Nine books: Discovering Infinity

. . . . . . Cygni (article)

About the series: Discovering Infinity

An introduction to the individual books

Historic Background

The nine book series, "Discovering Infinity" was created by Rolf Witzsche, in North Vancouver, Canada, over a span of more than 15 years. The work began in the early 1980s. Its central element, however, was developed a hundred years earlier, by a New England woman, named Mary Baker Eddy (1821-1910). She was probably the most accomplished scientists in the field of exploring the power of intelligence for elevating human existence, both in her century and in ours.

Mary Baker Eddy is widely known as the discoverer and founder of Christian Science, and to a lesser degree as the President of the Massachusetts Metaphysical College, and Pastor Emeritus of the Church of Christ, Scientist, both of which she had founded. She is also honored as a religious pioneer who reinstated, on a scientific basis, the once lost element of Christian healing. She has made the ancient practice possible again in our modern world, and this on a wide scale, covering virtually every disease known to man. Still, this is not the aspect that this book series is based on. All this is history. Volumes have been written about what has been wrought in this arena. Also, the church that she founded to advance the rediscovered healing process has receded into the background of mankind's vast religious multiplicity, to the point that it has become almost irrelevant to humanity.

The book series on discovering infinity is founded on a different aspect of Mary Baker Eddy's work, that is far more indicative of her scientific genius, but which had remained unknown for almost an entire century. It had remained unknown for all this time in full public view, and even now, that it has been discovered, it appears almost too advanced for even this century.

Some tiny fragments of it had been discovered back in the 1940s in London, England, by a man named John Doorly, a teacher of Christian Science who had begun to ask himself a few questions about an apparent paradox. Unfortunately, he had discovered far too little, for it to be of a significant practical value. In fact, he created more problems for himself and others, than he solved.

The breakthrough discoveries were made many years later, in the early 1980s in North Vancouver, Canada, by a man of great integrity and sensitivity to details and scientific processes. It has been this author's privilege to have been associated with this man, at the time of the unfolding discoveries. The book series, Discovering Infinity, resulted from going forward from there, in a manner that follows Mary Baker Eddy's outline of her work on this general subject. At the time the work was begun, little was known about the vast horizon that would unfold, with implications for human existence that are far and deep reaching and are almost universal in scope. As a consequence a whole series of books had to be written in order to cover the whole ground in sufficient detail to contribute beneficially in the various areas that pertain to the subject.

That Mary Baker Eddy, herself, was far more than a keenly inquisitive religious person, but was a deeply insightful, rigors, and pioneering scientist in her own right, is evident by the nature of her most advanced work. This work comes to light as an organized structure for discovery and scientific, and spiritual development. The structure has been presented by her in an extensively outlined form, but has never been directly referred to, much less been promoted. It was designed to be discovered.

We have a paradox here, don't we? Ask yourself: How was it possible that an extensive work of this nature remained undiscovered for an entire century in full public view, in "the scientific age?" Millions of people had studied her books, some on a daily basis.

And here comes another paradox. How is it possible, even now that her great achievement has been discovered, that it continues to remain largely unknown? It is rejected, reviled, or denounced as worthless, even by today's elite who devote their life to promoting her discoveries?

The unresolved paradoxes seem to indicate that her most advanced work still leads the field by a long way, as though it were created for the benefit of still more distant ages. On the other hand one cab sense a breakthrough occurring at the present time that is making this work increasingly relevant, even to the point that it may become vital element for the protection and advance of mankind and its civilization?

Why are Nine Volumes Needed?

The answer is not easily given. Indeed, when the project was first taken up, the challenge was hardly understood. The initial goal was to explore Mary Baker Eddy's outlined structure that had been discovered in the early 1980s, and to present the findings to the world in a single volume. Indeed, such a volume had been created. It was published under the title "The Eternal Demand." The book was of a modest size and explained a few details that were sufficiently understood at the time to be published. The work was also useful to the extend that it saved others, who were interested in the subject, many steps of tedious searching. It was even revolutionary in several ways. For one, it was the first book ever published that explored Mary Baker Eddy's outline for an extensive and far reaching formalized structure for scientific and spiritual development. It was also revolutionary, because it brought to light the most highly advanced work of one of mankind's great pioneers, which had remained hidden for a hundred years. The book represented a significant breakthrough, but the form of its presentation left too much out, so that the resulting lack of a larger focus distorted to some degree the very thing that was presented.

For this reason a second volume was added that explores the humanist history behind the development that had been discovered. This exploration of history became necessary in order to place the author of the discovered structure, and thereby her work, into the universal context of humanity's self-development. Without this connection having been established Mary Baker Eddy would necessarily be regarded as a gifted, saintly, individual who had miraculously rediscovered the long lost principles of Christ healing. Indeed, this is how she is being regarded because of the tremendous scope of the discovery she had made. This same perception, however, covers her work with a shroud of mysticism.

History tells us a different story. History tells us that Mary Baker Eddy begun her work of discovery on a very high platform that had been previously established through a long sequence of developments. Momentous contributions by the most advanced pioneers of humanity had raised that platform, which itself was founded on the explosive scientific and humanist developments that had their root in the great cultural revolution of the 15th century in Italy, known as the Golden Renaissance. And the Renaissance, itself, was founded on the rediscovery of what had been attained 2000 years earlier, during the Greek Classical period, through the work of Plato, Sorcates and other pioneers. In other words, Mary Baker Eddy's highest achievement was but an inremental advancement, no matter how revolutionary it may seem, because, behind her work stands mankind's greatest achievement in self-development which her work was but a part of. In this sense, she and her achievements stand not apart in royal solitude, but stand as a testament of who we are as human beings.

History also teaches another lesson. It tells us that the tallest achievements are also the most easily lost. For instance, it was known as far back as 300 BC that the earth is a sphere. Not only was this known, but physical size of the earth was accurately calculated at this time, and the knowledge was used as a basis for navigation to circumnavigate the globe - and all this happened in 230 B.C.. This exciting new knowledge was all destroyed by the Roman Empire. It took mankind 1700 years to rediscover what the ancient Greek and Egyptians had learned and had utilized in practical processes.

History is also important for another reason. It tells us about the momentous consequences that mankind suffers when its advanced achievements are thrown to the wind. It is tempting to believe that the significance of Mary Baker Eddy's work has become lost, because there was no great significance in it to begin with, or that its significance has been superceded by modern developments in perception. Indeed, this is what is largely believed, but this belief is erroneous and the consequences are tragic.

At the very time when the development of Christ healing was unfolding on the American shores, a counterrevolution was being set off at the heart of the British Empire by the pseudo-scientific team of Thomas Malthus, Charles Darwin, and Francis Galton that gave rise to the Eugenics theory under which countless millions of human lives were destroyed. In a sense, Mary Baker Eddy's work had been decapitated, as it were, before it was even fully born. However, her most advanced work had remained untouched by all this, in the sanctity of the unknown. Out of this background the Introduction Volume, Roots in Universal History was born.

Another volume (Volume 1a) became necessary for the simple reason that general modern thinking needs to be put into perspective to illustrate the growing insanity that rules the world today, but which, nevertheless, provides the background against which Mary Baker Eddy's outline for scientific and spiritual development must be reintroduced. Out of this need the title emerged: The Disintegration of the World's Financial System - Focus on Truth emerged. Mankind sees itself as tremendously advanced, while in terms of its state of civilization it has collapsed itself to a level of near clinical insanity. This insanity is best illustrated by exploring the presently ongoing collapse of the world's financial system, and its impending disintegration. A society that is so intensely committed to its self-destruction, by destroying its most vital supporting infrastructures as we see this happening today, has got to be insane. This puts into perspective the great challenge that one faces today for bringing into this context of degenerated perception one of the most advanced concepts of the last pioneering age. The challenge lies in confronting this near homogenous insanity that controls the world today, and thus to stir humanity to wake it from its confinement into a state of perpetual conflict where there is no resolution in sight, to a higher platform of perception where humanity can rebuild itself morally, spiritually, civilly, and physically.

