Subject: Relating to Alan's Wisdom Enquiry as Muslim - please consider these few ideas in your Monday evening's educational conversation Salaam Alaikum and greetings of peace and hope for the Holy Month of
Ramadhan which has begun on this sunny day, ma'shallah. For a really vivid and accessible appreciation of how Ramadhan can be of
relevance to us all please listen to the talk given by my friend Sheikh
Khalfan Al-Esry to Oman's non-Muslim community at the Grand Mosque in
Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. This talk can be found at http://islamfact.com/index/modules.php?name=Downloads&d_op=viewdownload&cid=
9 and then clicking on Blessing of Ramadhan. Sh. Khalfan is an Ibadhi sheikh who is also a management consultant and
executive coach. As I read Jack's rendering of Alan's 'characteristics' of 'wisdom enquiry' I
became uncomfortable, and then perturbed because there was no explicit
mention of God in Alan's notion of wisdom enquiry. This 'absence' - as this is how it feels to me - could be so disturbing for
a Muslim who believes in the presence of Allah and shares in 'umaah' a
desire to communicate this relationship with Allah that s/he chooses to
ignore Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' because its characteristics do not include
Allah. My view as Muslim is that this would be such a travesty, such a pity. Why? I
believe that Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' is a contribution to the flow of a
planetary wisdom that embraces enquiry and that holds that enquiry as an act
of humanity is an essential of wisdom. Though forgive me if you feel this is
reductionist as it is not my intent or wish to be reductionist here to be
reductionist here. Wisdom enquiry as suggested by Alan could help humanity
to live its potential more fully. So how doe we overcome, perhaps transcend the exclusionary obstacle held in
Alan's statement of characteristics of 'wisdom enquiry' so that a Muslim
would engage with Alan's ideas rather than sensing them to be either
anti-Islamic or 'a-Islamic' with pretty much the same effect, I imagine? I believe I can show you in this email how I have overcome that awful sense
of my way of life having been excluded from Alan's statement concerning
'wisdom enquiry'. [1] Thesis of Context: This seems to be important at the moment in the West
where anti-Muslim racism (Tariq Modood, 2005) is becoming more crude,
obvious and rampant if the disgraceful performance of the BBC's John
Humphrey's last Friday morning was anything to by. Imagine how it felt driving along the M4 from Heathrow having spent two
peaceful weeks in the Sultanate of Oman having discussions with Sheikh
Qahlan, the number two to the Grand Mufti of Oman, to hear Humphreys'
oppressive bigotry. It is a tough thing for some 'relativists' to take on board but John Reid MP
is perceived to be an "enemy of Muslims" by some Muslims of the 'Umaah'
and/or perceived to be a state murderer of Muslims by Muslims who believe
that killing innocent Muslim civilians in Iraq (the acts of US and British
armed forces and their political commanders) were acts of state terror,
state violence and state murder. As a peaceful Muslim I hold this latter
view of John Reid's complicity and culpability. Speculation about Reid's hatred of Muslims to the extent that he could be
called an 'enemy of Muslims' is something for the gossips to explore but I
have no knowledge to enable a sensible, helpful and placating comment. On
this subject I remain silently unknowing. In a political sense John Reid has been actively complicit in the execution
of state violence and in this sense is culpable. To hear BBC's Humphreys
tell the Muslim brother who made similar, if more far reaching statements,
that if he didn't like it here then leave the country where Shari'a is
practiced reminded me of the time when I was five and my mate Martin Bones
Dad told me to f-off back to wog land, and that occasion when the HR
director of my university college told me, 'if you find it so difficult here
why do you stay?', and that precious moment etched into my memory when a
member of the Monday evening conversation wrote an email saying, 'Hope you
are now happy in your mixed-race'. It really is open season for racists and
related excluders. Of course, in these fractious and difficult times characterized by
'ontological hysteria' - wondering how 'wisdom enquiry' takes into account
the distortions of enquiry conducted in a time of ontological hysteria -
there are surely better and worse ways of expressing this view about John
Reid. But either way it seems to boil down to the same sticky and glutinous
truth when placed over the flames of reason, affect and belief (i.e.,
Al-Eemaan). The British government has willingly collaborated and participated in the
political preparation and the military actions of killing Muslims and as a
minister of state John Reid in a government that has chosen this path finds
himself in the mess of that ethical corruption right up to his bullish neck.
