Mental
Heath and the Timesystem:
The Analytic Conclusion.
A Report by:
R.P.B.A.
Meijer, M.A.
to P. Vroon, Professor Experimental
Psychology.
This
report formed the basis for the book
'The
Mirror of
Time'
and led to the construction of this website. It
was at the time (1991)
offered to the minister of domestic affairs
Dales
and is placed in the archives of the Ministery
of State of the Netherlands.
It was also presented at the
'International
Conference on Health and
Spirituality'
in Poona, India Sept.
1992.
***************************************
CONTENT:
Summary
Preface
Introduction
I
The problem
II:
The facts
III:
The Analysis
IV)
Limitations and
solutions
1)
Economic aspects
2)
The
resistances
3)
The media
4)
The
consequences
V
Epilogue
***************************************
Dying
Hotspur: "Time that takes survey of all the
world must have a stop".
Henry IV, P.I., W. Shakespeare
SUMMARY:
'For purposes
of mental health and meditation, it is essential
to open up to natural reality. But, when we
unite the objective with the subjective, there
is the maddening go-between of the 20th century
timesystem constituting a gross betrayal of
objective truth, natural rhythm and personal
continence. The argument is for real, true time
as the Great Healer as opposed to the perverted
concept of cultural time as defined by economy
and commerce. All ins and outs of a solution for
more than just the individual meditator are
discussed.
PREFACE
This report
was conceived in association with a Dutch
professor in psychology, P. Vroon, from the
University of Utrecht, Holland. The address is
not directly to the common man, as it is not
referring to a common, but to a particular
responsibility. Nevertheless, because of its
far-reaching content, I thought it important
enough to present it to you. I don't think it
would be difficult to place oneself in the chair
of this professor and get an idea of this
subject. Difficult terminology has hardly been
used and reference to other literature is kept
to a minimum. I hope for each a hold can be
found so that one is stimulated to explore and
take initiative on this subject
oneself.
The original
title in Dutch said not 'Mental Health and the
Timesystem: The Analytic Conclusion', but
'Father Time: The Analytic
Conclusion'.
-------------------------
INTRODUCTION
Enschede,
June 4, 1991.
Dear
Professor,
After thinking
a long time, I decided to give up my resistance
to report in writing. To remind you, I am the
psychologist that came visiting you concerning
the problems we would have with the philosophy
of time or the timesystem as it is functioning
now. Our contacts got stuck in referring to the
book 'Time Wars' of Jeremy Rifkin. I hope it has
reached you meanwhile, although the story
doesn't seem to satisfy completely. Some
insights stay out of reach and as so often, a
sober conclusion leading to action is lacking.
And what is then the use of our undertakings?
Problem analyses without practical solutions are
not according the teaching the way I learned it.
While I resent endless theorizing, going faster
than the spoken word, adding to 'holy'
scriptures, and doing work for which others have
been appointed; I still think it necessary to
write you. I had difficulty accepting that you
didn't seem to be able to or were willing to
share in my concern, while face to face
conversing you did prove your own ideas. You
reacted positive concerning the possible
advantages or disadvantages of a certain
position within a certain time-zone. I hope you
still can remember. But, no bad feelings, maybe
you wanted to put me on this horse with that.
So, help me God almighty, I set myself to the
task to put with all the goodness that is in me,
my vision for you on paper.
I
THE
PROBLEM
Not to beat
about the bush: I think the clock is outdated.
In Germany there are already existing
radiosensitive watches that direct themselves to
an atomic-time signal. Although not worldwide
[1991], there are already navigation
satellites too. These two things tuned to one
another, which according to Prof. Bouma of the
Nat.-Lab. of Philips, is not an insurmountable
technical problem, can together stand for a
scientifically responsible form of time
measurement. The question is: is this really
needed? And if so, can we get it going? I think
it is not only technologically and politically
within reach, it is also necessary to organize
our society as scientifically responsible as
possible. Not only because of the necessity of
reason and objectivity, but also because of the
need for validity and the truth in general.
After all is love for the truth the only good
that keeps our 'free' world together, as far as
the honor of the, for us Royal, Academy of
Sciences is concerned. I put this little word
free between brackets because only total chaos
can be called real freedom. And for that I don't
have to plea. Love for the truth to my opinion
means love for natural order. At least in the
case of natural science this business should be
in order. The criticism goes that the actual
system, the timesystem, is a politicalized,
commercialized affair in which men can roam
about as a wild beast of culture, full of all
thinkable bad properties, without a goal in
life. Not only traditional values and customs
are in jeopardy, God keep our Kingdom, but also
the self-respect of the Academy. I don't think
we can maintain that it would be to each man's
own account and responsibility if someone or a
nation, is victimized by our 'modern' times.
Still we are standing together for something.
No, let us now maintain that it is, in the
negative sense, an old-fashioned time we are
dealing with. A mishmash of compensations,
emergency measures, follies and other more or
less scientific, psychophysiological complexes
where about, including the cinema, we would have
had it by now. Honest is honest, we cannot
strive to maintain the problem for the sake of
the study, limit a materially favored and
protected elite or block its growth, and leave
the chaos, the risk and the spiritualization to
the masses or to foreign people. It is so that
natural entropy time and again leads to cultural
chaos. But to speak with Thomas Kuhn: it is also
an evolution of thoughtmodels in which again and
again, we arrive at order the way a snake sheds
its skin. On purpose I do not speak of a
revolution but of an evolution. It's about a
natural development that we, people with a
scientific responsibility, must respect. Is it
not a drama to hear 'everybody', for decades, if
not centuries, proclaim the revolution while in
the concrete, the only true revolution is the
dynamic movement of the in space revolving
earth? At each dawn a new revolution of the
earth has 'broken out'. Is it not a drama to see
the whole for God saken scientific commune
exhaust itself in, for the sake of compromises,
compensations or simply to concur, newlusty
writing full libraries, with which no man can
keep track, or respect as it should? Everybody
likes to settle things in order, but shouldn't
we ordinarily follow the trend of modernizing
and work an outdated time concept out of
society? That would, I think, give us quite some
peace.
