Natural Intelligence and Order -- 2 Geomancy Principles:


First, we will delve into theory and the metaphysics of this.

Second, we will consider practical application.




A. Theory

So let us now consider the meaning of natural order and pattern.

We will begin with the following proposed truth. Intelligence and Order is within all nature.



Experiencing Divine Order in current manifestation is a generalization

First of all, the idea of natural order, or of divine order in nature, is somewhat of a loose and generalized concept, at least in relation to what we actually discover in the world. This should first be admitted. Intelligence and Order, as found in nature, is true in many cases but not true in other cases; so it is certainly a generalization. It is more like a general sense we have about nature overall, though there are many examples of specific natural order. For although there are particular places and examples of amazing intelligence and order in nature; there are also many places and examples where not much intelligence and order is evident.

For example, we could find many instances of animals acting unintelligently or inharmoniously with the environment, let alone bring up examples of human action. So the romantic notion that animals are always intelligent and harmonious is by far a mistaken myth, though in general they do often act with intelligence and harmony. Additionally, many natural places on Earth, for example, are quite without order, often due to natural destructive occurrences. Just pay a visit to an area which in recent years has been hit with a hurricane, a tornado, a flood, or high winds, or an exploded volcano, etc, etc. In most river areas we will regularly find fallen trees and dead bushes lying all over in a very chaotic manner which is certainly not intelligently ordered. So in many places we find more chaos around than any kind of “order.”

Yet there are other areas around where the appearance of natural order is quite amazing and impressive, and in these places one feels a sense of natural intelligence at work. We find more consistent order in the inner structure of living things and also in many molecular structures. As it is, the deeper we look into the structure of life or of nature, the more patterned and geometric order we find. Whether this is a sign of intelligence, though, is still debatable.

Certainly, there is an intricate intelligence at work in living things, but science claims that any such intelligence a development over millions of years and most likely by some kind of trial and error process, so that what we see now is the very long-term result of such a developmental process. And we don't see all the many un-intelligent mistakes or wrong turns that nature has made, because these mistakes resulted in death and finally extinction.



Causes of natural intelligence and order

There is enough evidence in the world to show there is at least some degree of intelligence and order in nature. So if we accept this as true, we might then ask how it came to be. Two main theories come in to explain. Modern physicalist natural science explains that any natural intelligence and order derived from a combination of accidental mutation and survival by adaptation. The other main theory is a spiritual one; that these attributes of nature derive from a spiritual source, transcendental to physical matter.

The modern physicalist natural science argument is that any presupposition or conclusion about a spiritual source is simply unnecessary to explain the intelligence and order in nature, because there is enough supportive evidence that all of the intelligence and order found in nature was developed over a very long process of mutation combined with survival adaptation, all of which could have occurred accidentally or by trial and error, rather than being guided by any pre-existing supra Intelligence. This scientific theory, thus, avoids any presupposition and final conclusion that nature has ever been pervaded by or dependent on a transcendental power or intelligence.

The spiritual view holds that intelligence and order is within all nature, because the whole universe has come from one Great Intelligence, with Purpose and Consciousness, Who is the Creator, by whatever name we might give to this, and not necessarily how any one religion envisions this to be. In primal religions this has been called the Creator, or Great Mystery - because it is a great mystery how nature became so intelligent and ordered. We will call this the Divine Intelligence, which is the parent of natural creation and which pervades through all of nature. We also say that nature manifests the Divine Intelligence.

This competing spiritual metaphysics cannot be proven as correct by scientific methods, nor can it be proven as incorrect, which is the reason why science rejects it and does not even label this as a real theory. Also, the claim of science is that a more complicated theory should be discarded if a simpler theory can sufficiently explain the facts of evidence. Yet this principle of truth, called Occam's Razor, in itself cannot be proved by any facts, because it is itself a presupposed value statement or it could even be labeled an aesthetic preference. But certainly the scientific theory has legitimacy, as well as being an important explanation of causes in nature. Yet it is also very feasible to show how all of the evidences and even most of these claims by the above scientific theory can be combined with a spiritual metaphysics which adds in the factor of a guiding Intelligence.



Intelligence and Order within

To repeat from above, Intelligence and Order is within all nature. In other words, these two properties pervade all nature and are found in all nature. Yet, it is not being suggested here that every single manifestation or part of nature is a “perfect” expression of intelligence and order. So it is not being suggested here that everywhere we can find an amazing manifestation of intelligence and order. Nor is it being suggested that a Great Spiritual Intelligence is absolutely guiding or directing every physical and biological event on the planet. These would be beliefs way beyond the support of obvious evidence. Rather, it is only being suggested here that Intelligence and Order is within all nature. And we could also add in that there is a Greater Universal Intelligence which influentially guides processes in nature - but only generally and partially, and not absolutely (or deterministically).

