Another Analogy for the Law of Three

Approaching Infinity

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Not sure if this is mentioned in the literature, but language seems to be founded on this law: subject (active), object (passive), verb (neutralizing/reconciling). Nifty, huh?
 
Very keen insight, hkoehli. I don't know if this has already been proposed, as I'm still just scratching the surface of the literature: Active - electricity, Passive - Magnetism, Reconciling - gravity.

Kris
 
In Kabbalah, the first 3 seferot are seen as Keter(crown)/air/deciding Hokmah(wisdom)/water/inclusive/submisive and Binah(understanding)/fire/exclusive/dominative. The next 7 sefirot I think of as earth, in that the principles of the first 3 create all else.

Another thought I have been having is the law of 3 in electronics, ie; transistors. I have not any professional understanding, but they seem to require an active, passive and neutralizing terminal.

As I write this, i realize in Kabbalah, the 4 realms or overlapping trees can be considered elemental, (air, water, fire, earth, or carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, hydrogen of G?)as the electrical, magnetic, gravity arrangement. In electrics we get -v +v in magnetics -+ force and gravity is one force as we know it.
 
In the concept of a Ray of Creation, Ouspensky quotes Gurdjieff about the nature of the Law of Three
“Before examining these influences,” began G., we must examine the fundament law that creates all phenomena in all the diversity or unity of all universes.
“This is the ‘Law of Three’ or the law of the three principles or the three forces. It consists of the fact that every phenomenon, on whatever scale and in whatever world it may take place, from molecular to cosmic phenomena, it the result of the combination or meeting of three different and opposing forces. Contemporary thought realizes the existence of two forces and the necessity of necessity and the necessity of for the production of a phenomenon….
‘The teaching of the three forces is at the root of all ancient systems. The first force may be called active or positive; the second, passive or negative; the third neutralizing, only at their meeting points, that is to say only in relation to each other at a given moment. But these are merely names, for in reality, all three forces are equally active and appear as active, passive and neutralizing, only at their meeting points, that is to say only in relation to one another at a given moment. The first two forces are more or less comprehensible to man and the third force may sometimes be discovered either at the point of the application of the forces, or in the ‘medium,’ or in the ‘result.’ In Search of the Miraculous page 77 paragraphs 3, 4 and 6

I want to go on from these assumptions.
1. All things which participate in this universe are a result of three principles – active, passive and neutral. In any meaning of our word exist, we need these three.
2. These three principles are referred to in the Ray of Creation as the Law of 3. There is a higher level, the Absolute, which I will refer to sometimes as the Law of One or Unity. They are related to the Law of Six, the next level of order. Our reality represents a hierarchical pattern of laws or orders.

Ouspensky puts this paragraph in the book and does not really talk about the implications and problems of these ideas. It introduces a logic which is almost three dimensional in nature. Since you have an engineering background, you are used to taking in new symbols and learning their meaning.

Here is the contradiction inherent in what Gurdjieff is saying. If all things are a product of three forces, then how can we talk about the three forces? Won’t this mean that each of these forces must be a product of three forces to act in this universe? Doesn’t this imply an infinite set of three upon three upon three? Or doesn’t this imply that positive, negative and neutral forces can’t exist in this universe. So then what are we talking about?

And what about the Absolute? Is this a product of three different forces? Can the Absolute exist here?

I want to describe two things we all experience which have this same problem, but we are so used to it we don’t look at this is as a problem.

Time – we exist in a process of three conditions – past, future and present. All coexist. We cannot think about one existing without the other two. And we have the same problems that happen when we talk about the three forces. Which is active, the past, the present or the future? If I think about the past as the active force, then I am a scientist considering that if I can accurately describe the present, and find the rules then I will know the present and the future. If I think of the present as the active force, then all sense of cause and effect disappear and everything is a matter of probabilities. If I think of the future as active, then I regard everything as fated by an exorable future condition pulling us toward it. Our word ‘time’ is like the word Absolute, we only know it if we have a sense of the three, but the nature of time seems to be more that adding past plus present plus future.

Space – please take a piece of paper and draw a circle. (This is easier than my trying to figure out how to send you an attachment with a picture of a circle on it.) Let this circle be an example of anything that can be an object of our thoughts. It is simpler to begin with a physical domain, but it can be similarly described in any domain.
When I have a circle, there must be three different things. 1) All that makes up the circle, the contents; 2) All that lies outside the circle; the context and 3) The edge. The edge is the hardest to describe. It can be considered to be that which is both content and context, or, that which is neither content, nor context. It seems to be a contradiction.

