RHYTHM OF SELF-ORGANIZATION: A HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
Vladimir
Dimitrov
University of
Western Sydney
Rhythm is an inherent characteristic of the
self-organizing dynamics of nature; the health of the environment and
humans vitally depend on this rhythm. The rhythm of nature maps into
its fractal geometry and self-organized criticality. As far as both the
fractals and self-organized criticality are mathematically described
through power law distributions, the power law can be used as an
expression of how the rhythm of nature works. The article formulates
conditions necessary for sustaining this rhythm in today's era of
intensive establishing a global economic order in society.
Introduction
Rhythm of
Self-Organization in Nature
Rhythm and Health
Ups and Downs in Society
Towards
Establishment of Global Empire
Rhythm of Social
Self-Organization
References
The rhythm of nature beats through us. The closer our connection with the natural environment and the more aware we are about its forces and life-supporting energies, the clearer is our perception of its rhythm.
From the digesting activity of our intestines to
the firing of the neurons in the brain, every single function of the
organs and cells in our bodies reflects the beat laid down by the
cardiovascular system, the heart and the lungs - beat which mirrors the
rhythm of nature. The state of our health - physical, emotional, mental
- is entirely dependent on this rhythm. When the rhythm stops beating
through the vital trinity of each individual's nature - body, mind and
soul - the individual dies. The health of the natural environment, with
all its variety of animated and non-animated entities is entirely
rhythm-dependent. The rhythm of nature maps into its fractal geometry,
discovered by Benoit Mandelbrot (Mandelbrot, 1983) and in its
self-organized criticality, firstly described by Per Bak (Bak, 1996);
both fractals and criticality can be characterized by power law
distributions. In this sense, the power laws describe mathematically
the rhythm of 'how nature works'.
Rhythm of Self-Organization in Nature
The rhythm of natural environment mirrors the rhythm of Gaya - our living planet; the rhythm of Gaya mirrors the rhythm of the galaxy, and thy rhythm of the galaxy mirrors the rhythm of the whole universe, because Gaya and the galaxy and the universe are only different scale - fractal levels - of one and the same dynamic existential wholeness.
Rhythm is an inherent characteristic of the self-organizing dynamics of nature. The way nature self-organizes - unfolds and evolves - is through rhythmic patterns.
The self-organizing capacity of nature's dynamics is sustained through the constant interactions of the astonishing variety of the living creatures and their environment. What is crucial to be underlined is that
every single entity existing in nature, be this entity animated or non-animated, is equally important for the realization of the dynamic interactions of the living creatures and their environment, and therefore for the support of the self-organizing urge of nature and its all-pervading rhythm.
Every single entity in nature is endowed with equal right to exist, interact and evolve, and thus to contribute in its overall self-organization and rhythm. And vice versa, the self-organizing urge of nature and its rhythm manifest through the motion, interaction and evolutionary potential of every existing entity, without assigning ranks of priorities among them; they all are equally open for this urge to make them move, interact and evolve in synchrony.
If some entities were favored by nature at the expense of others, the integrity of nature - its unity, wholeness, interconnectedness - would be immediately destroyed and this would destroy its rhythm. Nature can never act against its integrity, as far as the latter is sine qua non for its existence, but we can, when our minds immerse in egoistic pursuits and forget that our natural environment and we are inseparably connected through the rhythm of the universe. When the finite - our ego-centred thinking - clings to existence for its own sake, without reflecting the infinite - it carries the seeds of destruction, disease and death within itself.
Although we are able to reflect the rhythm of nature, we are able also to act against it. This happens, when
- we never focus our awareness on the natural rhythm, as if it does not deserve any consciously directed attention and 'works' only automatically until it destroys because of a disease or death;
- we are aware of the rhythm, and yet do not care about providing conditions to support its constant 'work' through the body-mind-soul integrity of our human nature.
