Natural Harmony ~ a Structural Morphology of Consciousness?

PRÉCIS There are various structural morphologies. Some of these may usefully be regarded as ““natural”” morphologies of structure. Characteristically they are discovered and elaborated in accord with their intrinsic quality, rather than idealistically schematized and then imposed upon existence. Examples are the regular and semi-regular polyhedra, the beautiful pattern of interrelationship they exhibit, and the all-space filling tessellations of these polyhedra; and in two-dimensions the regular and semiregular tessellations of the plane with regular polygons. In a similar fashion, consciousness exhibits structural patterns, and we can usefully address a ““structural morphology of consciousness””. Again, such various structural morphologies can be discriminated as to whether they are natural or artificial. Natural structural morphologies of consciousness are similarly characterized by their emergent quality: in a sense they preexist in potential before they are recognized or realized. They characterize Tradition, and typical forms include the mandala, and the morphology of sacred space advanced by Eliade. Again, the yantra exhibits the same natural and archetypal form of consciousness. What relations obtain between morphologies of structure, and structural morphologies of consciousness? More specifically what are the relationships between natural morphologies of structure and natural structural morphologies of consciousness? Firstly, a dialectic relates the two (i.e. the two stand in dialectic relationship): particular morphologies of structure influence specific structural morphologies of consciousness, and conversely structural morphologies of consciousness give rise to and find their expression in morphologies of structure. Panofsky draws attention to the important hierarchical organizing principle permeating the intellectual life, religious thought and architecture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Secondly, the discipline of Sacred Geometry specifically addresses the relation of morphologies of structure and structural morphologies of consciousness. Taken together with its sister disciplines of Sacred Art, Sacred Architecture, and Sacred Aesthetics, we are provided with a means of comprehending the ongoing dialectic between formations of consciousness and structures of the physical world. This is evidenced in such traditional constructions as the Vesica Pisces and the Pythagorean Tetraktys. Thirdly, both natural morphologies of structure and natural structural morphologies of consciousness can be subsumed as specific manifestations of higher order natural pattern, which subtle pattern I term Natural Harmony. This harmony may be approached through an appreciation of rational fractional harmonics, particularly through contemplation of a construction I term the Natural Length Protractor, and of structures and structural geometries that embody these harmonics in their proportioning.