Boundary Dissolution

boundary

ˈbaʊnd(ə)ri/: a limit of something abstract, especially a subject or sphere of activity.
"a community without class or political boundaries"


The human story on this planet can be viewed essentially as a progressive creation of boundaries, with the intended consequences of facilitating interpretation and bringing meaning to the cosmic data. In that sense, history then is not simply a "trendless fluctuation" or "random walk" of events, but more like a sprint in a specific direction - resulting in the creation of progressively more complicated boundaries.


At an individual level, the first imposition of a boundary in our being, is in the very act of being born. By which, each and every one of us, without intention or consent, are destined to begin our journey by setting the most ephemeral (yet the very real) of all boundaries - between life and death. It is a preconditioned boundary, necessary for the possibility of the phenomenon of life to occur at all. Soon after (although debatable when exactly) the human being also intrinsically develops another key boundary that remains with it throughout a lifetime - the cognition of the boundaries of time, the lines between past, present and future. Following which, with the development of more pragmatic cognitions, there comes the realized boundary between the external world (of the physica-materia around) and the internal world (the realm of internal thought and imagination).


The cycle is essentially endless, leading to the setting of all boundaries we know and live by - gender, language, culture, traditions, races, political ideologies, nationalities, and so forth and so on. In their functionality, these boundaries develop for the purpose of making manageable the cacophony of the cosmic information stream - the intrinsically chaotic, formless, incomprehensible and sometimes maddening. (Cosmic information stream: the eternal and endless nature of consciousness, unhinged by interpretive boundaries - the Tao of unfiltered reality.)


And we are beholden to our boundaries of reality. We clutch them with our dear lives. These are essentially what we live life as truths. The preservation of our self identities, as defined by both the boundaries we are bestowed and those that we choose for ourselves, is at the center of the phenomenon that brings about the self - the ego. Understandably, the human specimen is intensely phobic of any ruptures in these boundaries, as it essentially means the breakdown of what is considered to be reality. This can explain both why fundamentalist ideologues demonstrate violent reactions to ideological challenges, and at the same time why every human being feels intense discomfort and confusion about the yawning grave, and the inevitable dissolution of the boundary between life and death.



dissolution

dɪsəˈluːʃ(ə)n/: the action or process of dissolving or being dissolved.


Terence takes a sip from his glass of water, as he slightly nods in affirmation. "I mean if you had to say the one thing that psychedelics do for everyone, whether they have a good trip or a bad trip (because its upto them to interpret what they make of this), is it shows you the relativity of your cultural viewpoint. That it's just your point of view. You inherited it from a geographical area, a culture, a set of parents etc. It has no relationship in anything whatsoever that is anchored in some kind of metaphysical superspace."


I can see where he is going with this. My own list of boundary dissolving experiences have been, for me, some of the most essential catalysts of my spiritual maturity. These experiences, have broken down my own boundaries, imposed unto a cheery notion of a personalized reality. And yes, whether good or bad, their core theme was this - the relativity of reality.


"And travel actually does the same thing. Because travel shows you the relativity of culture." He looks at us with rapt attention, slows down his speech, and articulates with care, "What is really happening when you travel, you see, is you're moving from one language domain to another. You don't think of it that way, but that is essentially what is happening."


The tremendous trifecta of the idea, the allegory and the possibility, cannot help but ignite that familiar itch within my restless spirit - to spread far and beyond, until the boundary becomes a dot.