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Download castaneda_c-12-02-other_syntax.mp3
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"Did the universe really begin?";
and, "Is the theory of the big bang true?"
These are not really questions, although they sound like they are.
The real question is whether or not
the only syntax that exists
is the syntax that requires,
as statements of fact
"beginnings", "developments", and "ends".
Other syntaxes exist.
There is one which demands
that varieties of intensity be taken as facts.
Within that syntax, "nothing begins" and "nothing ends".
Therefore, birth, for example, is not a clean, clear-cut event;
but rather, birth is a specific type of intensity;
and so is maturation;
and so is death.
A man of that syntax, looking over his equations,
finds that he has calculated enough varieties of intensity
to say with authority
that the universe never began,
and will never end.
He will conclude that the universe has gone through, is now going through, and will forever go through
endless fluctuations of intensity.
A man of that syntax could very well conclude that the universe itself
is the chariot of intensity,
and that a person can board it
to journey through changes without end.
He will conclude all that, and much more,
perhaps without ever realizing
that he is merely confirming
the syntax of his mother tongue.