I created the geometry for the Spheriphor digital art work as an investigation into spherical spirals, but this figure has also led me down deep into multiple levels of insight meditation. If you have been following my blog, you may know that I believe that the root essence of existence is the spiral. I talked about this with my Maori artist collaborator Kura Puke (for I. She also believes spirals to be at the heart of all things.
Just recently, during a Vipassana meditation session, I had an insight that emerged from contemplation of the tetrahelix (spiral based on the tetrahedron). I visualized the tetrahelix emerging from a set of 3 vectors that propagate through space. These 3 vectors are the primary (active) system of all phenomena. There is a set of 3 complementary vectors that are secondary (reactive), and together with the primary set of 3 vectors, the tetrahedron (minimum system of Universe) is formed (as per Bucky's Synergetics).
Then, I arrived at an internal visualization of the relationships between the 3 primary vectors. This visualization involved a spiraling propagation through space based on 3 parameters: length, angle and twist. I could see that these 3 parameters were the true 3 dimensions of Universe (as opposed to width, height and depth). I made a mental note to create an mathematical computer generated visualization based on this concept.
Then all of a sudden the visualization shifted to the Hindu Trimurti. My mental energy shifted from left hemisphere to right hemisphere; the wonders of the corpus callosum.
From Wikipedia:
The Trimurti (English: 'three forms') is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation , maintenance , and transformation are personified by the forms of Brahmāthe maintainer or preserver Vishnu the creator and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer. These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", often addressed as "Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara."
Next came the realization of the equivalence of Hindu and Tibetan Buddhist trinities:
- Vishnu = Sunyata
- Brahma = Amitabha
- Shiva = Chenrezig
The visualization then shifted again. This time the triad transformed into the Mani; the most beneficial mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum". I saw the following:
- the clear light of creation (Om) radiating from within
- the jewel maintaining (Mani) all phenomena
- sitting on a lotus transforming (Padme) all dualistic views
- within my human heart (Hum) the most fortunate of all incarnations
In this meditation I attained the most in-depth understanding of the Mani that I have ever realized.
The visualization which emerged from my contemplation of the tetrahelix now circled back to my 4 colored, Triskele version of the Spheriphor. The Spheriphor contains both the 3-way symmetry of the Trimurti and the 4-colored aspects of the Mani. The Spheriphor is truly an all-encompassing spherical-metaphor that represents the complete Hindu-Buddhist psycho-cosmology.
Spheriphor by Tom Greenbaum
You can view my Spheriphor study at http://karmatetra.com/ISDE5/spheriphor_study03.htm
Also on the Spheriphor Study 03 page are alternative views of the figure based on a spherical octahedron. The 3 views are based on vertex, face-centered and edge centered perspectives:
- http://karmatetra.com/ISDE5/Images/Spheri-Spiral_50.jpg My 4 colored Triskele (Celtic triple spiral) version. Do you think that the Celtic mystics were actually peering into the vertex of a spherical octahedron wrapped in spirals like I was? Also, Hans-Peter Welke fell in love with this image and asked me for permission to use it for the cover of his brochure on the "Corporate Identity Development Process" See the attachment for the brochure. Hans-Peter credits me for the image on the last page.
- http://karmatetra.com/ISDE5/Images/Spheri-Spiral_52.jpg
- http://karmatetra.com/ISDE5/Images/Spheri-Spiral_49.jpg
I would love to make this figure out of glass. I have thought of possible ways to make it out of glass, but it would be a major challenge.
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