Matter

Matter – It does matter. Our world matters. Our work is done here on the ground, in the matter.


Audio

Backup: Matter.mp3


 

I was looking at the etymology for “matter”, related to something else I am working on, and after reading one line I realized that I could do a breakdown of this word from multiple avenues relating it to my work in other areas. I wrote this “on the go” as I decoded its meaning. One word has a lot to tell.

There is physical matter or reality we exist in. There are daily mattes or events in our lives. There is something that matters or is important. There is what’s the matter or problem for concern. There is the matter at hand or situation. Looking at the etymology of the word “matter” we see how these phrases interrelate and why they use the same word, spelt the same way, to express the contextual variations of one underlying theme.

matter:
c.1200, materie, “subject of thought, speech, or expression,”

from Anglo-French matere, Old French matere “subject, theme, topic; substance, content, material; character, education

“Physical matter” is the most apparent substance, content and material of the existence, universe and reality we live in. The “matter at hand” of situations refers to the current subject of thought, speech or expression. It is about a subject, theme, topic that relates to “physical matter” through an identification of some substance, content or material that the “physical matter” represents. “Something that matters” is important to someone because they view it as having a substantial worth to them in some way, either real or imaginary. “What’s the matter” deals with the current situation (matter at hand) but in a troubling concern for a difficulty at the “heart” or substance (matter) of the situation or problem.

from Latin materia “substance from which something is made,” also “hard inner wood of a tree” (source also of Portuguese madeira “wood”)

Even deeper etymologically, we see that matter’s meaning comes from that substantive inner core and not the external form that something takes the shape or appearance of. Not the bark, but the inner wood.

from mater “origin, source, mother

from PIE *mater- “mother”

Or, in another theory, it represents *dmateria, from PIE root *dem-/*dom- (source of Latin domus “house,” English timber)

In this breakdown it relates to domain, house, and timber. This relates to the home being the substance of central importance in most people’s lives throughout history. This ties into the previous explanation regarding what “matters”, i.e. what’s important, and the timber and wood connection of the inner wood substance as opposed to the outer bark appearance.

In all of the etymological explanation, we are referencing the physical matter of reality, or daily matters of existence that are created through interaction in the physical matter of reality. There is “thought, speech and expression” of “subjects, themes, topics”, relating to some “substance, content or material” in reality that happened, manifested, exists or existed. Those three quotes are all given in the etymology.

Also, going back to the evolution from the first languages, the vowels are interchangeable often, and some letters can be interchanged. One such replacement is with the letters M and N. Removing the vowels produces the transition: m-t-r –> n-t-r. Taking the word “mater” you get “nater”, and that is essentially “nature”. Mater/matter is rooted in mother, nature is the “mother of all”, Mother Nature. Already we can see how nature and mater/matter relate to mother. Matter and mother are the same when we reduce them to m-t-r.

nature:
from Old French nature “nature, being, principle of life; character, essence,”

from Latin natura “course of things; natural character, constitution, quality; the universe,

Substance, essence, inner core content, being, source, principle, important, quality. All of this is related.

What do we need in life in order to create True Freedom and Peace? We need the quality important Principles of life to be understood. That is Truth and Natural Moral Law. This is what the substance and essence of authentic, actualized, individuated living is. We can bring the source, substantial, essential nature of what is principle and most important into our core content of being: Truth and Natural Moral Law. Harmonizing, uniting and aligning with Truth and Morality.

How is this accomplished? Well, we can find out how as we keep digging into the etymology and have the eyes to see what is being described.

From matter/mater, we got to nature. From “nature”, we can get to “birth”.

literally “birth,” from natus “born,” past participle of nasci “to be born,” from PIE *gene- “to give birth, beget” (see genus)

In following the etymology we have uncovered some central aspects of life, but we are only able to do so because we can “see” certain aspects of reality that allow us to correspond and interlink in a larger pattern of reference.

To be born is to become, to be produced, to be generated, to be created. We can continually apply a rebirthing process in our lives over and over. To regenerate and reproduce ourselves into more refined, purified, substantive, essential versions of who we are choosing to be, more in alignment with who we all should be and are, at the core which is our True Self, our Higher Self. The false inauthentic self of conditioning into untruth and immorality is preventing us from realizing, actualizing and becoming the core values and virtues we deep down have to express. When we remove the illusions of false appearances and distractions, and the cognitive distortions from delusional thinking, we can find our way to the substantive, essential, core, important source nature in our being.

