Welcome to Lost HEMA Theory!

 

THE SUBSTITUTE:

 

CONFIRMING THE NUMBERS/VARIABLES IN LIFE'S EQUATION,

 

SPINNING THAT SAMSARIC WHEEL OF FORTUNE

 

IN A FOURFOLD, EIGHTFOLD GAME THAT'S TO DIE FOR...

 

3G AND 4G COVERAGE IN LIGHTSIDE AND DARKSIDE CALLING CIRCLES

 

 

 

Fasten your seatbelts....  Kudos around the horn to the Lost creative combine, for taking us on another roller-coaster-ride of enlightenment.  We'll start with some highlights from tonight's episode, then proceed to pondering what lies beneath the shadow of future plotlines....

 

1. 'Lost Luggage'.... Heh-heh-heh.... This definitely fits into a karmic, reincarnative theme ala the island as capable of being used as a desirable means of 'losing one's undesirable past-life baggage'....

 

2. Oh yeah, the 'Smokey-cum-BOB lurking through the underbrush' sequence was a neat homage to Twin Peaks....!  Bob's abilities and darkness-- poor Leland Palmer!-- provide one more confirmation of the emerging war of light and dark factions, recruiting now underway, full steam ahead....¹

 

3. "Come with me and I'll tell you everything".... said the serpent in the Garden of Eden.... Eat much, from the tree of knowledge, Richard?  

 

4. Ashes to ashes.... Ilana taking Jacob's ashes.... to help keep Smokey at bay, in future encounters?  It certainly looked like that was the case.  At least now we know where the anti-Smokey powder comes from...

5. unLocke's recruiting candidates for.... MIB's Marauders-cum-Brotherhood of the Snake followers.... (Please see my Season 5 postings in this regard.)

 

6. Lapidus-- "Locke's getting pretty ripe..." Yes, indeed he is.... as in ripe for the picking as a candidate, in the garden of good and evil....

 

7. "Don't tell me what to do!"  unLocke channeling Locke....

 

8. And the blond boy in the distance, a Once and Future King?  A SOPHIA (P.K. Dick) 'riff' by Darlton, presaging/ foreshadowing a presence even unLocke/MIB/Smokey was afraid of....?  It would be neat if that were Aaron, but we'll have to wait and see....

 

9. unLocke wanting everyong dead on the island....? 

If Alpert's right, then that helps explain how the death/rebirth cycling can be used on the island to 'recruit' candidates for one's side (dark vs. light, MIB vs. Jacob), and Sayid just might be Exhibit A for 'failing the test' of light side candidacy, resuscitated as he was by the brownish 'dark side healing pool'....

 

10. So MIB is trapped on the island, in the form of unLocke, at least until another 'loophole' presents itself.... Hmmmm burying Locke on the beach... I wonder what 'loophole' might present itself for LOCKE to exploit, to reenter the game of life/enlightenment on the island?  Is Locke finally and ultimately removed from the game, or will we later learn that he is still a candidate?

 

11. How interesting to see unLocke and Sawyer climbing DOWN unLocke's ANTI-JACOB's ladder, richly symbolic to be sure.  And yes, the scales echo the ancient Egyptian MA'AT's featherweight heart-weighing scheme....

 

12. So yes, in the torchlit cave, Sawyer sees the people/number connection, confirming our suspicions (and my 2/3/10 posting) regarding the importance of 'locking' the people-cum-variables into the equation (nod to Faraday, again!)

 

13. "Open your textbooks to Chapter 4"...  Locke as NUMBER 4?  Yes.... and Jarrah/Sayid as 16...  23 is Shephard.... 8 is Reyes.... 42 is Kwon (Sun/Jin)... 15 is Ford/Sawyer....

 

14.  unLocke's remarks confirm that Jacob's touching mainland excursions set in motion a series of Incremental Butterfly Effects, moving them toward the island.... "Nothing to protect the island FROM...."  Is this a Darlton critique on sheep following along in a religious flock?  Or, is this yet another lie of the silver-tongued DEVIL/MIB/SMOKEY, aimed at recruiting SAWYER down the slippery slope of the dark side....?  HEH-HEH-HEH.... Time will indeed tell! 

