“I have proposed the existence of an invisible permeating something, that is throughout all being, all time, all space, all bodies, all thoughts, which I call novelty. And the interesting thing about novelty is that it’s increasing, constantly. Science has not trumpeted this view, because science tends to look for principles which operate in definable domains. In other words the laws of chemistry, the laws of physics, the laws of gene segregation, the laws that describe the trajectories of artillery shells and falling bodies.
But, I submit to you that there is a overarching law which affects all reality and that you don’t need an atom smasher or extremely advanced mathematical methodologies to discern. It is self-evident in your own experience. And what it is, is that as we go back in time the universe if found to be a simpler place. If we go back a long ways in time, the universe is a very simple place. There are no cultures, there are no animals, there are no plants. Indeed if we go far enough back in time there are no stars and planets, the universe is simply a swarming ocean of energy.
But as we approach the present its as though the universe has undergone a series of crystallizations, out of itself of higher and higher forms of organization. And this is what I call novelty.”
But, I submit to you that there is a overarching law which affects all reality and that you don’t need an atom smasher or extremely advanced mathematical methodologies to discern. It is self-evident in your own experience. And what it is, is that as we go back in time the universe if found to be a simpler place. If we go back a long ways in time, the universe is a very simple place. There are no cultures, there are no animals, there are no plants. Indeed if we go far enough back in time there are no stars and planets, the universe is simply a swarming ocean of energy.
But as we approach the present its as though the universe has undergone a series of crystallizations, out of itself of higher and higher forms of organization. And this is what I call novelty.”
The Meaning of Life is to Find the Meaning of Life
From 1997 to 2001, host of the radio show Coast to Coast AM, Art Bell had a number of conversations with Terence McKenna. In one of these enlightening encounters, a caller asked McKenna what the meaning of life is. Here is his reply:
McKenna:
“You know in classical philosophy they said this is what classical philosophy is about. Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? These are the three questions, everything arises from this. Each leads on to the other.
I’ve tried to look at the question, where did we come from and have proposed theories about it. By looking into my body, brain with drugs and meditation and just analytical thinking, I’ve tried to look at who are we, and then the great unanswered question is, where are we going. You know, what is to be the destiny of the human race? Are we an episode in the biology of this planet, or will we build an eden strung along the Milky Way? And from there to yet grander and greater things?
We don’t know how much intelligence there is in the universe, but we certainly know that something has broken out on this planet in our species that is like nothing else in the order of nature.”
Art Bell:
“What if we are nothing more than a virtual zip on the face of reality?”
From 1997 to 2001, host of the radio show Coast to Coast AM, Art Bell had a number of conversations with Terence McKenna. In one of these enlightening encounters, a caller asked McKenna what the meaning of life is. Here is his reply:
McKenna:
“You know in classical philosophy they said this is what classical philosophy is about. Who are we? Where did we come from? Where are we going? These are the three questions, everything arises from this. Each leads on to the other.
I’ve tried to look at the question, where did we come from and have proposed theories about it. By looking into my body, brain with drugs and meditation and just analytical thinking, I’ve tried to look at who are we, and then the great unanswered question is, where are we going. You know, what is to be the destiny of the human race? Are we an episode in the biology of this planet, or will we build an eden strung along the Milky Way? And from there to yet grander and greater things?
We don’t know how much intelligence there is in the universe, but we certainly know that something has broken out on this planet in our species that is like nothing else in the order of nature.”
Art Bell:
“What if we are nothing more than a virtual zip on the face of reality?”
McKenna:
“Well if by virtual you mean that we are inside some kind of artificial simulacrum, which is some software being run, well then the question is by who and to what ends?
I could accept that. My life is so much like a story, that I’m constantly asking the question, who writes this? Who writes this stuff? I mean, who thought me up? Who thought Art Bell up and put us talking like this front of twenty-two million people?
That doesn’t happen in reality, that kind of thing happens in art of the very finely honed source, and so I want to know, what is the medium and who is the artist, and who’s paying for this production?”
“Well if by virtual you mean that we are inside some kind of artificial simulacrum, which is some software being run, well then the question is by who and to what ends?
I could accept that. My life is so much like a story, that I’m constantly asking the question, who writes this? Who writes this stuff? I mean, who thought me up? Who thought Art Bell up and put us talking like this front of twenty-two million people?
That doesn’t happen in reality, that kind of thing happens in art of the very finely honed source, and so I want to know, what is the medium and who is the artist, and who’s paying for this production?”
