invisible, unstable, and elusive. They open and close without warning... Portals form via the process of magnetic reconnection. Mingling lines of magnetic force from the sun and Earth criss-cross and join to create the openings. "X-points" are where the criss-cross takes place. The sudden joining of magnetic fields can propel jets of charged particles from the X-point, creating an "electron diffusion region."

Singularity as portal: Much is currently made of a singularity, whether as a phenomenon of astrophysics (possibly associated with a wormhole), a problematic technological development, or as an opportunity for transportation to other regions of the universe -- a portal. It may refer to civilizational collapse and end times scenarios -- offering a distinctive sense of portal.

Possibly more intriguing is the sense of a cognitive singularity of some kind with which the technological variant may be confused, as discussed separately (Emerging Memetic Singularity in the Global Knowledge Society, 2009). Related terms of relevance might include a "memetic singularity", a "semantic singularity", or a "meta-systemic transition".

Magical mirrors: A portal may be imagined as having qualities of a mirror -- with the possibility of stepping into and through it (Stepping into, or through, the Mirror: embodying alternative scenario patterns, 2008; Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, 1871).

Countries, communities and organizations cultivate the legendary posture of inquiring: Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Expectant inquiry about the future has variously focused on a "mirror" -- whether magical or metaphorical -- and the "speculation" to which it gives rise. This is notably evident in the sophisticated strategic philosophy underlying the BaGua mirror of Chinese culture (Keith Rudell, Feng Shui and the Ba Gua Mirror).

The implications of mirroring have long been an inspiration for introspection across cultures (Bill Halpin, Engaging Emptiness: Stepping into the Mirror, 2000; Paul Demiéville, The Mirror of the Mind, 1991). This exploration of collective self-image might be understood as an essential feature of modern public relations, self-promotion and their "cosmetic" requirements.

To a curious extent, investment in the technology of portal design (as imagined) has been anticipated in the widespread deployment of the security gates by which people are obliged to be scanned at the entry to new environments and for transportation elsewhere. They offer a suggestive metaphor regarding the cognitive implications of passage from one degree of initiation to another, especally since their design may be reminiscent of the pillars through which people symbolically pass in the course of initiation rituals.

Chakras: The form of any such "mandala" figures notably in depiction of the Hindu sequence of seven basic chakras variously understood as psychic centres of consciousness. It is claimed that these may be successively "awakened" through the meditative practice of kundalini yoga -- from a condition in which energy is held to be "coiled up" at the base of the spine, through to more evolved conditions of awareness.

Chakra mandalas
Muladhara (4 petals)	Svadhishthana (6 petals)	Manipura (10 petals)	Anahata (12 petals)	Vishuddha (16 petals)	Ajna (2 petals)	Sahasrara (1000 petals)

(images by Morgan Phoenix; reproduced from Wikipedia)

The form of these traditional patterns is curiously reminiscent of the patterns of polygons discussed above -- with the emphasis here on those with an even number of sides (complementing those presented earlier with an odd number of sides).

Strange attractors of overriding fascination: As stressed in relation to the portals of science fiction, such patterns have long offered a strange fascination through the imaginative possibilities they evoke. These relate to the sense of a mysterious doorway to a different "place", "time" or mode of understanding. They offer a sense of potential in ways whose nature has yet to be explored. Its characteristics include an unusual degree of integration -- cultivated otherwise in the quest for unitary patterns. Often described metaphorically in terms to configurations of petals in the case of chakras, aesthetically they offer a sense associated with flowers (Flowering of Civilization -- Deflowering of Culture, 2014; Keith Critchlow, The Hidden Geometry of Flowers: living rhythms, form and number, 2011).

Controversially, perhaps of fundamental necessity, this fascination is consistent with the overriding fascination with sexual attraction and the unconstrained impulse to intercourse -- with "the birds and the bees". The association is allusively elaborated in poetic and other references to "secret garden". Through the sense of consummation offered by intercourse it offers imagined forms of transformation of which the portals of science fiction could be readily understood to be surrogates -- perhaps to be deprecated as the palest of surrogates. The association of the pattern of chakras with the controversial practices of tantric yoga is consistent with this fundamental association (Emine Saner, Take me to the cosmic vagina: inside Tibet's secret tantric temple, The Guardian, 10 November 2015).