In the first case, we usually become aware of the rhythm when it is destroyed, often irreversibly. For example, a sudden heart attack or hemorrhage or cancer, etc. can loudly announce that the rhythm has been destroyed. Usually, we hurry to 'fix' it by using medical drugs. As far as the rhythm is a holistic characteristic of our natural self-organizing ability rooted in the body-mind-soul integrity, it can hardly be fixed by any artificially-made chemical drug. Any drug acts in isolation and directs its effect upon a certain organ or a function only; but the rhythm is essentially holistic, it cannot be restore by a partial intervention. A drug's intervention remains alien to the rhythm of self-organization imbedded in the human nature and tends to produce numbing effects with destructive consequences for one's health and life. Much better approach is to try to stimulate the self-healing potential of the organism using some holistic health practices (originated in the wisdom of the ancients) and healing resources of nature.
In the second case, the physical body simply
follows what the mind pushes it to do. As far as our minds are
preoccupied with much more 'important' thoughts than listening to the
natural rhythm - thoughts how to earn more money, to exercise more
power, to pursue achievements and higher social status, to indulge in
all kinds of physical pleasures, we usually notice that the rhythm goes
wrong when it is too late to rstore it.
When looking back in history, we see that nations and states follow periods of development and downfalls. Both the periods of economic growth and the periods of crises are inherent in the capitalist system. These periods have little to do with the rhythm of nature. Their underlying causes remain in the fundamental contradictions on which any process of exercising political or/and economic power in human society is based. "The crises are never more than momentary, violent solutions for the existing contradictions, violent eruptions that re-establish the disturbed balance for the time being"(Marx, 1867).
Chaos theory or stochastic analysis might help the experts to build chaotic attractors or long and short-term economic cycles, which can mathematically map the chaotic or stochastic dynamics of a selected set of economic and social indicators, but their 'rhythm' is entirely different than the rhythm of nature. For example, the frantic ups and downs of today's market economy are reflections of the pressure of the largest financial corporations and their aggressive striving to establish global economic power.
Towards Establishment of Global Empire
According to Hardt and Negri, the establishment of global economic power means emergence of a global Empire - "a decentred and deterritorialising apparatus of rule that progressively incorporates the entire global realm within its open, expanding frontiers" (Hardt and Negri, 2000). The 'rhythm' of the social dynamics in the Empire becomes nothing but a "pure exercise of command, without any proportionate or adequate reference to the world of life" (Hardt and Negri, 2000)
While the world of life must reflect the rhythm of nature and the universe in order to exist and reproduce, the global order in the Empire recognizes only one kind of 'rhythm' - the rhythm of the financial transactions directed to increase the wealth of the economic giants.
The distribution of power in society has become so drastically unequal and the gap between the powerful corporate minority and the majority of people existing in hard-to-bear economic conditions has become so big, that the humans belonging to these two polar parts of society started to resemble two different kinds of species.
Rhythm of Social Self-Organization
The high power differential in society impedes the self-organizing capacity of human society. The latter can manifest only if the social interactions are between individuals, each with an equally open space of opportunities for self-realization. In the global Empire, this is impossible.
The rhythm of social self-organization can sustain only in societies where the power differential tends to zero.
This proposition is analogous to the proposition related to the rhythm of nature; the rhythm of any process of self-organization of the all-embracing web of interrelated and dynamically interacting agents in nature and in society requires both recognition and realization of their equity. When human species strive to dominate in nature, and the richest strive to dominate in society, the rhythm of natural and social self-organization becomes distorted. Then ecological and social disasters emerge with negative effects on the human health, on the health of the society and on the health of the whole planer.
Acknowledgment
The author is grateful to Mr Kalevi Kopra and Mr
Tor N��ss for the helpful discussions related to this paper.
Mandelbrot, B. (1983) The Fractal Geometry of Nature, New York: Freeman
Bak, P. (1996) How Nature Works, New York: Copernicus
Marx, K. (1981) Capital, vol. 3, Penguin (p 357)
Hardt, M and Negri, A (2000) Empire, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, (p.vii and p. 391)
��Vladimir Dimitrov, 2000