In conjunction with this exploration, another exploration became necessary in order to create a platform on which Mary Baker Eddy's structure for scientific and spiritual development can be utilized and become fruitful. For this reason a third volume was added (Volume 1b). This volume was added to explore the dimension of justice in today's world. Justice has become almost an arbitrary thing, so gross has the judicial misconduct in the most advanced nations of the planet become. The depth of the problem is illustrated to some degree by the rare bipartisan vote in the U.S. congress in support of the McDade, Murtha legislation that requires the U.S. justice apparatus to officially obey the law. What a novel idea! Really, the root of justice lies much deeper than this. It has to do with interconnected concepts, by which for instance, truth and justice must stand as one indivisible singularity. Out of this background the title emerged: Crimes against Humanity - Life Denied. The exploration of this interconnection was deemed necessary because the entire structure for scientific development, that Mary Baker Eddy had outlined, is totally centered on interrelationships of concepts and ideas by which the discovery of fundamental principles is achieved. The exploration of justice also serves to illustrate that the interrelationship of ideas is not an idle game, but is the root for advanced civilization without which human existence must collapse into chaos and anarchy.

A fourth volume was subsequently added to the series (Volume 2), to illustrate how the advanced perception had unfolded in Mary Baker Eddy's time when spiritual development had reached a historic high point. The volume is needed to break down the credibility gap that exists between general perception and spiritual factors, by which modern society tends to put all spiritual concepts into the domain of mythology. Thus the title: Science and Christian Healing - History as Truth. With this volume put in place a certain foundation was created upon which the exploration of Mary Baker Eddy's outlined structure can be more fruitfully pursued, which is done in Volume 3 - Structure for Discovery and Scientific Development Except, by the time all this was done, it became evident that still more was required to unlock the utility of Mary Baker Eddy's outlined structure. More footsteps were needed than those which provided a detailed description of the discovered structure. It became necessary to put the resulting structure into a context that Mary Baker Eddy herself had outlined as the next step for its unfoldment. This next step had evidently been regarded by her as a vital step, because nothing less would have prompted any person at the age of 86 to abandon her beloved country home, move to a crowded city, to create an independent newspaper in an environment that was already overflowing with newspapers.

With this in mind, two more volumes were added to the series. One volume Volume 4 - Light Piercing the Heart of Darkness - The Demands of Truth and Justice was designed to explore the current state of civilization in a direct context with the basic architecture of Mary Baker Eddy's structure for scientific and spiritual development. A second volumeVolume 5 - Scientific Government and Self-government - A Platform for Freedom was added to explore the deeper aspects of that structure in order to discover the scientific basis for the necessary policy trends that an advancing and self-developing society must establish for itself, for it to be able to exist in perpetuity, or even in the short term.

Except, this too was not enough to fully explore the vast scope of Mary Baker Eddy's structure. All this had merely opened the door to it. In one place of her writings Mary Baker Eddy speaks of a higher strata of thought, something that represents a quantum leap forward above gaining merely a higher point of reference, that she called the "fourth dimension, of Spirit". This, evidently, has to do with a commitment that goes beyond the mere knowledge and understanding of principles, a commitment that expands 'northward', and 'eastward', 'southward' and 'westward' to cover the globe and the universe. No one lives external from the world we build. Here, the parable of Christ Jesus comes into focus with which the series begins. The parable is centered on a man who fell among thieves, who was robed, injured, and left to die by the wayside. The man is humanity. When the elite of the day came that way they reacted in response to their poverty and impotence. They didn't have it in them to help, but a Samaritan did, who also came that way. He bound up the man's wounds, put him on his own beast and brought him to an inn where he took care of him. He created a very rich human environment that he evidently cherished to be a part of. What the elite wouldn't give, this man took upon himself to create and claim authority for. This higher dimension, thus, became the subject of Volume 6a - The Infinite Nature of Man - The Fourth Dimension of Spirit it describes the highest, the absolute, and therefore the final dimension.

