ABC of HENPANTISM
It is worth knowing – to a degree a bit greater than average – what one wants in terms of life, death, mind, body, cosmos, of the afterlife. It is worth knowing not in a manner that is capricious, egoistic, or very stiff. Here henpantism comes in very handy. It may also offer certain benefits to those who know what they want it to a degree greater than the average, but still would like to know a little more. The word „know” is used here in a broader meaning, providing the necessary space for a dose of intuition and faith. When human life is devoid of the aura of mysteriousness and infinity, maintained by thinking, imagination or rituals, it becomes barren, automatic, and may easily become nihilistic. Living a life like this may be compared never enjoying the taste of one’s food, or never being fascinated by anything.
Where does the world and life come from?
The basis of everything that is or can be is Pure Potentiality (Latin Potentia Pura). It is characterized by: infinity, mysteriousness, impenetrability, strangeness, untamed power, and peacefulness. Its first and direct manifestation is the oneness, best described as „metaphysical”. However, Pure Potentiality is not concentrated in one place. It is neither good nor bad, but neutral; ascribing personal human features to it shows a lack of understanding. May one therefore expect to obtain inexpressible blissfulness from it? Yes, on condition that human feelings are applied to it as well.
Due to the complex renewal processes, cosmoses come out of Pure Potentiality. Our planet developed in one of these cosmoses; life, undergoing evolution at varied pace, originated from it.
What happens during human life?
Potentiality is structured with branches, and every person possesses one of such small branches, called human potential. Everybody utilizes this potential during their life, to a different extent, at a different pace, with varying levels of harmony. Fulfilling this potential obviously depends on the environment, on the people that we come by, and, to some degree, on ourselves. Realizing a part of our potential and being focused on ourselves is self-fulfillment; realizing it while being focused on relationships with other people is co-fulfillment. Realizing it in the environment is – by-fulfillment. A fuller and more harmonious realization of this potential, without harming others is positiveness or good; insufficient realizing of this potential (by suppressing, blocking, oppressing, not using it because of one’s assumed ideology) and harming others when they realize their own potential is – negativity or evil. So, human nature in itself is neutral, but becoming or being the potential realizing itself in specific life circumstances and under definite conditions, it becomes partially positive and partially negative. It may be compared to a piece of wood which is used for producing a cradle for a child to be born, or for producing the gallows, on which innocent people are executed; in such instances it becomes respectively partially positive or partially negative, at least in human reception.
Each of us and each of the elements surrounding us possesses something of that oneness; in the language of Greek philosophers it is called hen There also exists a multitude of phenomena, elements and structures – called pan in Greek (hence the second element of the name henpantism). And between them there is commonness (Greek koinos; commonnesses are not less important than hen and pan, but in order not to overly complicate the term, we omit the koinos element).
What happens after death?
The death of the human individual means giving nature back the chemical elements and compounds of which we were built prior to the moment of death; next – leaving a part of one’s genetic material to one’s offspring, and transmitting a part of our spiritual heritage to culture; next – partial annihilation, partial turn to nothingness; next – returning a part of one’s potential to Potentiality.
One must differentiate between Pure Potentiality and the Spheres of Potentiality. The closer a given Sphere is to reality, the further it is from Pure Potentiality. If we realized our potential poorly during our lifetime, it returns to the Sphere of Potentiality, which is close to real world. If we realized it more fully and more harmoniously, it returns to the Sphere closer to Pure Potentiality. And what about remembering the form of life that was previous to our form of life? It is entirely improbable, and if it even was somehow probable, it would hinder the integration of our form of life. It is enough to be aware of the fact that a part of us returns to one of the Spheres of Potentiality.
And a part of us plays a role in forming the ones who will follow; one can also say that a part of what we used to be is revived in the form of any living being. If, however, a part of one’s potential goes into Pure Potentiality, it melts into eternity.
What is henpantism?
It is a combination of philosophy, spirituality, and religiosity. So, everyone may treat henpantism as a philosophy (in which case they concentrate on their understanding and interpreting of hen, pan and kinos, they check the contents and schemas their mind was hitherto soaked in, occasionally criticizing the weak sides henpantism any other ideology), or as spirituality (they are preoccupied with consciousness, especially with purifying their own one), or as religiosity (in which case they must supplement some rituals, myths, symbols and strengthen their faith). Everyone may also transfer from one to other, emphasizing its various aspects. Henpantism is in favour of worldview tolerance, but it struggles to maintain its identity and set a hierarchy of values, e.g. henpantism naturally encourages that the part of spiritual heritage one leaves to culture after one’s death be connected with it.
If someone does not have the will to know much about oneness, commonness and diversity of being, and does not want to believe in the meaning of hen, then one may at least benefit from henpantism by having a leading idea in one’s life, which is far from little.