Now then, what is meant by Intelligence and Order being within all nature? Fundamentally, at the basis of nature and at the basis of any part of nature, is an underlaying Intelligence and Order, and all of this underlaying order is actually interconnected in an overall relational web or matrix. Thus, Intelligence and Order is in the deepest, intrinsic foundation of all nature, both physical and biological. Again, the reason this is so is because all of our natural world is fundamentally created from a First Cause, the Universal Creative Power - with Intelligence, Consciousness and Purpose.

Note also that what we are speaking about here could also be called Pattern; it is Order/Pattern that we are considering. But Order is the easier term to use and perhaps more to the point as well; since the word Pattern, by itself, might be wrongly confused with things like addictive patterns or egoistic patterns. We are speaking here about an essential creative formative Order/Pattern, structurally inherent in nature.

So, there is Intelligence and Order within nature and all parts of nature, and this is at the very core structure of nature. When science looks into the deeper structures of life and also of matter, it finds an underlaying order of geometric patterns and proportions. The deeper we observe into the core structure of nature, both physical and biological, the more evidence we will find regarding this deeper intrinsic structure of Order. This deeper intrinsic structure, then, is the influential Matrix, the Pattern, the Geometry, from which the more explicit manifesting structures emerge. And so the deeper structural Intelligence and Order within any part of nature then guides, so to speak, its outward manifestation. This will be a structural guidance, or structural influence, rather than an absolutely deterministic guidance. Importantly note that we human beings are included in all of this; for we too are of nature and are natural beings.

Moreover then, any natural manifestation, form or event will show some quality and degree of its underlaying-intrinsic Intelligence and Order, but not necessarily a high-quality or “perfect” expression of Intelligence and Order. In fact, the term perfect is so far out from the truth, that it is completely misleading to use the word. There can be some quality and degree of intelligence and order in any manifestation, but this might not be a high-degree or high-quality. To use an artistic analogy, an artist might very well have a clear intelligent order in mind for a particular creation, but the actual creation may not come out as fine or ordered as was intended, which was because of variable outer circumstances such as the existing quality of the material at hand and the variable conditions of the surrounding environment. This analogy has much to say in explanation, though its anthropomorphic image should not be taken literally.

Furthermore, there is Process at work here; we will use this term with a spiritual-metaphysical meaning. There is a Spiritual Process at work in nature and also in the very purpose of nature, which is to Unfold the potential Intelligence and Order that is implicit in nature. The Process is the Unfoldment. Fundamentally, this is natural. It is a natural process, meaning that it occurs through the processes and factors of nature - which science studies and explains. It gradually happens, but over long periods of time. Yet, this is not an absolutely guaranteed unfoldment, since it involves random and trial--through-error factors. This overall metaphysical view does not assume any spiritual or natural predetermination or predestination.

In most of nature there will be conditional factors, both internal circumstantial factors and external/environment circumstantial factors, all of which condition and influence manifested outcomes (or what we call natural evolution). As human beings, we are also part of nature and natural processes, and thus our human creativity and manifestations are also conditioned or influenced by both self-internal and external-environmental factors.

Yet as humans we also have a greater degree of creative freedom and many more potentials than other parts of nature. This gives us incredible possibility for creating intelligent order and beauty in the world, and much more quickly accomplished than by the gradual, trial and error process as in the rest of nature. Nonetheless, we too are working in a trial and error manner; it is just that we have more intrinsic potential to see more intelligently into the complexities of life and to make more insightful, intelligent choices, rather than be simply stabbing in the dark about everything. We can learn more quickly and more quickly develop intelligence, than any other natural creature as yet known. However, we also have more possibilities for making mistakes and harming things in our environment. In other words, our greater creative potentials and powers are two sided: we can move forward with intelligence to unfold the possible beauty of our world and help manifest harmonious order, or in contrary, we can really make a lot of unnecessary problems for ourselves and for the whole world.



Intelligence and Order understood as processes at work

A useful understanding regarding Natural Order is that it is not merely a fixed order, nor is it always perfectly found in nature. A wiser understanding of natural intelligence and order is this: natural intelligence is at work in nature, and order is in process of coming into actualization. In other words, the Natural-Divine Intelligence is an activity. It is a work, or we could say it is at work. So, the notion that there is a great Intelligence in nature ought to be conceived as an activity in nature, rather than something complete in nature. That is, it is not about seeing a perfect thing called Intelligence, but rather seeing that an Intelligence is at work. Thus, in this understanding, we could observe a particular situation or place or even a person, and see an awful chaos or disharmony, yet still we could see Intelligence at work -- because the view of Intelligence is not dependent on a perfect or harmonious situation. We are not looking at Intelligence in some kind of final completion; rather we are looking at Intelligence at work, or Intelligence in process. So the current situation might be a chaotic mess, but this might just be a transitional stage in the longer-range work or process of Intelligence.