Although readily avoided, the preoccupation with sexual attraction and the promise it offers is a major factor in commercial advertising. Most curious, however, is the degree to which this experiential factor is systematically ignored in the framing of policy, despite the requisite scientific expertise, as discussed separately in a review of The Royal Society report People and the Planet (Scientific Gerrymandering of Boundaries of Overpopulation Debate, 2012). As with academia, there is every reason to argue that neither the Abrahamic religons nor Freemasonry have any meaningful understanding of sexuality -- other than at some deniable subconscious level over which they seek unquestionable dominance. They are essentially sexless in any experiential sense, despite the potentially fruitful cognitive implications embodied in their respective symbolism.

Intercourse: "Intercourse" with reality in whatever form then lends itself to further significance through its consequences ("Human Intercourse": "Intercourse with Nature" and "Intercourse with the Other", 2007). These can be variously understood both in terms of "birth" and as "rebirth" (Varieties of Rebirth -- distinguishing ways of being "born again", 2004). The latter distinguishes:

Cultural rebirth (renaissance, aesthetic birth, mytho-poesis)
Socio-religious rebirth (birthright, destiny, reincarnation, socal status, ceremony, ritual, group affiliation, games, sports)
Psycho-behavioural rebirth (sin-to-virtue, changing patterns of consumption, conversion)
Developmental rebirth (education, perspective, initiation, cultural creativity, individuation)
Therapeutical rebirth (release from trauma, mentors, self-help, discipleship)
Cognitive perspective (metacognition, critical thinking, philosophy, aesthetic sensibility, orders of thinking, systematics, orders of abstraction, disciplines of action)
Experiential rebirth (operacy, flow, embodiment of mind, speaking with God, born-again, possession, psychedelic experience, embodiment in song, spiritual rebirth)

In a number of these cases, such rebirth may be framed as a form of initiation into an order of understanding distinguished metaphorically as "higher", however that is to be understood. More challenging is the capacity to recognize the nature of such understanding -- and to engage with it -- given the complexity with which it is purportedly associated (Engaging with Insight of a Higher Order: reconciling complexity and simplexity through memorable metaphor, 2014).

Questionable answers: It is especially intriguing that engaging with any kind of portal tends to hold the attractive implication that intractable existential questions may be thereby fruitfully answered otherwise -- whatever that may signify. With respect to any degree of rebirth, this calls into question the very nature of questions and the answers deemed fruitful.

Especially with regard to any sense of identity, intercourse of any form is then to be understood as potentially reframing the classical WH-questions: when, where, which, what, who, why and how. This is as much the case with regard to the portals imaginatively offered by science fiction and fantasy as it is with regard to sexual consummation and the sense of transcendence it may be imagined to offer. Presumably, according to degree, such intercourse reframes a sense of direction and orientation -- and purpose. Its implications are necessarily incommunicable and "secret".

Arguably the transformation offered by sexual intercourse, through the existential questions it raises, constitutes a secular equivalent to the quest for the Holy Grail, as can be variously explored (Interrelating Cognitive Catastrophes in a Grail-chalice Proto-model: implications of WH-questions for self-reflexivity and dialogue, 2006). In a period in which there is reference to the need for "economic viagra" to ensure "sustainability" (The Viagra economy, The Economist, 22 September 2005), the metaphor suggests even further exploration (In Quest of Sustainability as Holy Grail of Global Governance, 2011).

Degrees of masonic intercourse with reality: The influence, degrees and claims of Freemasonry offer an example variously characteristic of rebirth in other belief systems. Given its secrecy it is necessarily a focus of conspiracy theorists as noted above. In a period when the relation between the sexes has long been vigorously called into question as a philosophy justifying masculine exclusivity and dominance merits particular attention, as in the case of the Catholic Church (Freemasonry and women; Ordination of women in the Catholic Church).

