The Information Line - Part 6

To begin with, when I say "too much information," what I am referring to is the fact that we all have a limited ability to process information. Again, nothing broken here. We just all have our limits.

In fact, if we can exceed these limits and stay conscious, we grow holistically, meaning, we have simply done something to permanently extend these internal limits. Growth, however, is not what normally happens to people when they exceed their informational limits. What normally happens is that people try to take this information in anyway and so, they get overloaded. What do I mean by "overloaded?"

Very simply, "overloaded" means we have tried to process too much of a certain kind of information. What normally happens, then, is this part of our information processing systems shuts down. This occurs in a way, very similar, to how an overloaded circuit in home electrical system shuts down when it gets too much current.

In the case of the home electrical system, we say, the fuse blew. And in the case of people, something very similar happens.

What actually happens in the case of home electrical systems? When an electrical circuit in a home is asked to carry more electrical information than it can handle, the wires in this particular circuit begin to heat up. This heat, in fact, is what home electrical fuses measure. Thus, as these wires heat up, so do the corresponding fuses.

What happens, then, when a wire is asked to carry more electrical information than it can handle? Because fuses have a heat limit which is lower than the maximum that the wires can carry, when fuses heat up, they open the circuit before the wire burns up. In other words, home electrical fuses are really just temperature sensitive switches which turn off (open the circuit) when they reach a certain temperature. Since this limit is below that of what will damage the wires, the wires, and the home, are protected.

What happens then, when a fuse actually blows? Of course, when a home electrical fuse heats up enough so it blows, once blown, we must wait until this fuse cools down before we can try to reset it. This situation is very similar to what happens to people who become overloaded.

When people get overloaded, just as with the home electrical system, normally, nothing gets broken. A fuse has just blown and can be reset. Thus, the only thing that happens is that we temporarily lose access to this part of our internal circuits and to our ability to process this particular type of information. And like the fuses in a home electrical system, we must then wait until we cool down so this internal fuse "resets."

Why "cool down?" Because both home electrical fuses and human fuses need to first cool down before the circuits reset, and once this happens, everything returns to normal.

What is important to remember here is that even when these fuses blow, normally, nothing has been damaged. Thus in the case of the home electrical system, when a fuse blows, the wire, fuse, and electrical information arriving at the house all still exist. They just can not carry any of the electrical information present until the fuse resets.

In a similar fashion, we each have a system of internal fuses, designed to protect us from the damage which can occur if we take in too much information. In fact, I call often refer to these fuses, those which guard our ability to carry information, as the Universe's mercy, in that they are designed to blow whenever we experience more information than we can handle. ("Pain," by the way, is simply our way of saying we are experiencing too much information.) Not surprisingly, we often call "trying to take in too much information," getting "hot under the collar."

Why have these fuses been built into us? Because, in a very real sense, if we exceed our informational limits for too long a period, our ability to carry information this particular type of actually gets damaged (it gets "wounded"). Thus, these internal fuses exist to protect us from being damaged in times when we exceed our "informational limits." And like the fuses which protect a home's electrical system, once our internal fuses blow, no information of this type can flow through us until these fuses reset.

To get a sense of this in the real world, imagine you are at a Rock concert wherein the music is way too loud. Unless you are quite young OR quite deaf already, after a short time, your ears would begin to ring. In addition, you would also probably begin to feel annoyed and confused.

Certainly, this situation would challenge the best of us. In other words, this experience would test both our mental and emotional limits.

Now what if the music began to get even louder, and what if you were with someone who did not want to leave, someone you loved?

For one thing, no matter how much love was present, the fact would remain, you would simply be trying to take in too much information. More so, very quickly, you would find, you had exceeded your internal ability to process information.

In all likelihood, then, at this point, some of your internal fuses would blow and thus, you might experience temporary hearing loss or ringing in the ears. In my language, I would say, you might go into shock. And here is where the idea of the two that are one gets tricky.

You see, while people can get wounded ONLY in both worlds at once, they can, at times, have fuses blow in only one world.

This means that sometimes, people can remain mentally aware but lose access to some of their emotional sensations. (They can become "heads with feet.")

At other times, people can remain emotionally aware but lose access to some of their mental senses. (They can become "hearts on wheels.")

And at still other times, people can become so overwhelmed that some of the fuses in both their mental and emotional systems blow and so, they lose access to all but the most primitive of their mental and emotional senses. (They go into shock.)