II THE FACTS
Isaac Newton
defined time as dynamic, determined by the
complex movement of our planet. Fact is though
that this dynamical time has never been
appropriately respected in practice. Until 1800
clocks weren't quite precise and it would have
been difficult to make sure the exact time of
the true midday according (see: D. Draaisma,
'Het Verborgen Raderwerk' - 'The hidden wheels',
not translated, for a short historic account of
the clock.) In Arabia there could be the reign
of such a practice, but one never got much
farther than a centralized concept of suntime,
the true time. In Persia (Iran) and India one
also has ones own central time, mean local time
LT, deviating from the normal zonetime. Normal
means: to the eventuality of the nations
deformed zones, that on the eastern hemisphere
for reasons unknown to me, are shifted one hour.
About the timekeeper indifference sprouted. It
was after all our first mechanical problemchild,
our first pride about which we shouldn't be too
critical.
And some
deficiencies did creep in educating this
machine. When around 1800 the machine started
running reasonably precise, was the pride about
it that big that it seemed as if the sun would
deviate
from the
clock in stead of the other way around. No,the
clock was running absolutely regularly, nothing
was wrong with it. A whole culture of frill
arose to enhance its attraction in stead of
providing it with a correction mechanism that
would guarantee the accord with the objective
reality of time, the way Newton had defined it.
In stead of a natural, scientific, validated
time, a cultural concept came about: a rigidity
(rigid time). The hopping on the one leg of
reliability repressed the truth of the necessity
of the other scientific leg: validity. But still
one thinks it normal to hold time on as a
regular consecution of objective real events. So
the half truth is indeed, but with the clock
this does not mean an in equal parts divided
dead sequence of 24 hours, as became the habit.
So it did not work in practice and so it will
hopefully not stay too.
The delusion
that time would be rigid, rooted. With this
supposition untruth crept into the common
opinion which cannot have enhanced the consensus
of rule and general mental health. A period of
an hour stretches and shrinks subtly, and with
maximally 14.5 seconds a day this is 0.6.
seconds an hour, depending on the time of the
year. That is the truth (see the figure
'equation
of time'
in the Encyclopedia Britannica, not to confuse
with that in Brock's encyclopedia that,
completely typical for the confusion about this
subject, is pictured up side down). One can
compare it with the slowing down and speeding up
of a pianist playing something. The tempo stays,
year trough constant, but 'life' is brought into
it. Time became, for practical reasons not valid
any longer, a political and commercial concept,
based on confirmation of the false security of a
mean noon, a rigidity or materialistic concept
with a fake stability, that by now has little to
do with the objective natural reality of the
position of the earth relative to the sun. Now
you could say: no problem, snap out of it like
out of your overcoat, forget the machine. But
then we forget that the political-economic
concept is, precisely for people with societal
responsibility the selfhypnosis out of which we
cannot snap just like that. It is the ruling ego
that makes up the service of anyone. Result is
that a certain unconscious aversion or
'aggression', with belonging 'deathfear and
neurosis', originated against the clock so that
we started pushing around with it enormously
indifferent, without us knowing why 'life with
the clock' would be such an unnatural affair, a
nature-culture conflict.
With the 20th
century indifference about the clock, in the old
days honored as the representative of God's
order on earth, a couple of very serious
problems have risen. A kind of cultural
'greenhouse-effect' originated in which we are
imprisoned and seem to have lost control over
our attitude relating to nature. With the
environmental-technological theme of the
nineties, to purify our relationship with
nature, we may take this line of approach in
serious consideration. A discussion of the
different socio-cultural aspects of the
timeconcept you can find with Rifkin. We cannot
say that we have developed a conscious resent
towards (time)-machines. On the contrary, a kind
of foolishness came about against which
ministers, mediapreachers and assorted, made up
true and desperate declarations of war. But to
have a system change itself isn't easy. Systems
confirm themselves and one easily loses
objectivity.
III
THE
ANALYSIS
I want to
narrow it down to an analysis of the
psychological factors. At the onset of the 18th
century the clock started to serve as the ruler
over labor. A form of false authority and even
abuse, of which we still have a one-sided
definition of the concept of labor. Normal
natural civil life got disturbed. Labor or work
consists now politically of obtaining a salary
and not of being meaningfully of service on
itself. On the contrary, working this way might
be without meaning and destructive. Thus a split
arose in the psyche between spiritual work,
homework and voluntary work on the one hand and
the 'moneycircuit' on the other hand. This
hasn't done much good to societal relations.
With the appearance of the clock in the church
tower in the 14th century, the church quickly
splitted up with mutual accusations of false
authority, and with the industrial revolution
also nobility lost it's grip for the greater
part, so that altogether we ended up wrestling
in an in political parties divided democratic
helplessness. Also the relations between man and
woman were done a lot of violence by this split.
The problems with the timemachine became really
worldwide when end of the 19th century the
electromagnetic definition of time* (footnote:
*: Time not defined by moving bodies, but by
cycles of electromagnetic radiation.) (Maxwell)
became prominent. Because of the development of
the railroads it became evident that the clock
could not follow the dynamical of our culture.
The thing not only did not correct itself to the
true noon, it was also not capable of correcting
itself when one went traveling. That was a
nuisance and therefore our authoritative child
of worry was quickly adapted to our from then on
electromagnetical determined culture. In 1884
America was divided in timezones. Later in 1940
Hitler came telling the Dutch that they would
have to forget their Amsterdam time because of
'traffic and commerce', and that they had to
adopt the time of about Berlin on their clocks.
And so it is, in winter, still so. In summer we,
the Dutch, are even dealing with the local time
of Leningrad [now
Petersburg].
That the rise
of this electromagnetic concept of time happened
the same time psychoanalysis and the science of
psychology rose, will not be completely
coincidental. The higher class lost its
self-control. Woman became hysteric, because
more and more wild emotions pushed forward in
the culture of the romantic; the classical
option was already 'spent playing' or 'dated'.