We can get to realize and actualize ourselves in Unity with Truth and Natural Moral Law by being arisen or born again, rising from the ashes like the phoenix, as an alchemical process of self-renewal. This is at first a process of awakening from the inauthentic, unawakened, uninitiated, unbegun, unarisen, unactualized, unrealized and “dead” shadows and shells of the True Self, of the Higher Self, of the Higher Will. Reawaken. Rebirth. Resurrect. Begin. Initiate. Begin and initiate the journey on the Path and Way towards ever greater Truth and Morality. This is a birthing process through the womb of nature/mater/matter/mother/universe/reality we exist and operate in throughout life. It is an Understanding through Processing of Input and Knowledge from that which exists and is manifested now or in the past, that can lead us to the Wisdom of Right-Action and Output quality behavior into the world. This is the Circle of Life, the Wheel of Life. It is how we learn to perceive, conceive, understand, navigate and function in reality. We submerge into a “black hole” or “rabbit hole” of knowledge, an occulted aspect of the mother/nature/reality, and dig deep to face the honest reality about ourselves and the world we live in. We can be unconscious automatic slow learners in this process, or we can take charge with the Strength, Courage and Will to do so with our Conscious Awareness and Care to better ourselves and the world we live in. This is alchemy: changing ourselves to change the world, and helping others do the same.

Other “matter” stays as it is for the most part, but we, in these bodies of matter, have the opportunity to change in vast, amazing, incredible and infinite ways. We are very powerful beings. Our bodies are always our bodies. We are always us. But who we choose to be, what we choose to do, how we think, how we respond to things, can be changed infinitely. This power only happens in the higher consciousness beings. Whether you are a human animal, or another nonhuman animal, if you choose not to decide to actively take the journey you still have made a choice. The same is so with ignorance of this capability and power we have. You’re either choosing to do this work on yourself, or you’re choosing to not do this work. That is ultimately the biggest difference when it comes to human animals and nonhuman animals. We have consciousness, we feel, we think, but our human thinking is much different and capable of more imagination and creativity, to change ourselves from the inside and reflect that internal nature onto the world through our behavior. That enables us to do great ranges of good, or to do great ranges of evil. We have great power, and with great power comes great responsibility.

Our lives can go by with little substantive, essential change to our consciousness, psyche, mind, emotions, and way we live. This is what currently happens for a large portion of nonhuman animals. They just live their lives, in the moment, in the now, and that is that, enjoy yourself from day to day, week to week, looking forward to weeknights, weekends and vacations where you have your time to do what you want outside of your job. We have greater power and ability for reflection, contemplation, meditation, etc. Most people do not take advantage of this, and go on living the systemic loop of programmed existence in the false self, conditioned by society. They pass by like any animal, in the moment, in the now — not looking at the past history to learn to not repeat it, or looking at the future to see what we are doing to ourselves and what is coming down the pipe — just going along to get along, riding the wave, and living the cyclical loop of repetition with no real change.

People want to “improve” the world, yet keep it just the way it is in many ways. They want to change something, but they don’t want to let go of underlying systemic poisoning that infects their lives with the disease of falsity and false living. They want to eat their cake (that which is desired to be better), but they want to keep it too (the things they are attached to that prevent change for the better). They are going around in circles, not digging deep enough to uncover the underlying root causal core foundational factors that produce the conditions we do not want to live in.

We need to refocus on what matters, that which is most important, essential, substantive, the real capital in our lives, Truth and Morality. We change ourselves to become actualized and individuated in Truth and Morality. As each person becomes more aware of reality, they evolve consciousness, develop more True Care and learn to embody Natural Moral Law in order to progress upward in the aggregate evolution of the planet. Our work is to be done here, on the ground, on the planet itself if we are to change anything for the better, not simply in our “minds”, “hearts”, and inner realms of consciousness or whatever else. The metaphysical immaterial realm of ideas and imagination is where we learn and construct our understanding, but the physical realm of matter is where we act and construct the world we live in, through wisdom or foolishness.