The difficulty extends in various ways, and to varying degrees, to the relation between "whites" and "people of colour", and to those exploring distinctive gender identities. The strategic dependence on the posture of engendering and confronting enemies can be understoodmore generally as a profound difficulty in engaging creatively with "otherness" -- despite claims to the contrary (Reframing the Dynamics of Engaging with Otherness, 2011; Us and Them: Relating to Challenging Others, 2009).

These questionable attitudes are of course evident and highly influential in the other Abrahamic religions. Together they have positioned women most problematically -- contrary to the principles of human rights they otherwise claim to promote and uphold -- and have actively inhibited any constraint on the overpopulation which engenders so much suffering (Indifference to the Suffering of Others: occupying the moral and ethical high ground through doublespeak, 2013).

The use of the frock-like vestments of the male priesthood of various religions -- explicitly recognized in terms of "defrocking" -- offers one point of departure, as with the cover-up of sexual above by clergy. The use of decorative "aprons" by Freemasonry, to distinguish degrees of insight, offers another. In a period of extensive debate on the implications of cross-dressing, the implication is both cases call for radical reassessment from the perspective of such as Freud, Jung or Lacan (Ph. D. G. G. Bolich, Transgender History and Geography: crossdressing in context, 2007).

It is especially curious that the aprons can be recognized as decorated with symbols suggestive of particular modes of intercourse with the reality of the world -- and that, as aprons, they should be worn in a position associated with the male organ primarily preoccupied with physical intercourse. The position is reminiscent of the traditional biblical fig leaf -- itself with controversial implications, given complicity in so-called cover-ups and issues of impunity (Hillsborough: Police Watchdog Pursues Freemason 'Line of Inquiry', Sky News, 25 August 2016).

The question here is far less a matter of prudery than of the subtle cognitive dimensions to which prudery is an embarrassed simplistic response. Given the suspicions of conspiracy theorists, there is a sense in which the degrees of Freemasonry can then be held to distinguish ways in which its members may engage in "fucking the world", however this may be more euphemistically expressed. The same can be imagined with regardto the degrees of secrecy considered essential by the intelligencee services to thier role in safeguarding democracy.

This could be explored more appropriately in symbolic terms, as discussed separately (Reframing the Dynamics of Engaging with Otherness: triadic correspondences between Topology, Kama Sutra and I Ching, 2011).

Operative Freemasonry: The need for the development of "operacy", as the "skill of doing", has been promoted by Edward de Bono (Judgment, Recognition and Operacy, Extensor). As noted in the Routledge Encyclopaedia of Educational Thinkers, 2016, p. 540):

In his work related to education, de Bono places a great deal of emphasis on "operacy", a term mwhich he uses to refer to the practical skill of thinking for action and which he advocates as a thrid "gateway" for success in formal education (together with literacy and numeracy).

A fundamental distinction is made between Speculative and Operative Freemasonry -- however the latter may be associated with "operacy". For those concerned with the undue influence of Freemasonry on governance, "speculation" could indeed be discounted as merely a matter of opinion, however it is related to degrees of insight. There is of course the irony that in so specifically promoting speculation, Freemasonry has invited such a problematic degree of speculation regarding its own agenda and influence.

Of far greater concern is the implication of "operative" beyond the "good works" with which Freemasonry commonly claims to be associated in its relation with the public -- much as may be claimed by major corporations as a manner of distracting from more dubious practices. This is especially the case given the importance attached to secrecy. Those who have the power to deceive necessarily have the greatest difficulty in providing credible proof that they have not -- protected as they are by plausible deniability. The degrees of Speculative Freemasonry may well be designed to camouflage the degrees of Operative Freemasonry -- as a predictable form of dissimulation for the unvigilant.

In a period in which there is general concern with secretive "operators" and their skills in influence peddling in governance (as exemplified by lobbyists), the focus of conspiracy theorists is naturally on the subtler forms of confidence trickery which may be enabled by the secret skills associated which the higher degrees of Freemasonry. How do Freemasons "work their will" on society in their intercourse with it -- framed as they have long been by a masculine mindset?

How might these skills serve in the defensive denial of complicity in wrong doing -- a pattern of techniques remarkably identified in the forms and degrees of cover-up by Wikipedia, as discussed separately (Identifying patterns of moves with respect to "intelligence", 2013)? Curiously the process relates to the preoccupation with covering up loopholes and lacunae -- or with their exploitation.