First, I need to talk about the three forces. These forces cannot be defined because they transcend our experience. Our universe is the scarf, and the forces are the two hands moving the two knitting needles and the space in which this occurs. The Absolute is the Knitter who generates the two hands, needles and space of the knitting. We experience these forces indirectly by seeing and feeling the effects.
The Absolute is free, not obliged to knit. It cannot be defined or contained by the scarf. (As you might guess, I knit. And I hope that I am not defined by some of my earlier attempts at knitting.) The hands, needles and space are more limited – but they are not particularly defined by the scarf – they could have produced a sweater, or they could have crocheted a doily. I can make some more direct guesses about the needles, hands and space from the scarf.

Barbara
 
The law of three more is a explanation of interactions. These interactions take place within the law of seven which is more an explanation of processes.

So time and the absolute would seem to be more phenomena from the law of seven not the law of three, although the law of three is constantly occurring between things whilst they progress up the octave. Space I'm not so sure about, it is mentioned somewhere, so I'll have to look that one up.
 
Time and Space are examples of a pair of trinities which make up the Law of Six. It could be equally said that nothing exists in our Universe unless it is a property of the Law of Six.
 
Barbara said:
Time and Space are examples of a pair of trinities which make up the Law of Six. It could be equally said that nothing exists in our Universe unless it is a property of the Law of Six.
And a trinity of sixes is the 'mark of the best'. Weird. I still don't understand why.
 
As I understand it (and this brief description is by NO means complete) there are three 'primordial' forces (active, passive, neutralizing) that comprise the Will of the Absolute or 'World 1' of the Gurdjieffian cosmology. These forces are perfectly harmonized in the Absolute and they are completly independent, free and equal in status. The three forces establish the principle of relatedness in the existing universe. It is here where it might be said that reality is only relationship, and only relationships exist by acts of 'Will.'

After the act of creation (of the existing universe) the three forces that represent the perfection of the Absolute or the 'Whole' are no longer perfectly harmonized and these three primordial components of reality now becomes limited in the existing, finite world(s) of the existing universe and each triad in the existing universe now serves as a transmitter of one of the primary primordial cosmic forces (active, passive neutralizing) in a nexus or 'chain' of subordinate triads that reflects the Will of the Absolute down into the lowest levels of creation. But as you descend to the lower ends of the existing universe each triad (that represents the Whole) becomes more finite, more limited in scope, and mutually involved and interdependent with already existing triads.

Due to the fact that the three forces are now separated and imperfect (finite) in the existing world there is always a 'primary urge' for the three forces in the existing universe to 'reblend.'

This is only my very brief interpretation of course and I could be wrong in my understanding but hopefully it gives one point of view or 'angle' on a very complicated concept. Imo, it's not really necessary to fully understand these ideas but just thinking about it can, Imo, help one to understand that reality is on many different levels and thinking about 'world creation and world maintenance'(as Gurdjieff says) will help one not to erroneously 'mix levels' or cross conceptualize ideas and concepts that have a specific context that fit within a reality that is multi-level and multi faceted.

More here from the Glossary:

http://glossary.cassiopaea.com/glossary.php?id=769&lsel=T

Three forces In esoteric science the first law is called the Law Of Three or the Three Principles or the Three Forces. This law of three is defined as:

'All that exists, exists as a result of the converging action on the same point at the same time of the three forces: PASSIVE, ACTIVE, and NEUTRALIZING.'

Every phenomenon, on whatever scale, from molecular to cosmic phenomenon, is the result of the combination or the meeting of three different and opposing forces.

Contemporary science recognizes the existence of two forces for the production of a phenomenon: positive and negative, force and resistance, male and female, etc. But the third force is rarely recognized because it is only with the help of the third force can the first two produce what may be called a phenomenon, no matter in what sphere.

These three forces reflect the basic conditions of the creation of the Universe. They represent the manifestation, inside the created universe, of the three conditions as conceived by the non-manifest Divinity in the pre-existance of the world.

Passive force is the derivative of the STATIC condition.

Active force is the derivative of the DYNAMIC condition.

