Fractals and Cymatics in our Illusory Reality
Accodring to the Hindu concept of Maya ( Sanskrit: माया ), all that we see, all that we think, feel and breathe, is but an elaborate and illusory dream. This world that feels so real to us is merely a cresting wave upon an infinite expanse of Ocean. It seems to have a shape and tangibility, but is nothing more than a tiny fragment of the Whole, thrust upwards for the blink of an eye before merging back to its source.
This premise raises a host of questions. If this is true, what’s it all made of? How does it seem so real? Where do I, Me, Mine, You, Yours, We and Us fit in if merrily merrily merrily merrily life is but a dream? Who’s the dreamer, and what happens when we wake up?
I intend to limit the scope of this piece to the first question – what’s it all made of? First and foremost, according to the Standard Model of Particle Physics (Quantum Physics is a bit too murky and Principally Uncertain for this example), it’s all made of Nothing!
Nothing you say? How can that be?? Nothing is made of nothing! Au contraire, the volume of an atom (roughly 1 angstrom, or 10^-10 m in diameter) is about 15 orders of magnitude larger than the volume of a nucleon (roughly 1 fm, or 10^-15 m in diameter). To break that down a bit, a single atom is 99.9999999999999% empty! It’s only the Strong Nuclear Force that keeps each atom stuck together, and everything we know from collapsing in to particulate soup.
The implication here is that absolutely everything we think of as reality, when viewed through the lens of the Standard Model, from the thinnest wisps of vapor to the most dense of blacksmith anvils, is almost entirely Nothing.
Okay, enough about Nothing-ness, let’s move on to Something-ness. What makes a Bird a Bird, and a Flower a Flower? This is where we enter the world of Fractal Geometry. The way I see it, Fractals are like little Haikus of the Divine Intelligence.
After the shower
among the drenched roses
the bird thrashing in the bath.
-Jack KerouacDelicate flowers
sway in summer’s gentle breeze
and survive her storms.
-lucia
On the left, one of four affine transformations that, when rendered, produce Barnsley’s Fern, center. On the right – Ferns. Magic!
This is a simple example, but the idea carries deeper. Last night I was playing around with Apophysis, the most advanced piece Fractal Generation Software I’ve had the joy of fiddling with. Here’s a gallery of 60 stunning fractals produced with Apophysis: http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/60-beautiful-fractals-created-with-apophysis-part-1/. I believe that a large part of why these images are so striking is that they are built using the same mathematics that create the very world in which we live. In a random swirl of bits and pixels, we see the river, the forest, the grass, the face of a loved one.
As I was experimenting with Apophysis, one particular Fractal path captivated my attention. As I tweaked the controls, the form of a person began to emerge. I did all I could to preserve and enhance the figure and, when I had done all I could to coax it into being, I moved over to Photoshop where I could complete the work. Below left is the original fractal, below right is the final creation:
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of
the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
-Genesis 1:6, The Bible
Simply put, Fractal Geometry is the language of patterns with which the Clay of Nothingness that surrounds us is molded.
Now that we’ve got these molded lumps of clay, how do animate them? This is where the idea of Cymatics comes in to play.
From Wikipedia: “Cymatics is the study of visible sound and vibration, a subset of modal phenomena. Typically the surface of a plate, diaphragm, or membrane is vibrated, and regions of maximum and minimum displacement are made visible in a thin coating of particles, paste, or liquid. Different patterns emerge in the exitatory medium depending on the geometry of the plate and the driving frequency.”
Cymatics is better observed than described, so here’s a video that shows it in motion:
The above video demonstrates the essential core of Cymatics – that acoustic waves of a given resonance, when used to vibrate a fluid medium, create a consistent pattern in the medium. Some of the patterns are static, while others are constantly in motion. Various frequencies have been shown to produce patterns resembling chromosomes, faces, rotating spirals, and a number of patterns recognizable as mystical symbols used in ancient spiritual traditions; for example, the symbols used for the 7 Chakras in the Yogic Tradition have been reproduced using Cymatics.
While Cymatics is solely focused on sound waves, which are a purely mechanical vibrational phenomenon, the same sort of thinking could be extended to apply to all forms of resonant vibration throughout the various spectra, both exoteric and esoteric. In new age circles, one often hears talk of ‘Vibrations’ and ‘Resonance’ to describe material and spiritual phenomenon, and Cymatics gives a factual context in which to ground otherwise lofty terminology based on intuition.
I think it’s no coincidence that Krishna, one of the many manifestations of the Divine in the Hindu tradition, is often depicted playing a flute. The symbolism is that, while the flute itself, like the world, is but a hollow reed, when Lord Krishna blows through the flute various melodic tones are produced that breathe Glory into the Cosmos and set all of creation in motion.
Well there we have it. To summarize, I have put forth 3 concepts to consider: 1. Tangible Reality is but an empty illusion. 2. Fractal Geometry is the language of patterns used to mold the illusion into form. 3. Cymatics gives a glimpse into the role that resonance plays in animating the stuff of the Universe.
Keep in mind that all of this has been shared from a place of Philosophical and Mystical Pontification, not from a place of Scientific Authority. Since that which I’m attempting to describe is, at its essence, beyond description, I’ve chosen to use the language of science to draw metaphoric illustrations of the Nature of Reality.
As is usually the case in such matters, more questions are raised than answers given. Perhaps sometime soon I’ll be able to share some more of what little understanding I have about How Things Are.
Namaste,
-Seth Merrick
Tallyho! Tallyho! Hark across the wide plain!
It’s during the moments between the Moon dropping o’er yon’ horizon and Dawn shredding the Indigo Veil that the ripened fruit of tranquility waits for to be harvested. Pick the fruit and eat of it. It is good.
I invite you to prance with arms spread wide, through cedar forest & over mossy hillock — lose yourself in the midst of it all.
Lose yourself to yourself, for yourself and in spite of yourself; so long as you don’t lose yourself just to spite yourself.
Neither cling to hope nor abandon it. All is as it should be.
Where are you? Where are you? Wonderful!
Welcome! I’ve been waiting with bated breath for your arrival!
Come on in and have a spot of tea! Hooray Hoorah!
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