 

Escape That Samsaric Life-Looping Wheel Of Fortune,

The Fourfold/Eightfold Way?

 

Along with other pundits, I've been writing about Lost karmic connections for several years running.  And now we're learning that the island just may be playing host to a game of life that is quite literally worth dying for in order to reach that next 'level', heading toward higher 'planes' of existence and enlightenment.... Among other things, this literal strategem symbolizes the personal struggles playing out within our own gardens of good and evil, reaching as we do for some semblance of transcendent growth through figurative 'deaths' of our old fallen selves, and new 'rebirths' of our hearts, minds, and souls....

 

Given tonight's episode I'm now wondering if Lost is now beginning to unpack an inventive riff on the Samsara theme by showing us both a light and dark side to the game of enlightenment.... wherein it is possible to move up higher and higher toward the light of Heaven, and also to progress lower and lower into the depths of Hell....?  Maybe the bamboo anti-Jacob's Ladder that Sawyer and unLocke climbed down is more than mere symbolism, after all....

 

In my 4/16/09 'Hoth' posting I proposed that the island is a venue for moving through cycles of birth and death as per the concept of Samsara found in Buddhism.  Please see the 4/16/09 'Hoth' posting and its 4/21/09 'Sephirot' companion piece for the full argument, but here are some highlights expanded and applied to what may lie ahead in the shadow of the emerging plotline of Season 6, especially if Darlton do choose to 'riff' on the Samsaric Wheel of Fortune as part of a device for resolving the remaining 'open/live variables' in the Valenzetti equation of life, setting the stage for a final, factional, climactic war between good and evil, in the moveable-feast-of-a-Garden-of-Eden that is the island:

 

1.  SAMSARA provides an intriguing interpretive framework not only for understanding the trials and tribulations of those who find themselves island-locked into dead/undead travails, but also for grasping the larger role of the island as a 'game grid' on which one moves between levels through processes of death and 'rebirth'.  For Buddhists, this is not some artificial interpretive framework, but rather is the way the universe/existence works:

 

"Saṃsāra or Sangsara (संसार), a Sanskrit^[1] and Pāli term which translates as "continuous movement" or "continuous flowing", which, in Buddhism, refers to the concept of a cycle of birth (jāti), and consequent decay and death (jarāmaraṇa), in which all beings in the universe participate, and which can only be escaped through enlightenment. Saṃsāra is associated with suffering and is generally considered the antithesis of nirvāṇa (Sanskrit) or nibbāna (Pali)."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa%E1%B9%83s%C4%81ra_(Buddhism)

 

2.  In my 4/16/09 posting I noted that unlike the Season 5 time looping, what Sayid (and others, perhaps even MIB/unLocke!) are moving through on the island is a form of LIFE LOOPING, consistent with the Samsara view, enabled by and materialized through the weird spacetime properties arising from the island's unique energy properties (electromagnetic and beyond), as well as ancient tech devices leveraging and channeling said properties.

 

3.  As indicated in the above Wikipedia quote, and echoed in my subsequent Season 5 and 6 postings, there is a way to escape the Samsaric island LIFELOOP cycles, namely, through achieving enlightenment, moving outside and beyond the narrow scope of one's selfish, fallen, corporeal concerns to embrace the larger scale of universe-al mind-ful interconnectedness.... What we are seeing is that the process of cycling through death/rebirth cycles not only helps us to see what is really important in life, and what is not: Truly it is dust-to-dust for our physical bodies, which will not endure....

 

4.  If Darlton and company follow the template of the Four Stages of Enlightenment structure the death/rebirth cycles revealed to us on Lost, then do not be surprised to see the following patterns displayed through such cycles, involving Sayid, Jacob, and more....  (And have we really seen the last of the real John Locke, after all...?)

