The World-Tree (revisited)

This brief report comes in two parts: one based on direct observations during and after a recent 50+ hours stay in (induced) coma in an ER (emergency room) in Sorocaba/Brazil, and another part which is connecting the dots together to make sense of some of the features I observed.

In lieu of a Preface: the world tree in world religions and in fiction

Until now I considered descriptions of the World Tree, the hypothetical structure that links the Universes and different Dimensons, togethers, as not much more than theoretical musings or mythical dreams without any practical use. This has changed – now that I see how relevant this odd subject becomes once your body is about to kick the bucket. I’m now writing about this subject. However, I do it exclusively from my own subjective viewpoint without preference nor rejection of any descriptions in the religions of men. I know this structure EXISTS. Not because I would believe anyone or anything but simply because I SAW it and I climbed around it haphazardly for an extended period of time. I would have stayed in it for an unpredictable amount of time if my body wouldn’t have come to function again and had flooded me with its sensations and perceptions.

Strangely, it took me many weeks until I realized that that what I had seen is pointing to what many ‘seers’ and ‘thinkers’ have referred to as the ‘World Tree’ in the past. This concept often gets equated or mixed up with the meme of a ‘Tree of Life’ as the SOURCE of all life or even with the ‘Tree of Knowledge (of good and evil)’. In my experiences, also before the coma, I never witnessed anyhing of that kind (which doesn’t mean it wouldn’t exist).

Nearly all ancient religions have a world tree or something similar to this concept. Starting all, with the mother of all known practices, the Mongolian Shamanism, names giver to the world ‘shaman’, the ´modun’ is, besides a common tree, also the name of the tree of the world, an imaginary or virtually ‘real’ construction (scuse’ my paradox) that is being used to ‘walk’ or ‘journey’ beyond the common human experience.

It is impossible to assess the amount of knowledge or shared experiences from these ancient times. However,if we look at modern ‘traditional’ Shamans (sorry, another time, for a paradox), we find the vision of a world tree in reports of some Ayahuasca ‘pajé’ shamans. There we have a glimpse of what I believe to be an essential part of the process of exploring the world tree: the ‘icaro’, a mantra or a songlet that stays with the voyager all the time even when staying in timeless periods, the ‘transtemporal area’ as I call it. It is this ‘icaro’ which provides an ongoing orientation of identification without the use of an explicit sense of ‘self’, an ‘Ego’ as one would call it.

The colossal movie ‘Cloud Atlas’ portrayed this concept. ‘Cloud Atlas’ itself is a musical piece which stays in various forms with the personalities in different times and cultures. Strangely enough, the music used for that would not be well suited, in my opinion and experience, as a ‘transtemporal mantra’, an ‘icaro, to move around in different world scenarios. It lacks three key features that are essential to make it work once one is ‘in the tree’. On the other hand, the actual mantra and its rhythm undergoes a stage of adaption once it is being used with purpose and will find its useful intonation at that time whereas the ‘music’ used in the human experience is for sharing amongst humans, like in the movie.

The closest approximation of such a ‘transtemporal mantra’ I have encountered here in ‘this’ world is Kurusava’s Funeral March.

Part 1 : Direct observations

There cannot be something more subjective than watching the onset of the physical death of your body. My recent experiences have not been my first near-death-experiences but there were several in a row and a considerable time spent ‘in limbo’.

Essential for maintaining conscious awareness seemed to have been the use of a ‘transtemporal mantra’. ‘Everyone out there’ is using their own version. Variation in its rhythmic parts causes a movement of along the current beam (branch) one is ‘sitting’ on. In a default rhythmic intonation, there is no movement at all.

Essentially one is looking at a scenarios framed by construction beams, similar to a skyscraper’s framework without any windows or floors installed yet. For Shamans of the past, this was called a ‘tree’ even though it is missing the bends and twists of the twigs and branches of ‘natural’ trees.

One can only move along the beam one is sitting on, either backwards or forwards. Some other big critter (just like you but with a different appearance) may block your way on the beam. I have not dared to dispute any right of way while I was there.

Apart from the basic entral area, the bifurcations of the beams (or branches) of the world tree were not completely logical and ordered at first glance. Some parts looked more like buildings of MC Escher.

I had the impression that the pattern of bifurcations looked familiar to me but I didn’t have the ‘time’ to ‘think’ about it. I stayed with my ‘icaro’, my ‘transtemporal mantra’ to not lose conscious awareness of the surroundings. My impression became stronger as I moved along some of the pathways, especially as somone (‘who’ I don’t know) showed me how to create a pathway to another section, meaning another time/Universe/space.

Which means, the World Tree is a dynamic tree that grows new branches instantly on demand. The new branch is relative to the current position and follows certain rules as I already mentioned.

Part 2 : speculations

My best bet in the moment is that the World Tree follows the rules for a Natural Number Factorial Tree.

It is possible that you may find different branching algoirthms for different observers or Universe parts. Or you may unfold it according to your own expectations, for example, following the ‘Tree of Life’ of the Kabbalah or the Yggdrasil of the Nordic myths.

From a distance, the entire assembly looked more like a 3D Kalachakra Mandala. I have shown (see ‘Sandorian Grove’) that this 3D Mandala is 100% compatible with the geometery of the Odú Ifá via the ‘Toth Diagram’.

Speculations aside, what is important is exploring the Universes from there on out. Human reasoning is not a requirement for that. Staying with the mantra, in contrast, may be of essence.

and afterwards?

Since returning from coma I am able to access about two thirds of what I remembered immediately afterwards. Which appears to be a small part of the whole experience.

So much for now.. stay tuned..