Holon
Anamnesis Track 7
ANAMNESIS
In philosophy, anamnesis (/ˌænæmˈniːsɪs/; Ancient Greek: ἀνάμνησις) is a concept in Plato’s epistemological and psychological theory that he develops in his dialogues Meno and Phaedo and alludes to in his Phaedrus. The idea is that humans possess innate knowledge (perhaps acquired before birth) and that learning consists of rediscovering that knowledge from within.
In 2003–2004, I made my first record with 1 SM57 mic, a small three-piece drum kit, an acoustic and electric guitar, an Access Virus analog synth, and Ableton 2. The nine tracks each represent the stages of Consciousness, as proposed by Spiral Dynamics and Ken Wilber’s work. Here’s a quick overview story. Each of my next nine posts will be dedicated to telling the story and meaning of each track-stage. Enjoy!
HOLON
And her hand holds mine
We can’t let them go
And her heart it beats
It will never slow
And her smile touches
From coast to coast
And her hair floods oceans
I’ll All/Ways Know
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds
Her eyes are
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds
Her eyes are
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds
Her eyes are
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds in
Worlds in Worlds in Worlds
She dreams in Fantasy
Track seven, Holon, is representative of the seventh stage of Consciousness. This stage is highly unique in that it's the first that isn’t a synthesized duality and stands as a new word in and of itself. An exponential shift takes place at this stage, where transcending duality becomes primary to the framework’s modality. Rather than a constant right and wrong war within each duality of the first six stages, Holon seeks to allow these dualities to dance together with the Grace of Simultaneity.
A snippet:
“Holon” is Arthur Koestler’s word from his seminal work Ghost in the Machine.
A Holon is a whole-part, or a part-whole. Really, there are no “wholes” and there are no “parts” there are only Holons. A letter is a “whole” letter yet simultaneously part of a word. Word to sentence. Sentence to Paragraph to book… there are no “wholes” or “parts,” just Holons.
When this realization hits, perceivable reality suddenly expands like a kaleidoscope, as the Inter-relationship of All Things becomes the most appear-ant quality, as opposed to separate objects. Time unfolds from Now, as past and future dissolve into the Nothingness they Are.
A Holon is the makeup of the entire Universe, from the quivering strings of the quantum field to the ever-expanding edge of our toroidal universe, it’s all Holons, baby.
“Holon” is the first of the Integral stages, an idea first posed by Jean Gebser. Rather than “my stage” vs “your stage,” the end goal of the efficient Holonic stage is the health of each stage. To expect all humans to be at the highly advanced Integral stage becomes impossible within this framework. The myopic right/wrong duality is antithetical to this Consciousness structure.
As we’ve learned, each stage has a healthy or “efficient” and an unhealthy “deficient” side. It’s better to be at a lower stage efficiently than it is to be at a higher stage deficiently. The efficient Holonic lauds the health and wellness of each perspective, working to allow for evolution to do its thing within each individual and culture.
A Holon-based hierarchy is called a Holarchy, where holons are nesting infinitely up and down like Russian dolls. Holons within Holons within Holons forever.
The main Chorus of Holon speaks to this idea, with “her eyes are worlds in worlds in worlds in” repeated seemingly infinitely. This tune is a straight up and down love song for my then-girlfriend, now wife, Elizabeth, and what it’s like to look into her eyes, and feel her always-rapid heartbeat, with her glowing smile and flowing auburn hair.
An acoustic guitar intro opens this up, with that high-pitched sweet repeating sound is in fact a sample of our cat and Brooklyn rat-killer Bella meowing softly. At the break at 1:00, you hear the sound of the rain hitting our top-floor metal and glass skylight.
I adore these warn, purring analog synth sounds that add the perfect depth to this layered idea.
“She dreams in fantasy” is a reference to how Elizabeth dreams in vivid, lush surrealities that only she gets to inhabit.
I’ll All/Ways know.
