It Was One of Those Days

When the quale comes upon us...

Ontology's got a dispatch pondering. One thought leads to another, and another, and another, all swirling in a mesmerizing dance like trash in a windy alley...

It all started in the dictionary hunting quale. Merriam-Webster has two definitions for quale (kwa-lee, noun), plural qualia (kwa-lee-uh). 1. a property (such as redness) considered apart from things having the property and 2. a property as it is experienced as distinct from any source it might have in a physical object.

The first definition is straightforward. What do tomatoes, firetrucks and leprechaun beards have in common? The quale of redness. The second definition, however, is trickier. Read it again and try to make sense of it. Confused? Then try this. Yeah... it gets deep.

But philosophical debates aside, for the purpose of ontological discussion we needn't get too hung up on definitions because qualia are actually easier to recognize by intuition than logic. In fact, it is their subjective, singular and illogical nature that makes them so hard to define in the first place.

For the ontologist, qualia is the language by which Ontology 'talks' to itself through us. Of course, saying that Ontology 'talks' to us is a crude and even misleading statement, as it implies something outside ourselves communicating with us. Given that Ontology is the very fabric of existence itself, the communication is internal and perceptual, and can involve all senses... or none. Everything we sense and feel is Ontology 'talking' to us. Everything has meaning, there is no random, no coincidence. The only question is whether any of it registers in our awareness in a conscious manner. We look upon the world, but rarely see it.

The Cathari say 'Universe provides and guides my eyes to see'. If we open our minds to the ontological model which allows for this kind of direct communication, Ontology will conspire in our favor and help us make better choices, see new opportunities, understand deeper and continue on the woo way in the ever-lovin' Now.

That's why ontologists make a point of improving their qualia perception skills. Most have been doing it intuitively since childhood, experiencing them without trying to name them. That's why the Dispatch contends that the best way to understand qualia is by recreating the experience in such a way that it is easy to recognize if you've ever had one.

So from the books we move to the silver screen, to a movie scene depicting a haunting quale interaction with Ontology (on YouTube, duration 2:38). If you don't do YT, here's what the character says while watching a video of a plastic bag dancing in the wind.

“It was one of those days when it’s a minute away from snowing and there’s this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. Right? And this bag was just dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. That’s the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video’s a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember… I need to remember… Sometimes there’s so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can’t take it, and my heart is just going to cave in.”

Here we have the basic elements of an ontologically interactive quale: a physical manifestation (the dancing bag) which provokes a property experienced as distinct from the source (like a little kid begging to play) and the sudden awareness of Ontology 'talking' directly to us (this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know).

The Dispatch is no stranger to such moments of connection. It doesn't take much more than some alone time in nature to get on the line with Big C. But the one personal experience that really left a mark actually happened on a busy city avenue full of people passing by. Out of the blue, a massive wave of love for each and every person in that avenue enveloped the Dispatch because we are all One.

This was so radically out of character that even though the quale lasted no more than ten seconds, it will never be forgotten. Usually when the Dispatch is passing through crowded urban Normieville, the predominant vibe is not lovey-dovey, to put it mildly. Yet it happened, and somehow it felt more real in that short moment than a lifetime of aloofness.

Those are the deep quales, the ones that form a person's inner world. Because in that one instant you feel the true nature behind this reality and know it to be true without a shadow of doubt. After that, the illusion loses much of its power over you.

But most quale are not so deep, nor do they need to be. Ontological interaction awareness can be as simple as synchronicities, seeing repeating words or numbers, a call from a person you were thinking about, a gut feeling that turns out prescient, an idea that seemingly came from nowhere. Ontology has all creation at its disposal to reassure us that we are not random grit chance, that Consciousness is really here, behind the scene, making the entire world move for each one of us alone and all of us together. In that frame of mind, the beauty is almost too much to bear... and we need to remember.

Dispatch out.