A Perspective on "Life"

In today's blog, I want to ruminate on the condition which, it seems to me, is ignored by all the Life Sciences, and that is, "life" itself. The life sciences include all fields of science involving the scientific study of living organisms, such as: plants, and animals, in addition to human beings. What is common to all of these is the current quality or conditions called, "life/living," or its absence; "dead/dying."

These Sciences study living forms by dissecting what remains, after "life" has left them. Medical students study cadavers, in order to learn about the human physiognomy. Perhaps, needless to say, the component that is generally missing in all these sciences is the study of a healthy living example. (Those who do so, are not considered to be, "scientific.") It is the, naming, (and study) of parts. Of course, most practicing medical professionals are working with living specimens, yet they give little attention to the specimen as a, "whole"; it is only the part which receives the medical professional's attention.

Life is either present, or it is not, as to what it is, exactly, is not considered important.

In my lexicon, the word, "Metaphysical" applies to this, generally unacknowledged, field of study; that is, non-physical life. The Dictionary.com site states that Metaphysics is considered to deal with ideas which are thought to be abstract, subtle, or abstruse, and dealing with philosophical thought. The site gives various synonyms, such as: transcendental, insubstantial, preternatural, supernatural and fundamental.

If we split, "Metaphysical," into "Meta" and "physical," we find, also according to Dictionary.com, among other definitions, that, "meta" is a prefix "from Greek, with the meanings “after,” “along with,” “beyond,” “among,” “behind,”..." Whereas, "physical," is: "Of or pertaining to the body"; also, "of or pertaining to that which is material: the physical universe; the physical sciences." The physical sciences are, of course, separated from the, "life sciences." (The reason for this is that the Scientific community compartmentalizes everything. The very action of compartmentalization divorces all the Sciences from each other, thus making it impossible to conceive of them as a seamless whole.)

My definition of what the study of, "Metaphysics" is about is, "what is along with, after, beyond or behind the physical."

I have written in previous blogs regarding the absolute rejection by most "educated," (Programmed/Indoctrinated) individuals, who consider themselves "Scientists/Scientific," of a non-physical reality. However, that is what is meant by the terms, "Life/Living/Alive"; something that is real, but not physical; it is, also: all that is not physical--along with, after, beyond or behind--the physical universe.

This, to spell it out, is to state that there is an aspect of all living things that is non-physical which survives, in some form, the "death" of the physical.

Currently, we are being, and have been, presented with, not only the great loss of life in Japan, but, the previous disasters and destruction which have occurred around the world in the recent past. It is not lost on anyone, I hope, that, to quote a well-known saying, "There, but for the grace of God go I." Unfortunately, we are experiencing great upheavals and losses, which, this one hopes, creates an awakening as to what is important in one's personal life.

With that, I end this blog.

Shirley Gallup