Supplementary remarks for more discerning readers
While we keep on fulfilling the potential that is within us or in any other thing, various laws and regularities come to life. The simplest law is that the fulfillment of potential always depends on the context, which starting with the natural environment. Another well-known law is cause and result. Beside the cause and result law, there is also mediating, called Vermittlung in German philosophy. What exactly is that? It may be described as a relation between A and B, that is influenced by a third party – C. However, C influences A and B in a way that it is not direct, but only due to its sol presence, observed by A and/or B - for example a policeman standing in the corner of a street, or a member of a religious group, dressed in characteristic clothes, sitting on the bus – both indirectly influence our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour. Another semi-law is fieldness – things and living beings are poles of a field greater than themselves. The field has many poles; the field compounded solely of two poles may exist as well, but not as often as one might think when one makes do with elementary physics. People of have weak reflection skills reduce the multitude of poles to two, and those who have no knowledge of this topic uphold the dualist perspective. Another law says that reality is built in a way that is comprised of layers: the basic layer is Potentiality, on which the inorganic layer is built, then comes the organic (biological) layer, followed by the psychosocial layer; on the last three the consciousness layer is built, topped by the layer of human products (culture), built on all of them. Yet another law is the law of actualization, de-actualization and re-potentialization, the full description of which would involve discussing many perspectives, so we have to make do with the sole list). One should also bear in mind the important law of interdependency of things, remembering that there are plenty of other laws and semi-laws.
As we fulfil our potential, surrounded by other people and things, not only laws, semi-laws, and mediatings (Vermittlungs) are activated, but also patterns. These are cultural patterns, e.g. independent judiciary system, and mental patterns, e.g. example making decisions inspired by decisions of people that we perceive as authority. Another pattern might be employing a subjective, long-held worldview. There is also a great deal of randomness and generally understood play – play of existence, of life, of both sexes.
From the point of view of movement and changeability, everything seems to be in a state of movement and change; from the point of view of solidity and stability, everything seems to be solid and stable. Within reality, change occurs more often than stability, therefore one should be ready to accept changes and simultaneously appreciate the stabilities that remain or that one is able to reclaim or to save. Similarly, from the point of view of randomness, everything seems to be random, and from the point of view of necessity – necessary. And being? Being happens in its own rhythm. And Potentiality? It is beyond the categories of changeability and solidity, or randomness and necessity.
Beside potential, i.e. essence, man consists of body, mind and consciousness. The last of the three, may be called spirituality in its strict meaning, as long as it sticks to a leading idea, purifies itself and is employed with the potential. During a person’s life, however, their bodily nature is the most important. One should not allow oneself to be limited by antinaturalism. Nature, in the environmental, biological and physiological meaning, is more important than spirituality, and the concrete nature of life is more important than a deity or sanctity in today’s widely-held understanding. Nevertheless, they all meet in the Spheres of Potentiality, and so much more in Pure Potentiality.
Within henpantism, one appreciates both a well-functioning rationality, but not rationalism or logicism; thorough knowledge, but not scientism or technicism, concrete work, and not sole profit or economism), and so-called altered states of mind and consciousness: of ecstaticity, meditation, suspension, trance and moderate belief , i.e. belief of gnostic nature.
In reference to the disadvantageous or evil, henpantism uses the notion of hybr (pl. hybres), which stems from the Greek word hybris, meaning: uncontrolled excess, extreme lack of temperance, great misuse, arrogance, insolence, unjustified aggression, hate, maintaining anger in ourselves and in others, aggressive psychopathology, introducing or supporting causes, mediatings and patterns which do harm.
One ought to minimize pain, suffering and illness, but not by placing them in the vicious cycle of going through pain, suffering and illness to moral purity; one ought not to suggest escaping from sensuality due to these. What one should do is minimize them and acknowledge them to be a part of life. In addition, chasing the ideal perfect health is not advisable. After we reach adulthood, dying increases within us year after year. Towards the end of one’s life, dying entirely dominates it and is called death. It is a natural process, and there would be no life without it, no life with its moments of beauty, goodness, sweetness, charm, and so on. Those who spread the notion of entirely overcoming death do not understand the processes of life and dying; and those who propagates the ideal extending life at any cost, lasting of do not see the proportion and harmony between life and death.
Darkness and shadow are as important as light; passivity and contemplation are as important as activity. One follows the other, usually in a cycle.
Energy is a side, an aspect of Potentiality, and not its core; matter a side of Potentiality as well, whereas information is not its side, but is intertwined with energy and matter.
Reconciliation with these processes, laws, semi-laws, with all the randomness and with this play of existence brings not only a peace of mind, but also a subtle feeling of happiness (or, to put it more modestly, a lesser feeling of unhappiness), not shaken by life’s trepidations.