The lowest dimension is one of darkness, a void of spirituality. It represents the self-confined domain ruled by illusions and conflict, in which humanity exists to a large extend. The next higher dimension is represented by the confrontational structure by which illusions are confronted with reality and the conflicts are resolved. This dimension corresponds to the divine demand "Let there be light." The third dimension is represented by the reflective structure, by which infinite Spirit is reflected in man and the universe. This dimension corresponds with the woman of the Apocalypse, "clothed with the sun." The fourth dimension, apparently, exceeds this. It is a dimension beyond reflection. It is the dimension of infinite Spirit, of being at one with the infinite. This dimension corresponds with absolute reality. Here, man is the "son of God" in the same sense that in Hebrew texts a month may be called "the son of a year."

With the 'final' dimension a whole new perception is introduced for which one more additional volume was needed to carry the theme. Mary Baker Eddy described the three quantum jumps beyond human self-confinement into darkness, saying: "Immortal and divine Mind presents the idea of God; first, in light; second, in reflection; third, in spiritual and immortal forms of beauty and goodness."*(Science and Health, p.503:20) The creating of a separate book for this dimension of "immortal forms of beauty and goodness" appeared to be justified.

But this, too, was not enough. The challenge of today is to elevate the whole of humanity to respond in the same rich manner that the Samaritan had responded. The example of the Samaritan should represent the rule, rather than the exception. In order to reach this goal one needs to explore the dimension of leadership in context with the principles that Mary Baker Eddy's structure for scientific and spiritual development has brought to light. Therefore, in order to address this need,Volume 6b - Spirituality and Politics - The Dimension of Leadership was created.

After all this was done, a grand total of nine volumes had been created. This grand total, now, perhaps by reflecting the natural dynamics of exploration, matched the dimension that Mary Maker Eddy has outlined for the substructures of her matrix foursquare. By this coincidence the nine book series may be regarded as complete. However, a new problem arose from all this. The much expanded exploration became too expensive to document and produce in print. In order to solve this problem, a software package was created that makes it possible to distribute the material at less than half the cost, and provide easier access at the same time. The soft-copy distribution package that was created for this purpose was the result of another several years of development work. It has finally been expanded to also include the complete James Version of the Bible and all the published works by Mary Baker Eddy for reference purposes.

Still, one more comment is needed. The peculiar manner in which the nine volumes are labeled was required for a purpose that has an indirect bearing on the subject matter of the nine volumes. The labeling was arranged to provide a conceptional interface to Dante's poetic trilogy, the "Divine Comedy," which evidently played a vital role in setting up the linguistic and spiritual infrastructure for the Golden Renaissance that became the foundation for the mental platform upon which Mary Baker Eddy's work had unfolded.

Dante explored three domains that he called Inferno (hell), Purgatory, and Paradiso (a paradise of scientific understanding). But Dante presents us with two viewpoints in his exploration. One is that of a pilgrim (himself) and the other is that of his guide.

The nine volumes have been structured in such a manner that they match this pattern. Volumes 1, 2, and 3 correspond to the exploration of the pilgrim of the domains of "Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise". Volumes 4, 5, 6, repeat the same exploration from a higher level of experience and authority. This connection to Dante appears to be a vital element to keep in mind, because this focuses on what lies behind Mary Baker Eddy's achievement. It brings to light the ownership of the universal development process which lies squarely in the courts of humanity, and which depends on individual responsibility to take up the ownership of this process by which the next quantum leaps may be achieved, and the creation of the infrastructures may take place by which the larger process is made possible and continues.

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