Even Freud was troubled with passing out when
Jung resisted experimentally, collective
conscious, symbolic and 'alchemistically' the
fatherly (...) authority (marriage is a license
for adultery, was a saying of Jung). Freud
complained about the upcoming tide of the Es,
the brute forces, about prostitute-fantasies
when he arrived in America, and in the end he
passed away at the onset of the second worldwar.
With the first worldwar the german nobles
already dropped shooting out of the scene, now
also the well-to-do civil man had to 'proclaim'
his honor and come telling 'how late it was'.
All in all a kind of Babylonic confusion of
tongues of the speaking clock thus. Napoleon,
the antichrist of the mean noon (a mean affair)
in front and recently Saddam Hussein as
Nostradamus' early failing, third antichrist of
chronic summertime, closing up. So we call our
'game' communism, we call it imperialism; the
conclusion is: it is not your own
time.
In the
postwar-world we speak of a compensation culture
and of decompensation when the 'wild nature' of
the 'subconscious' is taking over. The
straightjacket developed itself into a game of
chess with the biochemistry of the body and even
into an electromagnetic straightjacket in the
form of the t.v.-set. With a walk on the moon we
would have reached the limit of reasonability
one would say. Prof. Duiker (also a
psychologist) asks himself in 'The problematic
psychology' (not translated) what would be the
nature of this discipline. An indeed let us
contemplate it. By now science is ripe for the
theater, the whole world a nuthouse and God at
the head of the management. That's not the way
we would like it.
So I'll stick
to the practice of Freud, that letting one
another freely speak for the sake of a good
analysis will point us the way. To continue in
his words: projecting the lunacy, the tic of the
tactic, on one another looks like the, with the
false pride and grossness of technology,
repressing of what was the actual truth our
technical inability with what is really crazy:
the father of machines, the clock itself that
pretends to uphold the truth of objective
time.
The modern
science of chronobiology is presenting us the
picture of a natural reality that consists of a
rhythmic fugue in which all life harmonizes in
the light of the sun - in the dark we loose
track. Except for 'us'; nor of the sun, nor of
the dark we lose track, because we have electric
light, an electromagnetic time, and even
electroschock-treatment and the electric chair
for those who lose self-control. It is normal to
go to bed in the middle (?) of the night and
leave getting up-early to the little birdies. A
fine mess our grand-grandmother would
say.
To continue on
the theme of psychiatry: orientation in space
and time is essential for a good mental health.
Concerning matter there is nothing else but
so-called space-time too. And without that
time-spatial differentiated matter minding
hasn't much meaning either. Now it happens to be
so that man has two brainhalves that tend to be
specializing according to, on the one side
spatial (so-called parallel) business and on the
other side, timebound (so-called serial)
business. A saint wouldn't be bothered much by
it maybe, but a normal person tends to live an
according division of tasks between man and
woman. As said: the modern is putting this
natural relation, this hemispheric
specialization, rather to a test. In the
concrete the cultural timeconcept, the masculine
of men, has hardly anything to do with the
natural objective timeconcept of one's own
matter of body and possessions, the so-called
feminine in men. So we're stuck with a so-called
schizoid, in its natural identity disturbed
'culture-neurotic' mankind. Mind estranged from
the heart, time from place, masculine from
feminine, social from individual, etc.,
etc.
With this
schizoid situation of estrangement one could say
that we're not really present anymore, not
really capable of an in time coördinated
coöperation. So we're running dry
politically and such. We can work with the idea
that the timeconcept incorporates the definition
of reality in all aspects of the individual,
material, national, cultural and local identity
of men. If we, now, want to get anywhere in
international politics, and overcome our 20th
century 'identityproblem' then it will on
logical grounds be inevitable to develop the
timemachine further.
Promoting a
scientific time-identity that does justice to
the material reality of man, is not in
contradiction with religious precepts. As well
as with
the Hindu's
as with
the Muslims attention
is paid to the divinity of time, the sunlight
and nature at large. I will not go into that
here to prevent unwanted preaching. Christianity
has developed a somewhat reserved attitude with
science to resist the 'Roman' in us. But beyond
doubt it will be welcomed when the false
authority of especially the clock and the
passion for the machine in general will be
pushed back and tuned down to God's nature.
There has been warned against false prophets,
and the clock itself, the false timepretense and
dominance of television and other apparatuses,
might be considered belonging to that too.
Poetically summarized:
We have killed
the time,
Idolatry
sublime,
they say God's
dead and mine,
we seem to
have to pay the fine ...
it was a full
big blow,
a deep fall
for the show,
and back to
nature we know,
the clock must
for us go.
If we keep in
mind that the meant evolution of the timemachine
signifies a sober validation for the sake of our
relating to nature, without attaching any moral
lesson, will the endeavor be
successful.
IV
LIMITATIONS
AND SOLUTIONS
Concerning the
modernizing of the timesystem we now have a
couple of difficulties that constitute a
hindrance on the way towards to a 'new world' or
a 'new man', with which only a more natural
world and man are meant. These are:
1)
The gross and unwise of economic motives and
relations.
2) The psychological/political resistance
within the existing timesystem against
innovation.
3) The media.
4) Possible consequences for society.
Hereafter I
will try to elaborate further on these problems
and clarify how the intended innovation could
become operational.
1)
The gross and unwise of economic motives and
relations
Time has
become a commercial article. Time is money. This
philosophy consisting of economic considerations
controls modern thought. But the importance of
money cannot obscure the fact that the majority
of the population doesn't have to think like
that anymore. With social security, the
'state-income' or 'adaptation-reinforcement',
money is existentially not playing a part any
longer, it's then more about 'self-realization'.
It is a minority, the so-called professional
population that tends to think like that. That
population is nowhere without the back-up of the
mass. They are not only the customers, but also
the family members and co-believers. It should
still ring: "riches are the burden of the noble
and poverty is the happiness of the spiritual".