 

"An ordinary person, or puthujjana (Pali; Sanskrit: pṛthagjanai.e. pritha : without, and jnana : knowledge) is trapped in the endless changes of saṃsara. He is born, lives & dies, in endless re-births, both human & animal. Doing good or evil as influenced by his desires ( sans. Raga ) and aversions ( sans. Dvvesh ), an ordinary person is born in higher or lower states of being (heavens or hells) according to their actions in the births preceding. As these persons have little control over their minds and behaviors, their destinies are haphazard and subject to great suffering. Worries, "tension", adversaries & adversity are their daily grindstone - all projections of their own mind, instigated by the driving force of past karma, subsisting as samskaras, or tendencies, in the thought-stuff, and manifested as vasanas, or predilections, in immediate consciousness & behavior. The ordinary person has never seen and experienced the ultimate truth of Dharma, and therefore has no way of finding an end to his predicament. It is only by this suffering becoming acute, or seemingly unending, that this person looks for a "solution" to his predicament - and finds the dhamma."

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_enlightenment]

 

We all start out as an 'ordinary person' of the sort described above-- even MIB/unLocke, if we are inclined to believe him-- and certainly we can see how TruLocke and others who have been brought to the island have wrestled with these 'karmic demons'.... not having yet glimpsed and experienced.... DHARMA....!  And how do we progress from an 'ordinary person' to a 'noble' or 'enlightened' person, moving along the Four Stages of Enlightenment?  We follow the Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path:

"The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the principal teachings of the Buddha, who described it as the way leading to the cessation of suffering (dukkha) and the achievement of self-awakening. It is used to develop insight into the true nature of phenomena (or reality) and to eradicate greed, hatred, and delusion. The Noble Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths; the first element of the Noble Eightfold Path is, in turn, an understanding of the Four Noble Truths. It is also known as the Middle Path or Middle Way. All eight elements of the Path begin with the word "right", which translates the word samyañc (in Sanskrit) or sammā (in Pāli). These denote completion, togetherness, and coherence, and can also suggest the senses of "perfect" or "ideal".In Buddhist symbolism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel, whose eight spokes represent the eight elements of the path."  [Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noble_Eightfold_Path] ²

 

Interestingly enough, those who have elected to follow the Eightfold Path to enlightenment, with the ultimate goal of achieving the highest DHARMA, are said to have 'entered the stream'.... And not surprisingly, the tropical MAG-LEVVED venue on which these personal adventures are now being unpacked is an ISLAND IN THE STREAM....!

"The first stage [of enlightenment] is that of Sotāpanna (Pali; Sanskrit: Srotāpanna), literally meaning "one who enters (āpadyate) the stream (sotas)," with the stream being the Noble Eightfold Path regarded as the highest Dharma. The stream-enterer is also said to have "opened the eye of the Dharma" (dhammacakkhu, Sanskrit: dharmacakṣus). A stream-enterer is guaranteed enlightenment after no more than seven successive rebirths, and possibly in fewer. The stream-enterer can also be sure that he will not be reborn in any of the unhappy states or rebirths (an animal, a preta, or in hell). He can only be reborn as a human being, or in a heaven. The stream-enterer has attained an intuitive grasp of Buddhist doctrine (samyagdṛṣṭi or sammādiṭṭhi, "right view"), has complete confidence or Saddha in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, and has good moral behaviour (Sila)." 

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_enlightenment]

"The third stage is that of the Anāgāmī (Sanskrit: Anāgāmin), literally meaning "one who does not (an-) come (āgacchati)". The non-returner does not come back into human existence, or any lower world, after death. Instead, he is reborn in one of the worlds of the Rūpadhātu called the Śuddhāvāsa worlds, or "Pure Abodes", where he will attain Nirvāṇa; Pāli: Nibbana; some of them are reborn a second time in a higher world of the Pure Abodes, but in no case are born into a lower state. An Anāgāmī has abandoned the five lower fetters that bind the mind to the cycle of rebirth. An Anāgāmī is thus partially enlightened, and on the way to perfect and complete Enlightenment.... The fourth stage is that of Arahant, a fully enlightened human being who has abandoned all fetters, and who upon death (Sanskrit: Parinirvāṇa, Pāli: Parinibbāna) will not be reborn in any world, having wholly abandoned saṃsāra."

[Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_stages_of_enlightenment]

Upgrading 'Coverage' From A 3G To A 4G Island:  Who Will End Up In The Lightside And Darkside 'Calling' Circles?

I cannot thank Darlton and crew enough for bringing such a thoroughly entertaining and stimulating televisionary masterpiece to our screens, week-in and week-out.... As the series hurtles toward a (sure-to-be) exciting and shocking finale, Lost aficionados from around the world are just as sure-to-be wondering just what lies in the shadow of previous plot twists and turns.... Including plot themes that were once taboo, now revealed as integral.... Cases in point: (1) time travel's out, then it's in, now it's back out of the picture (at least for now, and (2) multiversic realities are out, now they're in....  So what lies ahead, in the foreshadow of remaining episodes, in terms of past plot taboos that may ultimately be embraced?

Hmmm....  I would not be surprised to see the 'MAGIC BOX' taboo/'restriction' lifted for those who are progressing along the path of Enlightenment, through death/rebirth cycles, moving toward status 'third stage' light (or dark, Sayid?) beings on the island, like Jacob and MIB, able to leverage the ISLAND in the Stream of Enlightenment's power to transcend the fetters of matter-bound-MIND, freeing Mind from Matter in such a way that they are able to HEMAtically use Mind to drive, reconfigure, and ultimately 'generate' reality on the 'Game Grid' that is the Island....  Here's the argument in brief....

1.  'Ordinary', unenlightened humans are brought to the Island in the Stream of Enlightenment, affording them an opportunity to 'walk the Eightfold Path', thusly progressing from one stage to another along the Fourfold Stages of Enlightenment.  What we saw in tonight's episode confirms this, if unLocke/MIB is being truthful in telling Sawyer that he arrived here as a regular person, just like them. By definition, the ordinary people are not sufficiently evolved/ progressed/enlightened to leverage the island's 3G 'Network capabilities'-- the island is a 'Game-Grid-Generator' (3G)-- i.e., a means of 'generating reality' as the game unfolds in its current level or plane, on the island.  Hence Damon Lindelof's comment that the 'Magic Box' was simply a metaphor and, therefore, it is not a real part of the show underscores the point that for the 'ordinary'/unenlightened characters, the island does not function for them as a 'Magic Box', granting their every wish in tangible or perceptual fashion....

Thus we can now see that while Kate's thoughts may have been used by some 'more enlightened' being (think Jacob or MIB) to produce the 'reality' of the horse, at that time it was not within Kate's power to generate the horse in and of her own volition/Mind.  Similarly, while Sayid did not 'magically' will the cat into game-grid reality, and while Hurley did not have the power to conjure up his good 'ol buddy Dave, all by himself, most certainly their thoughts and minds were being read by some higher, more enlightened, and less matter-mind-fettered beings on the island (Jacob, MIB, or?) 

2.  Jacob and unLocke's/MIB's seemingly 'magical' abilities-- especially as we've witnessed them so far in Season 6-- provide us with preliminary support for the thesis that while 'ordinary'/unenlightened beings cannot leverage the weird spacetime-matter-energy-mind properties arising from the island's unique energy profile, all in the service of performing 'Magic Box' game-grid feats, this ability has been displayed by the less 'ordinary'/more enlightened beings on the island.  Jacob and unLocke/MIB can appear and disappear at will, and shape-shift up and down their respective HOLY TRINITY and unHOLY TRINITY forms/incarnations....

Hmmmm.... Is this not a natural progression in the nature of the plot, with Jacob/MIB already demonstrating how they can leverage the island's power to accomplish seemingly 'magical', Godlike feats of avataristic Game Grid Generation?