Even the notion of Natural-Divine Order can also be understood as an activity, rather than as a certain design, as in a design-shape. In this sense, Order means a process of ordering, or a process towards higher order. This means that all parts of existing nature, or what we see as manifest nature, are moving towards greater intelligent order. We will always discover setbacks and even some mistakes in nature, but nature intelligently continues towards order. This the great Work of nature, in nature. The Ultimate Divine Order may well be a mysterious power of ordering, or of building order from non-order. In other words, it is a process-activity of ordering, which always tends to create a greater order in the world.



B. Practical Applications

Perceiving and Creating Order

So now, we will consider a particular topic of geomancy, called Order. This topic has two basic parts. First is to develop our potential ability to perceive Order and also Beauty in nature, in the natural world around us. We could also extend this perception to involve the human world as well, but for now we will predominately consider perceptions of what we call the natural world. This Order has two aspects, the intrinsic and the extrinsic, the deeper structure and the outer manifesting expression. If we can perceive into the deeper intrinsic structure of the natural world, we will find an intricate, inter-relational Order, which also has Integrative Intelligence. How to help develop this perceptual potential is discussed in a chapter on Practices. Even in particular things or parts of nature or places of land, we can discover an inherent, intrinsic order and intelligence.

Yet remember that this inner order and intelligence is not necessarily manifested. We might find some degree of manifested order, intelligence and harmony; but most of the potential of what is inherent has yet to completely unfold. So we will not necessarily find high degrees of intelligent order, beauty and harmony in all things or even in all places. Nonetheless, there are many places in the natural world, and many parts of nature, which certainly have great harmonious and beautiful order already in manifestation. So, in summary, it is possible to perceive harmonious order in nature, sometimes right there in the outer form of a place, and it is also possible to discover harmonious order in the deeper structure of nature if we can develop this perceptual ability.

Now the second part of this geomancy topic called Order is to do with creating harmonious order. First we need to perceive an inner order in nature, or perhaps the inner potential order of nature. Then, we can proceed to creating harmonious order, or at least help in its potential unfoldment. This is a vast subject, so we will simply consider the basic principles and insights needed. Part of the geomancy aim is to help the natural places of earth unfold their inherent potential Order, and thus to help manifest harmonious order and beauty -- in the most complete and integrative way possible. In this way, we are participating in the spiritual-natural unfoldment of Divine Intelligence and Order, and of harmony and beauty. To do this most appropriately and beneficially, we need to first perceive and understand the deeper intrinsic natural order that is already waiting to be manifested, or brought forth from potential into actuality. Then we will understand what can and needs to come into expression. This could be called the potential destiny of a place. As well, it is also important to perceive, consider and respect the surrounding environment of any particular place, or of any particular project, so that what we do and what we design at any place is in harmony and integrative with the surrounding environmental natural ecology and the surrounding earth energies.

First in geomancy, the larger overall existing Patterns of the surrounding environment are studied and respected in any work or design. It is best to first be in harmony with the existing Patterns or existing natural Order of the land. This Pattern/Order will be somewhat unique for each particular place on Earth, but one will usually recognize general Patterns similar to many other places. So to be harmony with natural Order, we must study and work harmoniously with the existing Patterns as they are.

Then, second, there is a possibility to make evolutionary transformations at particular places. That is, it is possible to make changes on the land and with earth energy flows at a site, in order to make improvements at this place, on this land, in this area. Here, the aim is to improve, or even heal, the quality of energies on the land and also to help beautify the land. We will still need to study, respect, and design harmoniously with the surrounding existing natural Patterns; but we are also bringing forth potentials of harmony and beauty in a particular place which have yet to be actualized. And so in this work, we need to perceive an underlaying potential Pattern/Order. We need to see what is inherently underneath the existing obvious, or the deeper structure of Order which awaits recognition and expression. We need to see what of the divine-natural Potential is awaiting to unfold into manifestation, with our stewardship help. So, we are not just harmonizing with the existing natural Patterns, but also harmonizing our work with the underlaying natural Pattern. So we need to see the hidden intrinsic Order that is seeking to express; then work with this - which will have its own inherent power, intelligence, and potential flow.

Remember the principles of Harmony, Integration, Order , and also Flow. Flow is an important aspect of Harmony, and it is also essential in the overall surrounding environment and even throughout the whole planet, because the earth energies need to flow and connect in order for harmony to exist and for an evolutionary unfoldment to occur. Unblocked flow of energies is vital to any healthy body, and the earth body is no exception.