It is typical for our modern vision that
especially international we have become
disturbed megalomanic with the decay of the
institute of nobility. The natural peace of
interhuman relations is to be sought. It is a
greedy newlust that tries to tempt man and makes
it appear as if this one exciting aspect would
be all of life: the whole modern
hunting-instinct of having, acquiring,
conquering, competing etc. The basis is still
the objective reality of the outside whistling
birds that have all time of the world; simply
life that is flowering the order of nature for
eternity. A psychiatrist would say that we are
driven by deathfear, a drive that chases us into
death rather than being of the importance of a
peaceful overview. Lack of order and haste do
not belong to the ideals of the quest for
efficiency. An organization works good and
smoothly when everything is in order and no
hasty decisions are being taken. Haste
demolishes more than the boozbottle would like
to admit. Quietly building up everything is
still the thorough true work. But look now, the
day is longer in the summer, and although we
could do without for centuries, end of the
sixties everybody had to get up one hour earlier
in America, and ten years later we too. Not a
new idea by the way, from the prewar crisisyears
this approach was already familiar to us.
Benjamin Franklin had, according to the
Encyclopedia Britannica in a whimsical essay as
the first one already made this proposition. But
are we with this whimsical notion still mindful?
Is it not a mistake to refer, with an economic
motive, collectively to an objective lie
destabilizing of our day rhythm? Do we realize
the importance of objective truth and stability?
Is the messing around with the time-indication
not symptomatic for our incapacity? There is no
way, one would say, to keep up that foolishness
when we have overcome that technological
incapacity. Through the eyes of the economist it
looks easy, people do not like to get up early
in the morning, go to bed late in summer, and
must therefore be treated. But where is our
understanding of goodness, the healthy mind gone
to? Are we not self responsible anymore, do we
need father State to tell us how late we have to
go to bed? We can't mean that seriously, can we?
In stead of having a normal summer- schedule for
each profession according the need, must the
clock go different! What kind of madness is
this? How did we arrive at the idea that the
clock would have to go different? Aren't we
allowed to know anymore that we get up earlier?
Is it so nice to deceive oneself? is it such a
trouble to to have an extra train running
scheduled in the morning during summer? And why
for God's sake must it be imposed on everyone?
Who is actually interested in summertime? it
cannot be understood anymore, one naturally has
to go to bed earlier if one must rise earlier,
isn't it? A family would adjust to that,
wouldn't they? The imposition of summertime is a
trick of demagogy and selfdeceit that has
nothing to do anymore with the glory of reason.
it is clearly a psychological affair. We by now
have become the 20th century crisis-lunatic with
more questions than a wise man can
answer.
The economic
argument from the seventies motivates the affair
with the term energysaving. Still no reason to
change the clock. Above that has research
demonstrated that having people rising one hour
earlier does not make for a noteworthy
energysaving at all. On the contrary, people
excite themselves about this kind of management
fascistic or not and go to bed these days later
than ever. Television doesn't know how to stop
anymore and the 'evil' has only been confirmed.
It is typically the pitfall of the moralist.
Enforcing summertime leads to an aversive
reaction just like with other moral impositions
(Vietnam?). We wouldn't have summertime out of
compassion with the timezones of the eastern
hemisphere, would we? There exists a positive
correlation between the mean deviation from
suntime and the incidence of totalitarian
systems as communism. Let's beware of that,
otherwise Nostradamus could get right with his
predicted third worldwar around 2000. All in all
it seems to be one of the greatest paternalistic
brutalities or violations of the right for
self-determination of 'this time'. The best
explanation for the phenomenon is of natural
science. Every system strives by nature to
chaos, and with that ends itself. And once
having chaos, as after the second worldwar in
Europe, then order can blossom again. Summertime
was indeed abolished after the second worldwar.
With summertime it appeared that one had carried
the false dictature of economic (Jewish?) lust
to its grave. But we stayed in the thirties and
also now, because of the deliberate
destabilization, behind with more strife,
falsehood and chaos; an irrational, truthfearing
or exactly-truthseeking mechanistic neurosis of
apparently only in money, or the contrary, also
not right, believing, quarreling and
degenerating republics. Popmusic, sects, cold
war, the whole kit and caboodle was driven into
the computer as a new challenge for morality.
The 'ethical reawakening' of Holland, now ten
years of christian democracy. Beautiful. But has
the problem been solved? Aren't we wasting our
energy enormously? We can't keep on bowing
before the stupidity of a natural dissipation.
If we make a mistake in the sixties and
seventies, we must restore order, mustn't we?
After 1945 we did that also, didn't we? The
'energycrisis' is with the Gulfwar over by now
one would say. Above that, lipservice to
christian morality is no guarantee for its
practice, isn't it? The running empty in resent
we may fear (more and more cocaine and such).
True is: we
have slipped considerably and have become afraid
of our own power. Religious scriptures tell us
that we shouldn't be drawn away by the changes
of the season, we were to practice equanimity
and not celebrate any falsehood. With our
whimsical notion we have lost our time-identity.
Time is not only money, time is now bad too. And
that is in fact already so for 200 years, since
the introduction of mean time. Typical was the
fit for change concerning the timesystem already
during the first years of the French revolution.
Everything had to be done differently (see
Rifkin). One had heard the bell ringing, but
couldn't find the clapper. One fought against
the rigid of time; there seemed to be no right,
no life anymore with the false authority that
had compensated itself selfishly to pieces. And
indeed, without the dynamical it is wrong. After
the death of Mozart at the onset of the French
revolution, the music with its classical
dynamical exercises, became only more difficult,
more emotional, heavier, mightier, more chaotic.
And not only the music, long before had
René Descartes, with his plea for reason,
already noted that man was alike a complex
machine. But where had the soul gone to, as far
as we still did know about which selfremembrance
it would be? Also Freud fighting for
reasonability had difficulty explaining for the
origin of neurosis properly and could not turn
the tide, the analytic conclusion was
lacking.
The true of
time, suntime as was respected more or less
before l800, defined the vitality of the local
identity. This got into a black book with the
anti-christian wars that very well can be called
an effect of mechanical induction. Before 1800
there was always victor, a new glory, a new
King. Thereafter there was engrossment; a decay
of the local identity of the church, nobility
and state was to be noticed. In the 20th century
suddenly all kinds of guru's appear on the scene
to remind us with eastern wisdom of our
classical duties and enlightenments. They seem
to walk away with the victory of the cuckoo
clock, telling us that we must be 'there' and
'conscious' and drop false securities, including
that of their own teaching authority. Life is
the best teacher; when we listen good this means
that we mustn't be working that timebound and
that we should rediscover the conditions for
that meditation.
With the
involvement of the christian monks with the
development of the clock we apparently missed
the selfconfidence to see the obvious of these
truth's. To my knowledge have nor the monks, nor
the Pope, ever warned against a rigid
timeconcept. The being present the guru's are
leading to, refers to matter and the awareness
to the quality of the servitude. In the concrete
this means that we should confirm our own local
identity a thorough way. The friars have never
realized the connection between these truth's
and the reality of the clock and follow in the
monasteries loyally the 'democratic' messing
around with the clock. When they had known that
the possible falsehood of the authority of the
clock would lead to a decline of religion and
necessitate guru's in the 20th century, then
their own authority would not have been blamed
for such a falsehood.
The authentic
scriptural truth of the guru's, added to
Christianity, means that, if the development of
a reliable clock was essential for the
navigation of ships at sea and the making of
maps in the 18th century, then the development
of a valid timepiece, free from false authority,
for the sake of a thorough confirmation of local
identity, could be of essential importance to
the survival of mankind. False authority is all
authority that is in conflict with the truth.
And the truth of time is a dynamical, place
bound truth. Falsehood is summertime, timezones
and mean time. Falsehood brings about
desperation and makes uncertain. And we've got
to get rid of that. Every authority that refers
to falsehood and not to 'the order of God',
every authority that cherishes the impiety of
falsehood, is false authority. Thus seen is the
timeaffair a matter of great importance; the
church, the state and the business community
must preclude rebellion against supposed false
authority.
Machines make
our lives more easy and could make old forms of
culture bloom because now we have the time for
it. With the control of machines we don't have
to be afraid of armed conflicts. One push on the
button and the dictature is wiped of the map.
That is all 'o.k.', but what we have to unlearn
is to be a slave of the machine. We must, by
refining it, rob it of its false authority and
look one another, liberated as 'new men', into
the eyes. This was authentically the euphoria of
enlightenment. New worlds opened up. Now we
suffer the syndrome of passage, we must simply
learn to deal with machines, not to become a
victim of them, get used to them and 'educate'
them with trial and error. Specifically
Summertime-manipulations form a great blunder
not essentially based upon a practical necessity
and cannot be talked under the table with moral
considerations in the style of: "old attachments
must be overcome with newlust or denial of one's
own identity". Repentance is traditionally set
religiously and by criminal law. It is no use
imposing it inconsiderately upon everyone. A
child must have a chance too. When is a modern
man mature with the oddity of relations?
Injustice must be fought against, not, also at
the cost of nobility, can the noble qualities of
man, be pushed under a carpet of artificial
tricks. We must traditionally learn to trust
natural reality and not flee from duty and order
in a selfdestructive cultural navelstaring and
unrepenting push off of the burden of guilt to
the next generation, being called lost. With the
electrification of the timeconcept and the
psychology thereabout, the worldwide fall of
noble man, the nobility, constitutes a disaster.
The higher class above, high in the meaning of
having to live closer to God, the spiritual
commune, is still there, but without the noble
of the ruling class, who would carry the burden
of welfare and represent us, give the proper
example in charity, working the heroic and the
ideals of beauty, purification and austerity?
When a kingdom falls of impurities, does that
not mean that the whole institute of nobility
would be wrong. And that is something of all
times. The grief of the republics with their
chaos, jealousy and negligent ego-culture, may
not lead to it that for the sake of false honor
and pretense we repress these truths. About the
struggle between good and bad nobility one may
consult the most authentic epic of the
Ramâyana.
As
Descartes
said, the path to follow with our modern
achievements is that of reason. Machines are
only tools for help. Furthermore it is not so
that the intended innovation would really cost
us that much. On the contrary, as so often with
innovations, we know that some investment works
as a saving, and in this case it is in favor of
the capacity to cooperate; it hightens the sense
of reality and lessens the bad cost of
sick-leave and other chronic system syndromes.
Above that is the regained sense for the natural
stimulating the classical concept of culture
with its virtues. Maybe we will then also be
motivated to de-urbanise for example.
To be clear in
short: a new clock is only necessary for public
services, trains, airplanes and people that
regularly travel more than 1/4 degree of
longitude (about one minute or ± 17
kilometers at the latitude of Greenwich), so
normal commuting would not be an objection. The
rest simply has an old model timepiece that
deviates maximally an academic quarter of an
hour too early or too late because mean time is
deviating that much from true time (see
appendix-table
of true time
deviation).
Who wants to be in time precisely must each week
refer to a local timesignal or
refer otherwise publicly to correct about 2
minutes.
And it was not that unusual to correct ones
watch so now and then. It is quickly getting
accustomed to it if one makes an appointment by
phone; then one must say who's time it would be
because time has a local identity after all. The
few people who are interlocally active
professionally, as for instance moneytraders,
can use special tables or handy gadgets for
that, they can then be more systematic, thus
more simple as opposed to the unscientific
zonetime concept. For normal civil
phone-business at the distance of a few hundred
kilometers it is not so important to deviate a
quarter of an hour or so. Also a nice
opportunity to get rid of one's compulsory
neurosis. The masses will either not be bothered
by the occurrence of a system-innovation or
simply will have to learn respect natural
reality. The scientific voice still would have
some authority in the world and if not, then she
can still take the opportunity to uphold the
honor. That not everyone would love the truth is
known, but those people would not be allowed to
dominate. Democracy does not mean that we would
live in contempt with the truth, we've been
schooled sufficiently for that, weren't we?
Let's work from that supposition.
2)
The psychological/political
resistance.
What is stated
so far can be summarized as follows:
- When we lose
out of sight objective natural reality, the
truth gets twisted more and more. This twist
accounts for strife and injustice, because of
which 'unwanted scientific practice'
originates.
- It is not to wisdom to complain and to prevent
unnecessary fighting; we therefore are bound to
striving for mental health.
- This striving must lead to it that we learn to
see and bear natural reality as it
is.
This is in
short the notice of problem, mental attitude and
purpose of our study. Now we can recognize a
theme of all time in this story, not something
that would hold specifically for our western
society. It is a commonly known problem. It is
also of all times to wage war for the sake of
truth and justice. I am, dear professor, calling
for you personally, to take up with me this
fight and teach the devil of false mechanistic
authority with the help of a healthy psychology
a lesson. We cannot repent for ever, keep on
studying and abide by the dictature of
reductionism, rationalization and compensation.
Together with the heroes of all times, also the
times of this moment, I request you to cooperate
in the line of your own study of time- and
consciousness-phenomena and unite scientific
psychology for the sake of this analytic
conclusion and the thereto belonging proper
action.
For the sake
of the healthy spirit we must stay parsimonious
to speak with William of Occam: why complain
that it is too late if we can simply settle the
clock? That is our razor. We know that
psychological resistance consists of desires
that by the false authority of possessions
steals the people their mind. Compensations can
not be broken down in a day, but false authority
one can. When the clock is functioning alike a
thermometer is the time indication not anymore
dependent on cultural factors and naturally
scientific valid. People are, as said, then less
burdened with false controlsystems, cultural
compulsion phenomena and existential trouble as
engrossing, aggression, depression, fears, loss
of intelligence, uncertainties and other matters
related to the cultural timeconcept. The
uncertainty about this last thesis is connected
with the lack of confidence in the lost feeling
for the circadian (linked to the sun), natural
harmony and the association with the middle-ages
when, although one lived to the sun,
Christianity was not that far developed yet. We
can with turning back the clock not expect to go
back in time itself and fall back in a medieval
state with its brute humanity. Fear is bad
counsel.
Then there are
also political resistences that are based upon a
lack of selfconfidence. We can say: we are tied
down to this system and have come to agreements
with other countries. We cannot imitate India or
Iran just like that and celebrate a central
local time, as a temporary measure. Above that
is the intended innovation carrying that a load
of measures that we might not be able to
convince the United Nations ever because either
the insight doesn't want to break through, or
one doesn't want to, or is not able to invest in
upgrading the system. If we put our honor at
stake, we can fail and estrange if we persist;
and precariously we resign as nice people to the
ignorance of the masses.
But that is
then simply cowardice and no management at all.
Who stops progress must traditionally step
aside. Incompetence cannot hold on. Above that,
with the necessary diplomacy, who doesn't dare
doesn't win, we (...) can first behind closed
doors call together the so-called International
Time commission of the United Nations to explore
the political field appropriately. Exactly
because of the unscientific
discrepancy within the old
timesystem
will the confusion of language not be easy to
overcome. The east zones have developed quite
another culture from the west zones and
exceptions India and Iran confirm that rule.
Nevertheless this timephilosophy can play a key
role for a new worldorder. The most modern
striving for sovereignty that seems to be in
contradiction to the thought of unification is
explained by this. Philosophers have always
stated that consensus about the objective is of
essential importance. A systematic scientific
confirmation of material time identity contains
a unification that does justice to the
differences at the same time. Above that is
there for Europe in 1992 scheduled for
unification a revision of summertime scheduling
already. A nice opportunity to introduce this
subject. Eventual introduction would at best be
done in four fases:
1)
Political and technological preparation.
2) Abolishing summertime schedules and the
begin of an international information
campaign.
3) Ending the discrepancy of zonetimes east
and west.
4) Introduction of the new system. For the
first three fases 2-3 years a phase.
Introduction in the year 2000.
3)
The Media
A special
limitation is being formed by the media,
especially radio and television. Because of the
electrification of the time-concept these make
up an inseparable part of modern culture. Looked
at soberly these contrivances represent a kind
of cultural omnipresence with which, we compete
with that of the Lord Himself. Of course it is
fantastic, such an eye and ear on the whole
world, and certainly not despite of this fast
communication have we been able to picture us a
new worldorder. But, just as with the clock,
there is something lacking in this culture. It's
the respect for the locality of the spectator
himself, his own identity in his own
environment. In George Orwell's book 1984 t.v.
was presented as the instrument of social
control. And in fact it has become rather a
cuckoo's young. Where in the old days we had an
aquarium is now the t.v.-set. We in 1991 don't
need to go that bad to the cinema or theater
anymore. All attention is caught by 20 channels
of t.v. to satisfy the hunger for knowledge and
need for entertainment. No one may be discontent
and all grievances are being discussed. As said,
for radio and t.v. it is rather compulsory to
keep up the false timepretense; to act as if it
is your time, your place, is the essence of its
illusion. The illusion of having the same time
is based on a scientific fallacy. Time does not
contain change only, but also differentiation.
Having the same time is a concept in conflict
with itself. The same time does not exist at
all. Every point in space has its own
timedimensional time-identity. Distances can be
expressed in time. The harmful consequences of
having, with practical arguments, this reality
one-dimensionally rigid, short-circuited and
destabilized, cannot be overseen. I already
spoke of mechanistic induction, generalization
and effects of projection, brought about by a
means of communication in this case. More and
more t.v.-channels or the continuous confirming
of the glitter-sham of 'star'-culture - God have
their soul -, cannot take away this effect.
Closer study of the programs and movies paints
us a picture that can be compared with a freely
associating client on the sofa with Freud,
including hysteria, perversity, father
conflicts, fantasies, projecting and last but
not least, the sensation culture of aggressive
engrossing or to speak confabulating in
t.v.-language: 'we went quite 'Verne' with
Phileas Fogg-around-the-clock in the
Chaplin-wit, with our organic unity of fantasy
of H.G. Wells and Harold Celluloid, or what's
his name 'Verhoeven' stepping out with 'Robocop'
traveling in 'Spaceship the Enterprise' questing
for 'Les Temp Perdue', or whatever Starwars with
the dripping clocks of surrealism, 'for the
times they are changin' etc. etc.' We fantasy a
lot about time and machines. As long as a hero
or antihero is there fighting on for law and
order it is bearable, although the passion for
the performance can sometimes hardly be
recognized analytically as the goodness of will.
'Operation Desert storm now on video', and such.
With music and religion the menu is
complete.
The
television-set started working like a
'ghostbusters-catchbox': a box of Pandora in
which all evil of the world is locked up. "Don't
you feel good or too good, then just search for
the matching program and do not imagine that you
yourselves would be the actor". That is how the
modern straightjacket operates of taking the
tube and go under at home, reducing the culture
of the livingroom to a bowl of chips. Although
t.v. is fit as an object for study and
meditation, the cuckoo-effect should be pushed
back by denying the apparatus its false
timepretense. A program always begins at a
certain moment, but not on one certain time.
That is the fact. The moment is differentiated
in time, consists of different times. The same
moment does exist. The same time is only
synonymous with that if we speak about the same
object. We speak then of identity or identical
time. An apartment-building in Holland about 300
meters west of me receives the same program
somewhat later (± 1 sec.), but at the same
moment.
Time is
matter in relation, a quality of matter and that
reality must not unnecessarily be refuted.
Refuting that is still a religious affair not
without danger. Another human being in the same
building is a fraction of a second away from me.
To your information: that timedimension of
distance is north-south differently related than
east-west. The spinning of the oblique
earth-axis gives a change of daylenght not only
for ourselves during a year, but also when we
travel. The different timedimensions are
discrete, that is to say, they can be measured
independently. The importance of the
time-difference in daylenght along the longitude
is essentially not different from the importance
of the timedifference that we are used to
between the timezones on a latitude. Just as the
importance of normal geographic height, the
third timedimension, that could be expressed in
the time that an object in a free fall takes to
reach the surface of the earth. The
one-dimensional timeconcept as we know it now we
must, especially because of its rigidity of the
mean midday, the shortcircuiting in timezones,
and the instability in summertime, be considered
primitive and invalid, simply not fit or
suitable as an indication of personal, local
time-identity or material reality of man. The
old concept only knows a quest for reliability
and must in its reductionism be considered as
induction-dangerous and be rejected. The ideal
watch of the future will look about the same as
an old watch with, except for the date, two
extra digital indications. One indicates the
altitude, an indication as yet not of importance
because usually we do not travel through the
air. The other digital indication is then for
the deviation from the mean daylenght of twelve
hours. +0.15 for example would mean: the sun
goes up 5.45 and sets 18.15. One push on the
button could, indicating the mean deviation of
the daylenght, tell the latitude. The eventually
analog 'normally' indicated time must then give
true suntime because of which all watches at the
same longitude indicate the same time. The
actual progress in technology determines how
precise and complete this concept would
function. (red.: see
also the later evolved comcept of the tempometer
at this site)
For the media
this unlinking or making time-integer of the
medium means, that each broadcasting company
will then broadcast on its own suntime, thus
depending on the studio involved, there is a
different time. These different times need not
constitute a problem for the spectator. They can
be systematically compared in a t.v.-guide (or
teletext-page, ed.) with one's own suntime
(S.T.) to make out at which moment a certain
program begins. With a S.T.-comparing
programguide-holder or moment indicator the user
can fix his guide on his own longitude. No
insurmountable problem thus, it's only getting
adjusted for a moment.
4)
Possible consequences for
society.
A
suntime-indicator makes other forms of time
superfluous. No summertime anymore, no
timezones, no mean local time any longer. All
banners of the Antichrist into the dust-bin.
Finally we then use the clock as it should: for
the sake of the natural reality. What are the
consequences of such a development? A prediction
as follows based on what we already know, seems
plausible.
Abolishing
summertime brings, by stabilizing the rhythm of
the day, back the atmosphere, the
selfremembrance. Abolishing the difference
between east- and west zones makes the idea of
the world-citizen more real and promotes
international cooperation and cultural
integration. Abolishing timezones themselves
brings back romanticism, lessens cultural
tensions and opens the door to classical
society. Then there is more opportunity for
refining and a decrease of culture-neurotic
phenomena. Abolishing mean time hightens the
sense of material reality and gives a more
dynamic feeling for life by means of a more
perfect balance of machine and nature. When the
machine follows nature, then the human being
following the machine will doubt less about the
authority thereof, including the authority of
all societal institutions that are connected to
it. So, at first an enormous
improvement.
Psychologically,
although, the story can look very different.
Humanity had rather a lot of traumatic
experiences by the grossness of the false
authority of machines, because of which all
kinds of compensation-mechanisms have developed.
Possibly a couple of people will have to endure
an enormous disillusion because of that. Gradual
introduction of the innovation must then
preclude that all these people that lived the
illusions of the old system, are suddenly
exposed to the sober reality of their own
individual problem. The illusions are then,
partially, gone, but also the dreams. One has to
dream about other things. Living along with one
another on a distance, being elsewhere in
thought, or 'being someone else', becomes more
difficult, but then one would be less paranoid.
Therefore there is possibly less resistance
against meeting one another, so a greater need
for it and better acquaintance with one another
and less estrangement. The local will be more
consequential, but can blossom too.
Outdated
systems develop all kinds of chronic diseases.
With a renewed system the cards are shuffled
anew. That makes life more interesting: patterns
of want shift and justice gets a new chance. As
said, one can expect that with the
de-electrification an enormous peace will come
about. In the arts and sciences then attention
could shift to the study and knowledge of
natural harmony. Rebellion and related passions
then do not make much sense anymore
intellectually. The 'postmodern' time of the
21th century makes it possible that very
individually and locally characteristic cultural
phenomena can bloom again with which, although,
one cannot go elsewhere just like that. In other
words, for television there wouldn't be such a
compulsory interest any longer and illusions of
one-in-all-solutions will be positioned better
'relativated' in time with the modern
achievements.
What was
before a striving for unity based on
estrangement and identity (identical time-)
crises, then becomes a striving for unity based
on recognition and a new sharing of
self-interest. Thus more striving for
sovereignty. A decrease of neurotic denial and
increase of quality belongs to that also.
Because of a more righteous chance for the
person for instance, medieval mastery and the
thereto belonging sociability and guilds can
flourish again, where before time and again with
false sameness the soul had to vanish. Some will
realize the danger of that. But without the sun
there can also be no shadow. Out of fear for the
shade one does not sit in the dark, isn't it? So
then it depends more on personal virtue, there
being a greater challenge and local respect. It
wouldn't surprise me if science and religions
will anew realize their own worth because of a
better 'soul' or selfremembrance . This
increased continence can revive something like
the old nobility as far as the people appreciate
public standing and belonging. Logically it then
comes less to machines and apparatuses and more
to the person and his nature. A good conscience
and a good name become more important when
personal recognition increases. Then it is more
clear who is social and who goes against the
rules, so that civil judgment, the effect of
scandal and social control can return. Together
with the classical arts contrasting of course
the loose of debauchery can appear in new forms.
Also will it then make more sense to go about
penitent in a frock for instance. Because, if
everybody as now is more or less sitting
silently in a corner mourning about the empty,
impersonal atmosphere, in a monastery it
wouldn't be much better either.
So vitality
will locally increase and also the eventual
personal suffering that goes with it. Still one
cannot blame authority or the system that easy
anymore. Consequently there would be more moral
clarity in life. Above that wil this l be all
subtle, not as gross as in the middle ages, the
media and other modernities are not put out of
use, we've then been made more integer in
collective awareness. Opposing the increased
chance for a personal account, a so-called trip
or flip, there is a smaller chance for chronic
systemdiseases and mental illnesses. As
certainty against the possibly more natural
threat of acute disease and individual
engrossment, there is a possible recovery of the
weight of the family, nobility and the clergy.
When everything becomes more personal, personal
protection will also become more important in
connection with this recovery.
So it is,
viewed speculatively, not a small affair to
respect true, natural time. It sounds on the one
hand creepy because of the many associations
with bad situations in the old days. On the
other hand we then get a chance to do it better
with the modern achievements of communication
speed, transport, social security and medical
care.
V)
EPILOGUE
For the
Netherlands there is the question, why should we
lead the way in this affair. With the ventilated
critical attitude about the phenomenon republic
one could say that it is more in their interest
than in the interest of the kingdoms. The answer
goes in two: on the one hand with us the erosion
of the institutional order by the old system has
not advanced that far yet. Now we have still the
Royal Family and other institutes of honor and
representation. And nobility obliges. We run the
chance of slipping down if we do not defend this
honor.
On the other
hand has our culture a certain sober tradition
relating to the philosophy of time. The pendulum
of Huygens came from us and Joost van den
Vondel, the greatest Dutch drama-poet of the
17th century, already wrote in the 'Faëton'
about the importance of the harmony of man
relating to nature. One could make a separate
study of the many examples of national
lance-breaking in this affair. The almost
proverbial Dutch, compartmentalized, principle
of each for himself and God with all, has kept
us reasonably sober, and makes this
timephilosophy appear as a fundamentally Dutch
paradigm. The World Nature Fund is also a
contribution of ours and in general we have not
turned out to be indifferent in fighting on
behalf of environmental-technological interests
as a program for the nineties. We are still a
respected member of the United Nations and very
well able, as stated before, to call together
the International Time commission and make a
sober report. This writer is from a family of
clockmakers and teachers and will not refuse if
it comes to the point.
Personally I
see in renovating the timekeeper a chance for
the reawakening of antique (universal)
scholarship, in which religion and science
harmoniously go together. Furthermore I too
would like to be freed from the emptiness and
impersonal of our modern time. I do not really
believe, e.g., that we would have made it or
that it would be that healthy to appear on the
tube. Honestly I don't think it's a pleasure to
have everyone looking over ones shoulder and
prefer an improvement of the local culture.
Personally I live for more than a year now with
true, suntime on the clock and must say that it
has become an ideal object of meditation. For
societal adaptation I have a double watch
digitally set for indicating normal 'prime
time'. Even if no one takes the before mentioned
serious: I did to my own idea and for God in
this my duty.
Hoping
to have been of services to you, Respecting,
R.P.B.A. Meijer, M.A.
This
report was also sent to the former Minister of
Internal Affairs of the Netherlands I. Dales
(deceased) who replied that we already have UTC,
Universal Coördinated Time and that to her
opinion there was no further
need....
Also
with Professor Vroon did the cooperation not
work out as expected and was no further academic
research planned. Professor Vroon has meanwhile
deceased.
After
that I wrote in 1992 the book
'De
Spiegel van de
Tijd',
in Dutch at this website, in which the ideas of
this article have been worked out. Thereafter
came end of the nineties the rest of this
website about, around the only at this website
available selfhelpbook 'The
Other
Rules'
(1998) and other articles reproduced here, as
well as a
site on vedic literature
that
forms the historial link to the at this site
celebrated concept of time.
The
hope for political action speaking from this
article has meanwhile been sobered down to the
notion that time-management is very much a
matter of individual selfrealization and
religion and that it might take quite a long
time before there would be a majority of the
people to represent in government a better
culture of time. In stead would only the
abolishing of legal time-measures, the 'false
authority', be politically feasible (see the
politics-department).
After all is the system as it is now as well a
symptom of our lifestyle as good as our
lifestyle could be a symptom of the system.
-
See
further the Full Calendar of
Order
- table for the equation of time, to set a clock
to the sun.
-
Timelinks
-
Design
for a
Tempometer
back
to timesciences