Is the blond boy the real deal, in terms of the one, true 4G Game Grid Generator God?  And, if Locke does indeed progress enough along the path of island-enabled enlightenment to be able to enter their '4G Calling Circle', will we serve witness to a series finale 'Battle of the Matter-Unfettered Minds', with light and dark side factions duking it out on a (quite literally) changing game grid reality?

To Serling, With Love:  Twilight Of A Godless 3G Network?

Hmmm....  We've been promised a shocking series finale, and while I've been riffing on the following theme in various incarnations over the years, the time is right for a revisitation, in light of the deeper 'Jack's Hubris' subtext undergirding Season 6.  Consistent with my prediction in the 'What Lies Behind Door #2' section of my 5/14/09 posting, Darlton have acknowledged that Season 6 is showcasing some of the deleterious effects of Jack 'playing God' through using the J2 Incident to land them back in LAX.... Only this time, Jack will be relearning that old schoolyard lesson-- Be careful what you wish for....-- as the emerging 'daisy chain' of effects resulting from Jack's existential hubris weave a new interconnected tapestry of choices, actions, and consequences that will be revealed as distinctly less desirable than the tapestry with the Flight 815 islandcrash woven into it....

And how might all of this relate to the shocking series finale in May?  Hmmm.... One Next Logical Step in extending and expanding the 'Jack's Hubris' plot theme is to telescope it up to the level of the entire species....  Despite Carl Sagan's 'billions and billions' of admonitions to the contrary, we as a species all too often find it easy and comfortable to slip into those warm, worn cliches-- 'We're not alone in the universe!'-- while deep, down inside we harbor anthropocentric biases and anthropomorphic interpretive tendencies.... In short, Darlton may turn up the dial a few notches on the hubris theme, pointing the mirror back at ourselves and our souls....

How might this series ending hubris plot twist be manifest?  One classic O. Henryesque school of plot turns, used in Rod Serling's original Twilight Zone series, is to shock and awe the audience through pulling back far enough from the defined frame of reference to reveal that.... We humans-- our best laid plans, our free-willed choices and actions, our very lives-- are driven by prideful biases and overestimations of our exclusive place and primary importance in the universe....

Yes, how deliciously delightful would that turn of the plot-twist-knife be, were Darlton to reveal in the final moments of the series that.... not only is the island a Game-Generating-Grid, but it is also a Godless one.... as the real Man Behind The Curtain is not some anthropomorphic-extensive God-The-Father-Figure, but rather, that the real powers-that-be lie more in the realm of some adolescent/ juvenile form of a superior being.... 

I can see it now.... near the end of the final episode, Jack, TruLocke-cum-unMIB, Jacob, unLocke, et al., locked in (im)mortal combat, duking it out on the island game-grid.  Cue the whispers in the background, then a blinding flash of light as.... Syrxx tells her son Tojnn and his friend Ghenrm that it's time to stop playing that 'video game', and get washed up and ready for dinner....

Tojnn pauses to save the game level, preserving his 'light-side' game avatar, Jacob, and his friend's 'dark-side' avatar, unLocke/MIB....  As they head out to prepare for the feast to come, our attention is turned back to the virtual hologrammatic game-grid hovering in Tojnn's messy bedroom.... Tojnn's sister Ryjnn sneaks a quick peek into his room and, seeing it is empty, she turns a few dials on the controller and we see the island transform right before our very eyes, from tropical paradise to... a Lost Horizon garden of temperateness, now hovering just above the frozen tundra, tucked back in a remote valley in the Himalayas....³  At first, Jack and the other 'characters' don't know what to make of this sudden, flashing shift in the game grid.  Then Ryjnn hits the 'instant-karma-mindwipe-soulswipe' button, and this virtual reincarnative Game Of Life starts all over again, with the light- and dark-side game counters reset to zero.... "We're all pawns, you know...." ⁴   Or are we....?

Time will tell....

Dr. Todd J. Hostager