Sacred Pattern in the world

This tangible world is created and sustained by an invisible world of geometric patterns which form the inner matrix of all life. This matrix is The Mother, the womb in which we live and have our being. It is called the formative world, because all things are formed out of it. When we look at the first, primary appearances of life and matter, in a microscope for instance, we can glimpse very fine reflections of this hidden geometrical world. It can be seen in the geometries and patterns common to all life; although the actual formative world is beyond what we can see with our senses or physical instruments. It exists in an interconnected, multi-dimensional web of subtle energies, which forms the mind of the planet and all minds within it.

The basic, common forms of micro-cosmic life and the patterns which make up the various life-forms we know are expressions of natural law and the order of the formative world.

The underlying structure of all form, organic and “inorganic”, is geometric pattern and proportion, and each formative wave field has its own unique shape.

The natural order subsists everywhere; or in other words, there is an underlying order within all manifestation, though it may not be apparent. This relative world of manifestation does not always reflect the perfect order which sustains it; yet it is our work to help forth bring this absolute perfection into the relative world. The perfect natural order is often only existent in a “world of possibility” as far as we are concerned; until the time when someone helps bring it to completion, into full manifestation. Therefore, we say that perfection, natural law and the formative world subsists everywhere in every moment, and is unfolding in time, given sufficient effort and agreement. Our work is to help this evolution consciously through a triad of recognition, right effort and agreement. The conscious one recognizes the subsisting natural order, reflects this in her being and expresses this in his creative work. Great works of art and creativity have this sense of natural order and proportion, sometimes subtly implicit so that we can participate in its discovery. [see art]

We have this innate craving for order and connecting patterns in our lives and in our environment. And yet we also thrive on creative freedom and the mystery of the wild. So I am not suggesting that the environment should look like a vast array of perfect geometric shapes. This would be quite boring, and is not how nature is intended to be. Beauty is in irregularity as well as in defined order. Reflecting the subsisting natural order is to bring forth the greatest possible beauty, which has many elements to it and can involve a highly complex order. Complexity-of-order and harmony-in-diversity are elbows of beauty.

Man craves for and needs some order in his life, and part of waking up is to create order in our personal expression and environmental ordering, both social and physical. Man also seeks to explore and discover life through creative freedom, just as we see in all living forms. We seek to find and express our uniqueness and this reflects our special beauty to others around. I am not just speaking of man or woman, but of all life. One one hand there is the need to be and on the other hand there is the need to be of. Freedom can only be sustained within some surrounding order, and order is only meaningful if it holds freedom within it. So, on the one hand we struggle and play with freedom, and on the other we need to submit to a greater order, a greater life and a greater love given to us. Ultimately, we can only hope to learn from and emulate nature, the world we come from and have our being. There is nothing else possible, because within nature are the laws of life and manifestation, and whatever we can do of beauty and goodness will be a variation of the basic principles at work in nature. We are given the task to be conscious re-conciliators between freedom and order. It can sort of happen unconsciously, maybe, at least in some way; but here we are living on this planet, so why not participate consciously?



Ideals of Freedom and Order

As for Order, this could be a confusing concept. It does not necessarily mean a fixed or rigid pattern or design. Many people will literally turn off to or resist any ideal of order, because they see order as an opposition to freedom and spontaneity. We see this in the history of art, music, and other creative forms, because artists very often feel a creative urge to break free of an existing order, which has become limiting and restrictive. We can understand all creativity as a kind of dialogue or dialect between order and freedom. Order constrains, while freedom breaks constraints. Yet both have a need in any process of creativity. Both, constraining order and freedom, can also be applied in any landscape or architectural design. A good basic structure of order can be quite helpful for possibilities of freedom. So in any work and design involving harmony with the natural surroundings, we need to consider these two essential principles of order and freedom. Intentional design order can bring forth specific qualities of energy or even attract certain helpful energy-qualities from the surrounding energy matrix. Yet there also has to be sufficient unconstrained freedom in the land, in order for energies to flow in their own natural way.

Some kind of manifesting order is part of the divine purpose, or one could think of manifested order as being essential to beauty. Order is important, but we should not impose on the land, or in nature, our limited idea of right order. All creative designs and work upon the land will unavoidably involve some kind of order or ordering, but we need to be cautious about imposing our limited ideas about right order, because our ideas might be based on old conditioned beliefs or also involve our own arrogance. Realize that right order, or perfect order, is not necessarily a perfect geometric design. For example, it is not a geomancy aim to create perfect geometric designs all over the planet, or to shape the natural world into geometric order or into any kind of fixed order. We need to see what real natural Order is, beyond the simple kinds of order that we might first think is right or perfect. This will require humility on our part, and in a practical way we will need to refrain from imposing too much of our own ideas-of-order on nature, and so allow more of nature to just be as it is and to unfold in its own freedom. Thus, geomancy work and design will sometimes involve religious or cultural patterns, sometimes geometric patterns, or sometimes the golden mean proportion; but we should not get fanatical about anything.