Such questions are especially relevant in a period in which there is concern with lack of transparency and ethical conduct in institutuons such as the European Commission -- whether with respect to lobbyists or as exemplified by the current cases of Jean-Claude Juncker, Neelie Kroes and José Manuel Barroso (Commission bumps into its own revolving door, Politico, 23 September 2016). Justifying the suspicions of conspiracy theorists, it is is of course impossible to ask how many of those involved are subject to questionable pressures from Freemasonry, the Caholic Church, or otherwise.

Given the cultivation of complex patterns of secrecy by both the intelligence services and by Freemasonry, it is appropriate to ask whether the skills of covert operations by the former (and the use of false flags) has been significantly adopted by the latter (from which they may well have derived).

To what extent have interpretations of the goals and values of democracy been cynically promoted as false flags-- as "humanitarian shields" -- primarily to distract collective attention in order to disguise the allocation of resources otherwise? The trinity of "Liberty-Equality-Fraternity" is upheld as the ultimate nexus of core values (Democratic Values: Liberty -- Equality -- Justice, American Government Online) -- deriving from the tripartite preoccupation institutionalised by France: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité and adopted by many other nations as an ideal. As might be suspected it is alsothe motto of the Grand Orient de France and the Grande Loge de France, features widely in masonic ritual and symbolism. It was also significant in the elaboration of the the First Article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Could the motto be explored as an inherently unquestionable false flag? The evidence is most striking with respect to the treatment of women by those who promote that trinity of values -- "equality?", "liberty?, "fraternity?" -- as separately argued (Cultivating the Myth of Human Equality: ignoring complicity in the contradictions thereby engendered, 2016; Randall C. Pendland, Separate but Equal Brotherhood, Order of Former Freemasons, 2003; Harry A. Gaylord, The Slavery of Freemasonry, Sun and Shield, 31 July 2007).

The point might be explored through reframing the economic policy trilemma, also known as the impossible trinity, whereby a country must choose between free capital mobility, exchange-rate management and monetary autonomy -- the three together being incompatible, although any two are viable (The Mundell-Fleming Trilemma: two out of three ain't bad, The Economist, 27 August 2016).

Is the "fraternity" so fundamental to Freemasonry essentially abusive -- as may be the perspective of the future? Could the key international bodies, in which the proportion of masonic membership is suspected to be significant, indeed be engaged in such dynamics -- potentially matched by the corresponding initiatives of the Catholic Church as has also been suspected? If neoliberalism could indeed be explored as a "makeover" of those of Freemasonry, is there a case for recognizing the emergence of a dubious "neoegalitarianism" or a "neofraternalism" (as already debated)?

Holes and orifices: However the mandala is to be speculatively understood as a mirroring portal -- a cognitive sphincter protective of a complex orifice -- the "hole" which is the focus of any form of intercourse merits new thinking. The centro-symmetrical nature of the Camp and the symbols of lower degree could also call for reflection in terms of sexual dysfunction -- consequent on confrontation with a form of vagina dentata.

The neglected significance of a "hole" has been remarkably discussed by Roberto Casati and Achille C. Varzi (Holes and Other Superficialities, 1994) -- with respect to the borderlines of metaphysics, everyday geometry, and the theory of perception (as they summarize in the entry on holes in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philsophy).

The authors seek to answer two basic questions: Do holes really exist? And if so, what are they? Philosophers would typically like to expel holes from their ontological inventory. Arguing in favour of the "existence" of such absences as full-fledged cognitive entities, the authors examine the ontology of holes, their geometry, their part-whole relations, their identity, their causal role, and the ways they are perceived. In cylindrical form holes are centred on an implied axis, with which a "point" can only be associated dynamically -- or as a succession of "points".

So framed, what is the strange attraction of the hole which is such a powerful catalyst for intercourse?