Neutralizing force ensures the maintenance or Equilibrium in all the universe, on every plane, at every step. This third force is also the UNSEEN force that brings the other two forces together to complete any event or phenomenon.

Mouravieff states in Gnosis Vol.I

"Life in the universe is nothing but a perpetual process of creation in every domain, on every plane, and at every step. In addition, for every event, large or small, important or insignificant, an act analogous to the First Creation of the entire Universe is produced, with all proportions maintained. In this act, the three forces act as a replica of the three conditions which conceived the created universe before the manifestation."
However these forces: active, passive, and neutralizing are merely names.

P.D. Ouspensky states:
"In reality all three forces are equally active and appear as active, passive, and neutralizing, only at their meeting points, that is to say, only in relation to one another at a given moment. The first two are more or less comprehensible to us and the third may sometimes be discovered either at the point of application of the forces, or in the 'medium,' or in the 'result.' But speaking in general, the third force is not easily accessible to direct observation and understanding. The reason for this is to be found in the functional limitations of man's psychological activity and in the fundamental categories of our perception of the phenomenal world, that is, in our sensation of space and time resulting from these limitations. People cannot perceive and observe the third force directly any more than they can spatially perceive the fourth dimension.

"But by studying himself, the manifestations of his thought, consciousness, activity -- his habits, desires, etc.--man may learn to observe and to see in himself the action of the three forces. Let us suppose, for instance, that a man decides to work on himself in order to change certain of his characteristics, to attain a higher level of being.

His desire, his initiative, is the ACTIVE force.

The inertia of his habitual psychological life which shows opposition to his initiative will be the PASSIVE or the negative force.

The two forces will either counterbalance one another, or the opposing will completely conquer the other, but, at the same time, become too weak for any further action. Thus the two forces, will, as it were, revolve one around the other, one absorbing the other and producing no result whatever. This may continue for a lifetime. A man may feel desire and initiative, but all this initiative may be absorbed in overcoming the habitual inertia of life, leaving nothing for the purpose to which the initiative ought to be directed. And so it may go on until the third or NEUTRALIZING force makes its appearance, in the form, for instance, of NEW KNOWLEDGE, showing at once the advantage or the possible results or the necessity of work on oneself and, in this way, supporting and strengthening the initiative. Then the initiative, with the support of this third force, may conquer inertia and the man become active in the desired direction."

The example Ouspensky gave above relates to these three forces working in man's PSYCHE. However, as already stated, these three forces are reflected on all planes, whether they be spiritual, psychological, or physical.

In physics we can view the three forces in terms of color theory. If we can view the three primary colors in the color spectrum then if we can view blue as the active force with the shorter wavelength and the higher frequency and if we view red as passive force with the longer wavelength and the lower frequency then we may view yellow as the mediating force with the intermediate frequency. From these three primary colors the derivations of all possible colors result from the combinations of these three. Or on a more practical level we can view the three forces in the baking of bread. We have flour, fire, and water. In this example we can see flour as the conductor of the passive force, we can see fire as the conductor of the active force and we can see water as the conductor of the neutralizing force. The three forces are all brought together by the PROCESS of the "baking of the bread." The water or the "third force" is what MEDIATES this process.

We can also view these three forces from the perspective of microbiology in the manufacture of proteins. The DNA is in the nucleus of the cell, but the proteins are made in the ribosomes, which are microscopic structures in the cytoplasm of the cell, which surrounds the nucleus. RNA carries the blueprint for making the proteins from the DNA in the nucleus to the ribosomes. So the RNA acts as a messenger, carrying instructions from the DNA to the ribosomes. Thus we can view the RNA as the conductor of the mediating force which carries the "active information" from the DNA into the "passive ribosomes". The three forces are all brought together in the process we call the "manufacture of proteins".

It always must be remembered that the characteristics of the three forces depend, not upon the phenomenon through which they manifest, but upon their RELATION to each other. For example using the example given above with colors, the wavelength of red is PASSIVE in relation to the phenomena of color, but on the contrary is ACTIVE in relation to the phenomena of heat, which belongs to the octave below the octave of color (infrared radiation) and because red heat is more intense then black heat. Thus all objects and energies which exist in the world are constantly changing places from the point of view of the law of three, acting as instruments, now active, now of passive, and now of mediating force. It is this constant flux and change which makes the law of three so elusive to our perception, and makes it necessary to take each example separately, apart from all others.
 
