ZEN FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF QUANTUM MECHANICS - 11

Matrix - 3

Now I’ll dwell on what it means that some complex systems must be broken from within to achieve a more advanced state -- especially when it comes to the development of consciousness and hence, understanding. I’ll also look at what viewing these problems through the lens of Zen can offer us, and why adopting this Zen perspective really means something revolutionary.

Creative destruction

The idea that some complex systems must be broken from within to reach a higher level of advancement isn’t new. I asked ChatGPT and DeepSeek what they knew about it, and here’s their list:

1. Hegelian Dialectics (Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis)
In this sense, the old system is “destroyed” or transcended to reach a more advanced state.

2. Creative Destruction (Schumpeterian Economics)
Joseph Schumpeter argued that capitalism advances through “creative destruction”, where outdated industries and systems collapse to make way for innovation.

3. Revolutionary Theory (Marxism, Anarchism, etc.)
Revolutionary ideologies often argue that stagnant or oppressive systems (feudalism, capitalism, and so on) can’t be reformed and must be overthrown from within by the exploited classes. The collapse of the old order is seen as necessary for a more just one to emerge.

4. Systems Theory & Complexity Science
Some theorists say breakdowns (financial crises, ecosystem collapses, etc.) are necessary for systems to reorganise at a higher level of complexity.

5. Mythological & Psychological Perspectives (Phoenix, Nietzsche, Jung)
The phoenix myth symbolises rebirth through destruction. Nietzsche’s idea of “eternal recurrence” and Jung’s “individuation” also involve breaking down old structures (ego, social norms) to reach higher consciousness or authenticity

One simple principle for how consciousness develops

What interests me most is that this is exactly how consciousness develops. To reach a higher level of consciousness -- deeper self-awareness, wider perception, greater clarity of mind -- it can only happen from within. It's always got to be your own effort, although you can be inspired by someone else's example, of course. (Otherwise we could just use hypnosis to get the best results, but it doesn’t work like that.*)

It's easy to see why this is so: because the very nature of understanding -- it's something one can only achieve on one's own. Everything we call “development of consciousness” is simply another name for understanding. And as we’ve already seen, understanding can sometimes be a form of destruction from within.

This is also how psychoanalysis works: you don’t need to create a new, more advanced self -- it's already there potentially. All you need to do is remove the roadblocks in your way.

It’s now becoming common awareness that this simple principle lies at the heart of personal growth. As brain coach Jim Kwik put it: “When an egg is broken from the outside, life ends. When an egg is broken from within, life begins. Great things always begin from the inside.”

Dynamic systems

Actually, we can get some intuitive idea of why destruction can sometimes bring such surprising results if we think in terms of dynamic systems: as potentialities -- some might call them energy, or even chaos -- turning into actualities.

This transformation can be imagined as a flow of potentialities that’s guided, shaped, and constrained by an attractor. I call such attractors Matrices** -- they’re like straitjackets, restricting potentialities and turning them into actualities. (This image may at least show why it’s so important to implement reforms in a timely manner if you don't want to trigger a revolution.)

And for some unknown reason, when these potentialities, by their own natural pressure, disrupt or even destroy their confines from within, the system evolves to a higher level of complexity.

What does Zen have to offer?

This is where Zen can give us some insight. The idea of potentialities transforming into actualities is how the Zen mind perspectives the world: when time flows for you from the future to the past. In other words, in this state of mind, you experience a reversed arrow of time, which particularly means that your present state is determined not by past states, but by the future -- that's how one can become free from one's karma, one's past in other words.

There are two theories that are, on the one hand, closely related and, on the other, study completely different phenomena: Chaos Theory and Complexity Theory. The former looks at cases like the butterfly effect, where small changes can have huge impacts on a system and plunge it into chaos. The latter focuses on situations where order spontaneously emerges from chaos.

We can say these are two perspectives from two different arrows of time. The oppositely directed one suggests the existence of anti-entropy, so that when potentialities destroy their attractor from within, a new one -- a new Matrix -- emerges spontaneously, forming an even more complex structure for the same reason that in the quantum world, the formation of new hierarchies means an increase in entropy.

Of course, this is speculation. But, firstly, I completely agree that speculations and guesses should always be tested empirically -- so that the two arrows of time can match in their wholeness. And secondly, you can only really understand how something works when you look at it from the right perspective. But this new perspective -- this new model or theory -- can't be worked out empirically in principle.

A unique perspective

And Zen offers us a unique perspective -- one of an entirely unentangled, free entity -- the perspective from the oppositely directed arrow of time. Only from here can you really understand how the mind works (and the Universe in general).

Seeing the world from this perspective -- or being in this state of mind -- lets you:
Firstly, anticipate the future -- what I call Zen intuition.
Secondly, grasp a situation or subject as a whole, and this is what understanding actually is -- if you really understand something, you can do it -- so let's define understanding this way.
And thirdly, derive a general rule based on just a few clues -- one of the few areas where humans are certain to keep an advantage over AI. In fact, this ability is intrinsic to the process of thinking.

How do we actually think?

The majority simply don't realise how they think. They believe that thinking is their internal dialogue. But in fact, when they start to reflect on some matter, they're just saying to themselves what they already know, or let's say potentially know -- in other words, what they've already managed to grasp as a whole, to understand  -- and this potential knowledge is a real mystery.

Note: when we talk to ourselves, we drain ourselves. And to re-charge, we need to interrupt our train of thoughts -- by sleeping, doing zazen, concentrating on reality etc -- that's when the real magic happens.

Also note that in this case you reach the next level of understanding as if without needing to destroy your prejudices and complexes, but simply by quietly getting around them -- sometimes it works this way.

To summarise what understanding is

So, let's summarise what we can learn about understanding from Zen perspective.

Understanding, as we've defined it, is the ability to perceive things as a whole. But you can experience it in slightly different ways.

You can experience it as a result of destruction of your previous delusions, the Matrices, that restrict you.You experience the result of this destruction as Nothingness -- I've no idea what it means in physical sense -- and as your true self and pure understanding. I'd say you feel that Nothingness is the ultimate negation or denial of everything. What Zen calls kensho is exactly this kind of experience -- when you suddenly feel like a bomb is about to go off in your tanden. This experience could be quite profound so that you may conclude that if there is anything that can be considered as God or Truth, it's the process of destruction on Matrices (from within).

Sometimes you can reach the next level of understanding without needing to destroy your delusions, but simply by getting around them. And then from there, from the standpoint of your new more advanced self, you can look at your previous delusions (and maybe destroy them).

But in either case, to destroy your delusions, you must already have outgrown them -- that is, already potentially be at that higher level.

And when you're like a wave-function, unentangled and not restricted by anything, you can experience understanding as pure negation -- that is, you deny really and by this you understand it. Negation in this sense is another word for true self -- it's like Nothingness, but usually not that deep.

The conclusion that begs

If we want to get anywhere close to understanding how the Universe -- and the mind in particular -- actually works, we've got to consider a phenomenon that has remained elusive to scientific methods so far. This is because it may be empirically undetectable in principle: the reverse arrow of time. And Zen -- the correct version of Zen,***** mind you -- is precisely the practice of viewing the world from the perspective of this time's arrow.

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* In fact, any external influence or suggestion can only bring a person to the level of average tribal thinking. Suggestion is, by its very nature, a tribal thing -- religion is a prime example of this.

** For example, in this view, the personal unconscious is a personal Matrix for each individual, while the collective unconscious and collective knowledge might be something like Rupert Sheldrake's morphogenetic fields: a Matrix that's one for many.