In fact, if enough of these fuses blow, people die, literally.

Of course, people do not usually die from hearing sounds which are too loud, even if they complain they might. In fact, people in these situations usually do not have fuses in both systems shut down. What happens, then, when fuses in only one of peoples' two systems shut down?

What happens is, they simply cease to be aware that they are taking in this kind of information. In truth, they still are taking in the information. They have just lost their ability to experience this information consciously.

Again, can people be wounded by having only one system of fuses blow? No. Why not? Because again, wounds, like growing, affect people holistically. Thus, people can get wounded only when they get overwhelmed with both types of information simultaneously.

How do people get overwhelmed by both types of information simultaneously? The answer is, this happens ONLY when people get overwhelmed abruptly.

How Information Wounds

To see how information can wound, then, consider the difference between an influx of information which is large enough to blow a person's fuses and an influx of information which is large enough to damage a person's fuses. (Please remember, the damaged fuse IS the wound.) And to see this idea in action, imagine that there are two people, one of whom has witnessed a flash bulb go off and the other of whom has witnessed the flame at the end of a lit welding torch.

Generally speaking, people who witness flash bulbs go off, at worst, experience some minor discomfort and only temporary symptoms. However, people who abruptly witness the flame at the end of a lit welding torch can occasionally be permanently blinded.

What is it about these two events which causes the outcomes to be so potentially different? Two things. For one thing, there is a huge difference in the volume of information which these two people receive. For another, there is a huge difference in the abruptness of the onset with which these two people receive this information.

First, let's look at the volume factor.

In the case of people who witness a flash bulb go off, in general, this level of light will usually exceed peoples' abilities to sense consciously. However, while it usually does exceed peoples' ability to sense consciously and so, will often cause peoples' fuses to blow, this volume of light usually also falls within the safe operating limits of human fuses.

In other words, this volume of light is not usually enough to damage peoples' fuses.

Thus, the only thing these people usually need to do to restore their vision is to temporarily decrease the amount of light they take in and then wait a bit. Generally, this is all it takes for their fuses to reset. Once reset, these people can again sense light normally.

What happens, though, to people who witness the lit end of a welding torch?

People who witness the lit end of a welding torch and do not immediately look away risk permanent visual damage. Why? Because this experience involves such a large volume of light that permanent damage can occur. Translation. Peoples' fuses can be damaged meaning, they may no longer be able to sense of this type of information.

In effect, when peoples' fuses get damaged, these fuses never do reset. This means these peoples' visual sensory circuits have become permanently damaged and so, they can no longer carry this type of information.

Now in truth, most people who witness the lit end of a welding torch do not actually get wounded. In fact, most people can even look directly at the sun, which has an even higher volume of light, and still not get wounded. So what actually causes the damage?

This is where the abruptness factor comes in, as it is the abruptness factor which actually causes a large volume of information to violate people. Why? Because the abruptness factor is what cripples people and renders them temporarily unable to defend themselves.

What causes peoples' helplessness in these situations? The speed at which the event occurs. In fact, this abrupt onset is actually what violates people.

Notice, I using the word, violate here. I use this word because it is the abruptness factor which defines any event as violent.

This means, in order for people to be violated, by anything or anyone, they must experience a large enough influx of information so as to exceed their internal natural limits. At the same time, they must also experience the onset of this large volume of information so abruptly that they are literally left paralyzed and thus, have no way to avoid receiving further information.

Thus, in the case of people who witness a flash bulb go off, while the volume of information they experience does indeed exceed their ability to witness consciously, the onset of the flash is not normally sufficient to cause people to lose their ability to turn away. Why?

Basically because the only fuses which blow abruptly are those related to their vision. The fuses in their other systems, including those involved in turning away, remain functional long enough to allow these people to turn away. Thus, they are able to limit their exposure to this overwhelming information and to prevent permanent damage.

In other words, while these people do witness a volume of information which falls outside of their abilities to witness consciously, the total amount of light they take in still falls within the functional limits of most of their other internal fuses. Why? Because the onset of this light, while abrupt, is still not enough to blow all their systems at once. This means, while they do temporarily lose their ability to see, they also retain enough conscious ability to turn away.

This is why people who experience flask bulbs going off do not usually get wounded; they do not lose their ability to protect themselves.

This differs markedly from cases wherein people abruptly witness the lit end of a welding torch.

