Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The nut of consciousness

I was expecting a TED Talk. What I got was an intimate chat.

Ron Campbell as R. Buckminster Fuller
Ron Campbell as R. Buckminster Fuller

Does anyone remember who R. Buckminster Fuller was? I must admit that my knowledge of him was limited to remembering that he was something of an innovative thinker from the past.

Just the other evening I was introduced to “Bucky” Fuller down at The Lyceum Theater in Horton Plaza. R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, produced by San Diego Repertory Theater ran through April 3.

Sponsored
Sponsored

This one-man show is more than an impersonation of Buckminster Fuller. The show is an exegesis of Fuller’s thought disguised as a biopic. I heard echoes of Eastern Thought expressed in a Western dialect. The mysteries of Egypt came to my mind as 20th-century geometry drew me into a narrative that I couldn’t have possibly been interested in before entering the theater. Yet there I was on the edge of my seat watching in awe as the grandeur of the cosmos descended upon me. Or did it ascend from the quantum field? Did Fuller discover in this century something that was merely forgotten? Why was the square considered the basis of geometry when clearly it’s the triangle (illuminati confirmed)?

I say “clearly it’s the triangle” as if I knew that going in. I did not, but it was one of those “of course” ideas — kind of like ketchup in a squeeze bottle, or two wheels on the stable side of a suitcase instead of four on the wobbly side.

What I didn’t expect was any kind of an emotional experience. I was expecting a TED Talk. What I got was an intimate chat that turned my thoughts and feelings inward toward the nature of consciousness.

Fuller made a distinction between “brain” and “mind.” His distinction was not new. This version of dualism goes back to Descartes in the 17th Century and ever further back in philosophies such as Taoism where Yin and Yang represent a duality.

Fuller’s distinction is probably most similar to that of the Samkhya system in Hindu thought. Samkhya dates back to as early as 1500 B.C. and makes a distinction between Purusa and Prakiti. Purusa is pure consciousness in which Prakriti arises. He is the mirror in which her reflection dances. Prakriti is the physical world but also includes what we might consider to be nonphysical elements such as thoughts and emotions.

Buckminster Fuller asked the eternal question that many of us never take the time to consider. What is consciousness or, to use his term, mind? What is it? What is it that is behind our eyes looking out?

Take your time answering that one, we’ve had at least 3500 years to crack the nut of consciousness, and we’re still waiting.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Jayson Napolitano’s Scarlet Moon releases third Halloween album

Latest effort has the most local vibe
Ron Campbell as R. Buckminster Fuller
Ron Campbell as R. Buckminster Fuller

Does anyone remember who R. Buckminster Fuller was? I must admit that my knowledge of him was limited to remembering that he was something of an innovative thinker from the past.

Just the other evening I was introduced to “Bucky” Fuller down at The Lyceum Theater in Horton Plaza. R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe, produced by San Diego Repertory Theater ran through April 3.

Sponsored
Sponsored

This one-man show is more than an impersonation of Buckminster Fuller. The show is an exegesis of Fuller’s thought disguised as a biopic. I heard echoes of Eastern Thought expressed in a Western dialect. The mysteries of Egypt came to my mind as 20th-century geometry drew me into a narrative that I couldn’t have possibly been interested in before entering the theater. Yet there I was on the edge of my seat watching in awe as the grandeur of the cosmos descended upon me. Or did it ascend from the quantum field? Did Fuller discover in this century something that was merely forgotten? Why was the square considered the basis of geometry when clearly it’s the triangle (illuminati confirmed)?

I say “clearly it’s the triangle” as if I knew that going in. I did not, but it was one of those “of course” ideas — kind of like ketchup in a squeeze bottle, or two wheels on the stable side of a suitcase instead of four on the wobbly side.

What I didn’t expect was any kind of an emotional experience. I was expecting a TED Talk. What I got was an intimate chat that turned my thoughts and feelings inward toward the nature of consciousness.

Fuller made a distinction between “brain” and “mind.” His distinction was not new. This version of dualism goes back to Descartes in the 17th Century and ever further back in philosophies such as Taoism where Yin and Yang represent a duality.

Fuller’s distinction is probably most similar to that of the Samkhya system in Hindu thought. Samkhya dates back to as early as 1500 B.C. and makes a distinction between Purusa and Prakiti. Purusa is pure consciousness in which Prakriti arises. He is the mirror in which her reflection dances. Prakriti is the physical world but also includes what we might consider to be nonphysical elements such as thoughts and emotions.

Buckminster Fuller asked the eternal question that many of us never take the time to consider. What is consciousness or, to use his term, mind? What is it? What is it that is behind our eyes looking out?

Take your time answering that one, we’ve had at least 3500 years to crack the nut of consciousness, and we’re still waiting.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Temperature inversions bring smoggy weather, "ankle biters" still biting

Near-new moon will lead to a dark Halloween
Next Article

Jazz guitarist Alex Ciavarelli pays tribute to pianist Oscar Peterson

“I had to extract the elements that spoke to me and realize them on my instrument”
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader