Chapter Five
GRAVITY

The world of the finite is a garden watered from three directions. From above descends a waterfall of laws, an encompassing presence legislating the manner in which birds fly and setting forth the conditions under which fire burns. From below bubbles up an inner fountain of properties imbuing roses with color and forging steel into hardness. On all sides a meandering river of relationships interconnects objects, establishing tensions and adjusting positions.

Each of these streams can become one of the others when viewed from different vantage places. A rough-treed forest seen from a high airplane is a smooth, green carpet. Microscopic hills--objects--in positional relationship on the surface of a pebble are an invisible but contactable texture--a property--at the macroscopic level.

Structuration

Finite reality rises out of the abyss of nonbeing like a vast, knotted rope, in a process known as structuration. By structuration is meant that all things are interconnected like links in a great chain, every reality existing in three phases: as more than one, as one, and as less than one : an engine in an automobile is more than one part, one engine, and less than one automobile. These ascending phases of reality can be referred to as levels or, emphasizing the aspect of structuration, levelates. Objects at a given levelate are structures, or structurates . All objects are structurates.

From the perspective of a reality at a given levelate, other structurates are infrarealities, corealities, or ultrarealities --that is, microscopic, macroscopic, or astronomic , respectively. Simpler and often more useful are the terms overate and partate. A flower is an overate of its petals, while a page is a partate of the book it constructs. Overateward motion is from the levelate of the part toward that of the whole, from the atom toward the molecule, while partateward motion is toward the structural level of the part, from the beach toward the miniscule sand grain.

An interlevelate traveler would know journeys never experienced by space explorers. Partating, for example, he or she would shrink into the world of an atom. The dwindling, spiralling journeyer would see what had been microscopic transmuted first into the macroscopic then spread out as the astronomic . Former properties would materialize as objects in positional relationships. Heat would disappear, only to spring out again, transformed, as a wildly careering, bumping assemblage of massive, boulder-like molecules. Texture would be gone, replaced by strange mountain ranges and gaping crevasses. Objects and the relationships of their arrangement that one had formerly perceived as colevelate realities would swell up, disappearing around one in a huge gust, becoming omnipresent environmental laws.

The Mechanism of Enstructuration

The universe in its spreading complexity can never be captured by the mind of humankind. In apparent compensation for this, reality is viewable in different ways, depending on one's purpose. Plural reality models are like ropes tied to the world, each straining in a different direction. As one could obtain the same results by evaluating the effects of the forces applied through these ropes either separately or as one composite force, one can turn to different conceptual reality models for different purposes, sometimes obtaining similar analytic results but accruing different insights in the process.

A useful conceptual tool for applications involving multilevelate reality is an organizing mechanism one might refer to as a triate. A triate has three components: a central focalate , an encircling multiate, and a diffusely present diffluate. The focalate is a pattern which the diffluate, as a diffuse influence, impresses upon the reactive multiate. Examples are easy to find: the blazing focalate sun holding its orbiting multiate solar family in place through the power of its solar diffluate--or the tiny, spinning focalate atomic nucleus binding its encircling, enmultiated sphere of electrons to itself through the atomic diffluate.

A diffluate is a directed force from a focalate applied to a multiate. The pattern-responding multiate experiences the diffluate as the invisible, everywhere presence of the pattern-setting focalate. In a sense, a focalate has a twofold presence: as itself and as its manifestation through its associated diffluate. This concept of a single reality manifesting a bifurcated presence that is discrete yet also diffuse can lead to immense developments.

The Levelate Ladder

If one restricts one's view to part of a multiate instead of the entire multiate, the triate thus observed is a lateral triate. The triate with the total multiate is a central triate. The astronomical triate, for example, which includes the sun as focalate, the solar diffluate, and the asteroid belt as multiate is a lateral triate. In this triate, the focalate sun, in ordering the position of every rock in the whirling asteroid belt, thereby brings into being and maintains the existence of the shifting, amorphous, overate object that is the asteroid belt itself.

The finite creation is a levelate ladder, each individual reality having its existence as the multiate in some triate which in turn is the multiate in some higher central or lateral triate. This is summarized in the law of triate identity, as follows: Every individual reality has its existence upheld in a triate known as its triate of identity, in which it is the multiate. Twin to the law of triate identity is the law of complete triates, a functional inversion of the definition of lateral triates: Every lateral triate is part of a central triate.

In the physical infraworld, the triate ladder begins at the ultimaton then stretches successively overateward to electron, atom, and molecule. At the level of humanity's corealities, it rises from substance to objects and aggregates of objects. In the ultraworld, it enstructurates as planets, solar systems, nebulae, galaxies, space levels, and physical reality totality.

Two Presences of Paradise

The triate concept can help one to understand a class of dichotomous presences described, but not explained, in The URANTIA Book . Paradise, relates The URANTIA Book, is a discrete material body at a central universe location (7:10; 118:1). But Paradise is also diffusely present, by means of Paradise gravity, throughout the physical creation (101:2; 125:5; 131:10; 176:6). The Isle of Paradise is the pattern of all physical reality (101:9; 127:3-5), of which it is also the source (7:10; 126:5), controller (7:11), and focal point (125:6; 126:5). And Paradise, tells The URANTIA Book, is the nucleus of the ultimaton (467:4), which is the elemental subelectronic unit of material reality (476:7-9).

These characteristics of Paradise are harmonious and normal features of the triate concept. From a multilevelate reality perspective, the Isle of Paradise is a focalate, Paradise gravity its diffluate, and the whirling material universes a multiate evolving into reflections of its focalate, Paradise. As the focalate of all physical reality, Paradise is the pattern , as well as controller, of that reality--also the focal point. As the focalate in the triate of identity of total material reality, Paradise is the source of the material universes. The diffuse omnipresence of Paradise through the instrumentality of Paradise gravity is the everywhere presence of a focalate in its diffluate. Paradise is the nucleus of the ultimaton by virtue of being the focalate in the triate of identity that causes the whirling energies of the ultimaton to condense into a material sphere--also because the ultimaton, as all material reality, whirls around Paradise as center.

Absolute and Near-Absolute Triates

Each of the three Paradise Deities is discretely contactable on the Isle of Paradise (118:4-119:2) and also, through individual gravity circuits, which are described as presence circuits (131:10; 176:6), diffusely omnipresent over an entire dimensional universe as creator, controller, and upholder (4:7-9; 5:12-14; 131:5-133:3). With the concept of triates available as a visualizing tool, this dichotomy of presence becomes straightforward of understanding. Each Paradise Deity is a focalate who upholds, through the associated gravity circuit, or diffluate, the realities of a separate dimension of existence. The Eternal Son is the source and center of all spirit reality, omnipresent in the spirit universe by means of his spirit gravity circuit--diffluate. Through spirit gravity, he grasps all spirit values and ordains the reality of all spirit (81:1-83:4). The Infinite Spirit, through the mind gravity diffluate, is the source and center of the universe of mind (102:7-104:8). The Universal Father, as an omnipresent person in his personality circuit, is the source and center of all personality (70:6-71:6).

The Universal Father, as the First Source and Center of all things and beings, is also the focalate in the triates of identity of the other six of the Seven Absolutes of Infinity. He brings the Eternal Son and Paradise into being in two triates of identity which, like the other of the six infinite triates of identity, are lateral triates. Together they all form a central triate, their composite multiate a six-segmented, infinite reality forever and timelessly encircling its reality-sustaining focalate, the Universal Father, the I AM, the Infinite (4:14-5:18; 45:6-46:3; 1157:2).

The Seven Master Spirits, tells The URANTIA Book in words descriptive of the dual presence of a focalate, are an all-embracing, all-encompassing power of central location (150:2). Each is discretely resident on peripheral Paradise (150:2; 184:12) yet diffusely present throughout one of the seven superuniverses (275:4) as the source (191:5-6) and administrator (481:3) of the superuniverse cosmic mind. A Master Spirit is thus the focalate of the superuniverse cosmic mind; through the corresponding diffluate, that Master Spirit as pattern is impressed (190:11-191:3) on the countless living minds of the superuniverse mind multiate.

Presences of the Creator Son

The URANTIA Book tells that as a discretely contactable person, a Paradise Creator Son cannot be in more than one place at a time (377:2). It also teaches that as a mind-influencing Spirit of Truth, he is diffusely present throughout a local universe, gently guiding the minds of his local universe children (237:2; 241:5; 377:10). This becomes understandable when one concludes that the Creator Son has two presences--or rather, one presence with two phases. Drawing upon concepts of multilevelate reality, one can visualize a Creator Son as a mind-influencing focalate in his universe and the Spirit of Truth as his associated diffluate.

The local universe Mother Spirit, associate of the Creator Son, comes into being in complemental response to the potentials realitized by the creation of the Creator Son (203:7; 374:1-2). A discrete personal presence on the local universe headquarters sphere, which she never leaves (378:2), she is a diffuse presence throughout the local universe (376:7), through the action of the superuniverse Master Spirit enfocalating a more primordial triate (190:7,8; 375:3,7). The Mother Spirit defines the local universe boundaries, by the geographic limits of her consciousness and choice of action (375:2; 376:7; 377:5 455:1). She administers the Spirit of Truth when the Creator Son is in (230:1; 378:1-2), and away from (237:2; 377:11), his local universe.

A focalate must remain at the central focal point, or seat of power, of its triate in order to be present in its diffluate (119:2; 359:2; 378:2), which it can then subordinate to another reality. It seems that the Mother Spirit, resident at the local universe headquarters, is a focalate and her diffuse presence a diffluate which she variously (378:2) administers: one phase as the Spirit of Truth (230:1; 377:3), which she subordinates to her complementary Creator Son; another phase which she administers as her Holy Spirit (190:7; 378:2); and another as her Adjutant Mind Spirits (402:2).

The URANTIA Book also describes an association of the Creator Son and local universe Mother Spirit in a physical triate. Early in the building of his local universe, tells The URANTIA Book, the Creator Son remains discretely on the local universe headquarters sphere (359:2), providing the pattern (374:3) that the diffuse, not-yet-personal Creative Spirit, who will evolve into the Mother Spirit (375:1), uses in applying her creative powers to the responsive energy-matter comprising the physical multiate of the local universe (374:2-3).

Gravity and Reality

Paradise-level gravity--material, mindal, spirital, or personal--is universal gravity (176:6), absolute gravity (131:5-10). At subabsolute levels it produces local gravity: the superuniverse and local universe circuits (176:6-177:14). Absolute gravity is not the linear gravity of enstructurated universe reality (132:2; 470:3). Paradise gravity, as a diffluate , holds objects not just in position, but in existence . This explains the fact that the antigravity endowment of certain high beings (101:3; 326:2) is a dematerializing action, capable of fading even the building-block ultimatons from being (476:6-7). Like a cup carrying life-sustaining water to a multitude of thirsty travelers, gravity is a vessel, a presence circuit (131:10; 176:6), conveying the reality-sustaining presence of a focalate to a universe. Gravity is the hand of the Infinite upholding all things and guiding his universe children homeward.