The significance can be partly explored through the arguments regarding the curious potential of "nothing" and the "missing", as presented by Terrence Deacon (Incomplete Nature: how mind emerged from matter, 2011), under the heading Nothing Matters:

When Western scholars finally understood how operations involving zero could be woven into the fabric of mathematics, they gained access to unprecedented and powerful new tools for modeling the structure and dynamics of the physical world. By analogy, developing a scientific methodology that enables us to incorporate a fundamental role for the possibilities not actualized -- constraints -- in explaining physical events could provide a powerful new tool for precisely analyzing a part of the world that has previously been shrouded in paradox and mystery. The mathematical revolution that followed an understanding of the null quantity in this way may presage a similarly radical expansion of the sciences that are most intimately associated with human existence. (pp. 540-541)

Scoring a goal and making a point: The powerful attraction of a hole could be considered to have extraordinary implications of relevance to this argument. This is most evident in the preoccupation with "scoring", whether understood metaphorically in regard to intercourse, or as the notable characteristic of many ball-games.

As noted above, it is remarkable that both the football and the golf ball have designs based on spherical polyhedra. More remarkable, ironically, is the extent to which such symbolic artefacts are kicked, thrown or hit in the competitive dynamics of scoring -- so extensively the focus of global media coverage and gambling.

With respect to the symbolism of Freemasonry and other belief systems, the central point of a symbol (whether explicit or inferred) has special significance as an origin. This is consistent with the significance associated with "making a point", as discussed separately (Cognitive Realignment: making points and aligning a target, 2009; Comprehension framed by "Point", 2012 ).

With respect to the aesthetic dimension of this argument, of interest is the envisaged use of a new material to define a hole otherwise (Mary Nichols, Researchers Create 'Super Black' Material So Dark The Human Eye Cannot Process It, Design and Trend, 14 July 2014). Known as Vantablack, it has become the focus of aesthetic and copyright controversy (Artists at war after top sculptor is given exclusive rights to the purest black paint ever which is used on stealth jets, Daily Mail Online, 15 March 2016; Jonathan Jones, Can an artist ever really own a colour? The Guardian, 29 February 2016).

Holes and "The-O"? A more provocative approach challenges the connotations of "theo" (The-O ring: Theory, Theorem, Theology, Theosophy? a playful intercultural quest for fruitful complementarity, 2014). It explores the patterns of cognitive functions associated with variants of "theo". In a second part, the concluding argument is usefully clarified using a variety of illustrations relating the theme to current global preoccupations (The-O Ring and The Bull Ring as Spectacular Archetypes: dramatic correlation of theatre, theory, theorem, theology, and theosophy, 2014).

The emphasis there is on how dramatic incorporation of the feminine can enhance "interestingness, suggestiveness and memorability" of the "theo" modalities -- otherwise to be recognized as increasingly sterile, infertile and "unfit for purpose". Could it be argued that a degree of recognition of their dimensions has encouraged Freemasonry to transform the dnamics of society into an instructive drama -- whether tragedy, comedy or farce?

The mysterious nature of holes and their implication can be given another focus through comprehension of the paradoxical hole in the Klein bottle as studied by mathematics. The psychological implications of this form have been extensively argued from a phenomenological perspective by Steven M. Rosen (Wholeness as the Body of Paradox, 1996; Pauli's Dream: Jung, Modern Physics, and Alchemy, Quadrant, 44, 2014; A Plea for the Possibility of Visualizing Existence, Scientia, 108, 1973).

Given the mysterious nature of that hole as a focus for comprehension, it could be argued that its conventional representation in terms of a "bottle" is fundamentally misleading, given its hyperdimensional nature. Provocatively it could be further argued both that that rendering is curiously reminiscent of a uterus and that understandings of "holiness" merit reflection in such terms (Is the World View of a Holy Father Necessarily Full of Holes? 2014). What are the implications of being (w)hole? Does engagement with a hole have implications for engagement with globality, as separately explored (Intercourse with Globality through Enacting a Klein bottle: cognitive implication in a polysensorial "lens", 2009).

With respect to aspirations to the initiation of humanity into galactic civilization, further speculation might suggest that the recognition of the cognitive skills to navigate paradoxical wormholes might be an essential prequisite (Self-reflective Embodiment of Transdisciplinary Integration (SETI): the universal criterion of species maturity? 2008). A related point has been made through the theme Down the Rabbit Hole otherwise controversially presented as What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004).