Here, both the volume AND the onset are so intense that people automatically and involuntarily freeze. Translation. The intensity and abrupt onset of the information these people witness causes fuses in many of their sensory systems to blow. These people literally go into shock.

In essence, the information they experience comes at them so rapidly and so forcefully that these people experience little or no warning. Before they know it, then, they literally end up standing there, defenseless, and frozen in shock.

Further, this "being thrown abruptly into shock" is what makes the person so vulnerable to being wounded since, once peoples' fuses blow in this manner, they lose a good portion of their ability to protect themselves.

In the case of the lit welding torch, people freeze in position and continue to take in the light, despite the fact that it is literally damaging their eyes.

Wounds as "Abrupt" Injuries to Our Abilities to Stay Conscious

I use this visual metaphor as much for the memorable picture it portrays as for the analogy, as again, the nature of wounding is such that the symptoms we see are never the actual wounds. In fact, sometimes, we see no symptoms.

What are the actual wounds, then? The actual wounds themselves are the permanent blind spots we sustain to our abilities to carry information consciously. Further, we are vulnerable to these injuries ONLY when we get abruptly violated by too much holistic information.

As for how we actually experience these wounds; meaning, how we experience these blind spots, herein lies the reason wounded people are so vulnerable AFTER being wounded. Wounded people can literally witness the same type of event over and over and never learn from it, because they have lost their ability to see it consciously.

The worst part of wounding though, is that when we do not consciously experience something, we do not believe happened. So, wounded people can literally be told and shown repeatedly that something is harming them and still, they will not experience these warnings as genuine, even when people deliver warnings with love and compassion.

In fact, because people never realize what the wounds themselves are, wounded people can often repeat the same mistakes over and over and when they realize they have done it again, blame themselves for not changing, because they believe they should have known better.

Here again, we see the idea that being aware information exists is very different from being conscious of the meaning.

The point here, though, is that when people get gradually overwhelmed by information, such as in cases wherein people know their picture is being taken and so, witness a flash bulb go off but see it coming, they retain enough conscious ability to limit their exposure and so, do not get wounded. But when people get violated by a sudden influx of information, such as when they abruptly witness the lit end of a welding torch, this sudden, overwhelming influx of information can, at times, cause so many of their fuses to blow that they lose their ability to protect themselves from this further violation.

More so, if this happens abruptly enough, and if no one intervenes, not only do peoples' fuses blow, they get damaged. By "damaged," I mean peoples' ability to consciously carry this type of information actually gets wounded. Said in other words, these damaged fuses, and the resulting damage to peoples' ability to consciously carry experience, ARE the wounds.

Lastly, this sudden influx of a large volume of information IS what defines an event as violent.

Now, What About Healing?

To most people, it should come as no surprise that all the things which I just discussed about wounding also apply to healing as well, except, of course, for the outcomes. Thus, while people must be in the center of the Information Continuum to get wounded, people also must be in the center of the Information Continuum to heal. In other words, people can get wounded and can heal ONLY when they are pretty much in the center of the Information Continuum.

This means when people are any significant distance away from center, and especially when people are "heads with feet" or "hearts on wheels," while they are protected from further wounding, they also can not heal.

Thus, even though people who are not in the center can learn new information and can make new emotional connections to their experiences, these otherwise valuable gains have nothing to do with healing. Why? Simply because all learning is state of consciousness dependent and so, what we learn in only one world is only accessible to that one body. Wounds, on the other hand, are injured learning which is simultaneously experienced by both bodies at once. Again, this is true simply because we exist as holistic beings.

Therefore, because the literal reality is always that we are holistic beings, we always get wounded holistically (in both bodies simultaneously) and so, we must also heal holistically (in both bodies simultaneously).

In other words, because we exist in a two that are one, we are always two separate beings (a physical being and a spiritual being) and at the same time, a holistic being, a "two that are one." And since all wounds injure a two that are one, all healing must repair a two that are one. Thus, in order to heal, we must heal the whole person, both the physical body and the spiritual body, in the same instant, because this simultaneous aspect of our natures is simply the way we have been created and thus, we can not ignore it and expect to heal

By the way, this idea, that wounding and healing can occur only when people are aware of equal parts mental and emotional information, is what I call the First Criteria for both Wounding and Healing.

As for what I call being in this middle area of the Information Continuum, I call this being in the Informational Zone.

The Information Continuum Menu

The Main Consciousness Menu