I think there is another one in the Vedic text.

"The Trimurti (English: "Three forms"; Sanskrit: trimūrti) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Śiva respectively.
These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity". They are often looked at as the creator, preserver and destroyer respectively. "

Brahma would be the Active force
Visnu would be the Neutralizing force
And Siva would be the Passive force.

Siva, periodically destroys the world so the world can be born again. He also has a female counterpart, called Shakti (the other male gods also have Shakti counterparts) but her name is Parvati.
I read about who comes from who and what but it's quite complex and I got lost.
 
I tend to think of the law of 3 physics-wise as a quantum transaction where the transaction (reconciling) can take you from a worldline past (passive) to a wordline future (active). In a psychology sense it could take you from caring about past things to discovering future things. (In the conventional time sense the worldine future could be the past if you were travelling to the past). The idea of passive being a past makes me want to put Brahma and God the Father as Passive (they did their thing and then hands off sort of); Vishnu and Christ would be the active "2nd coming" future, and Shiva/Holy Spirit would be the neutralizers, destroying to allow the past to start again or being with us into the future.

The law of 7 is actually 6 points (1-4-2-8-5-7). To get 7 points for an octave requires adding the neutral (9) from the law of 3 (3-6-9). The law of 7 is a process that kind of takes you from the 1-4-2 perfecting/physical/real spacetime side across the 9 to the 8-5-7 broadening/spiritual/imaginary spacetime side. For graphics see the image below.

There are actually two law of 3s (one on the physical side and one on the spiritual side). Putting the two law of 3 triangles above and below the law of 7 hexagon forms a cuboctahedron (the root vector polytope for conformal gravity). It is also perhaps related to those 6 point trinities and may be related to the idea of Christ/Vishnu-Avatar being both a heaven and earth thing. For graphics see the top of my website link.

Enneagram_as_an_octave.JPG
 
Hi John, have you developed all the above by yourself or are you following a specific source (apart 'Gurdjieff')?
 
dantem said:
Hi John, have you developed all the above by yourself or are you following a specific source (apart 'Gurdjieff')?
I kind of combined stuff from various sources. That graphic above relating the octave to the Enneagram is from Wikipedia and it's a straight from Gurdjieff thing.

The idea of relating the law of 3 to a past care-future discovery axis and the law of 7 to an inward perfecting-outward broadening axis comes from mapping the Enneagram's circle to another circular model, the Capability Snapshot, that uses those names:

http://www.capsnap.com/diagnostics/csi/csi_main.asp

Empirical and Theoretical mapping of the MBTI to the Enneagram also provided mappings to care-discover and perfecting-broadening. The Enneagram itself also has compliant-withdrawn-assertive triads built aroung the 6-9-3 which helped a little too.

Getting to the cuboctahedron and physics comes via Tony Smith. In the link below, Tony relates the 3-6-9 and 1-2-4-8-7-5 patterns to bigger patterns, one being the 24-cell (12 of the 24-cell's 24 points form the cuboctahedron). Ark briefly mentions Tony and his Rodin Coil ideas in the transcripts. Notice Tony refers to the 9 point patterns as archetypal and they are mostly symbolic for bigger models in both physics and psychology. My web page shows the full model with the symbolic 9 numbers all over the place, the 9 numbers kind of try to represent different concepts in one small easier to digest diagram. The big geometry itself is mostly symbolic, but for physics there's lots of algebra to go with it, you can't do algebra with psychology however. Tony does use this geometry to reduce spacetime down to 4 big dimensions (he's unique in doing this physics-wise but it is valid in terms of having math sources).

http://www.valdostamuseum.org/hamsmith/SegalConf2.html#MarkoRodin
 
I'm new to Gurdjieff's Law of Three but it's an attractive idea for me because it seems so similar to some thinking I was doing about the Yin/Yang where a third 'thing' arises out of the active / passive coming together in balance.

An easily visualised example is the white and black of the Yin/Yang symbol itself which, when spun, blends together to form grey. I started a webpage of active/passive systems that find balance in a 3rd form:

_http://iamthespoon.org/balance

Thinking about it some more today I came up with:

Speak (active) Listen (passive) Discuss (neutral/balanced)
Teach (active) Learn (passive) Share (neutral/balanced)
Attack (active) Submit (passive) Defend (neutral/balanced)
 
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