His anti-Muslim gestures further exacerbate this tension because he is
perceived to be, by the weight and measure of his own comments and gestures,
an anti-Muslim racist: thus an enemy of the Umaah of Muslims. This is not
such a shocking deduction. Reid is now ensnared by the logic of his own
making. I do see John Reid as an enemy of Muslims by default or otherwise. This truth cannot simply be washed away in the interests of multicultural
smoothness. There is now a splintered and complex fracturing of the relations between
Britain's Muslim citizens and the British state and its healing will require
more than patient and sentient humanism. Dr John Reid is not the doctor for
this huge task. The healing I have in mind requires many of us to address what future we
have in this country as citizens and whether it would be better to live in a
Muslim society as non-citizens of the country but as members of the Umaah.
What we lose in citizenship claims can be compensated for by the
psycho-spiritual and physical security of being a living practitioner of the
inclusivity of Umaah. [2]Ramadhan and Alan's 'wisdom enquiry': The key to Ramadhan is to help us
in our journey to understanding Allah's wisdom. Ramadhan is a month of
spiritual and educational enquiry. It is a month of immersion in the
consciousness of Allah. As Muslim I believe this is part of the essence of 'wise enquiry' and there
is a discipline for 'enquiring wisely' during Ramadhan. Ramadhan is that time in the calendar of Allah-consciousness - that is
becoming more reflexively aware of Allah in our lives and practice in living
discipline, seek to reflect on individual actions, attempt to try out
something new, experiment in the spirit of enquiry and enhancement, and
discuss the impacts of such action in dialogue with Allah, with self and
most vitally with others (Muslim and non-Muslim). The purpose of this is to
deepen one's relational attachment with Allah through thoughtfully reforming
one's Islamic practice in the light of feedback one receives. Ramadhan is a listening time. Sheikh Khalfan enjoyed my attentive listening quality, my empathy for his
presence and being, my 'life coaching' as he put it, and the precise nature
of my feedback that in his words was 'spot on'. All of this seems to corroborate the characteristics of Alan's 'wisdom
enquiry'. Patience is a key quality of the Muslim. But when ideas are
presented in ways that are not welcoming of Muslims we can often respond
defensively and curtly from a sense of the rejection of our views and
beliefs, our sensibilities, and our articles of faith. Creed is important
for Ibadhi Muslims. So now I think you can share my sense of surprise when Alan's 'wisdom
enquiry' that is being offered as a guide for an inclusional way of life
fails to include Allah explicitly. At first sight, I can imagine Muslims recoiling from Alan's 'wisdom enquiry'
pushed away by the absence of Allah-consciousness as a key characteristic of
wisdom, let alone enquiry. Some Muslims might at first be perturbed and
perplexed, feel excluded even, by what seems to be 'missing' from Jack's
rendering of Alan's 'characteristics of 'wisdom enquiry'. Some what
violently reject the ideas as being evil because they fail to recognise
Allah. Putting this account another way, Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' as
represented by Jack seems to want us to strive to a higher order of
consciousness, something exalted and enhanced, while ignoring the precept
that for all Muslims the criterion for a standard of judgement concerning
wisdom would include Allah. My consciousness of knowledge and understanding
as Muslim is inextricably linked to my deepening Allah-consciousness. Allah is source of wisdom. This is incontrovertible for a Muslim. Supplication and submission actually mean no more than accepting Allah as
source of wisdom, and one's consciousness as Muslim is mediated by this
sublime knowing. Evaluated by this criterion of creed, or article of faith, Alan's 'wisdom
enquiry' seems to be well beyond the pale of Islam. As such it can be readily dismissed as an artifact of jehannah (ie, the
community of evil). However, this is not my take on Alan's suggested 'wisdom enquiry'. I like
point 10 of Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' - "10. It includes love". Love is one of the Ninety Nine names of Allah. And thus Allan's 'wisdom
enquiry' seems to be implicitly inclusive of Allah. With this in mind (and
heart and soul) I am able to work creatively, inclusionally and productively
with Alan's ideas. Rather than excommunicating myself from Alan's ideas of 'wisdom enquiry' as
Alan's ideas even if this takes us through the rocky waters of 'agonized
dialogue' that is key to the practice of decision taking in Islam. Education, understanding, psyche (to include affect) and reason are
characteristics deemed vital to the peace that is required for wisdom: peace
in Allah, peace in community with others, and peace within oneself. Islamic wisdom enquiry (i.e., Al-Hikmah) includes the ideas of peace in
those three dimensions and the idea of personal exertion towards
Allah-consciousness. If this form of English for explaining one's Islamic
exertion as 'Allah consciousness' feels uncomfortably unfamiliar, then
substitute it with an idea of awareness of God in one's life as this would
be a suitable alternative expression. Thus, Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' is another wonderful contribution in the world
to 'Al-Hikmah' meaning wisdom: it is both blessed and helpful for humanity
at this incredibly fractious time. The word Muslim refers to a person who is committed to personal and social
exertion (i.e., jihad) in the direction of a 'wisdom enquiry' that is
seeking to enhance my consciousness of my relationship with God (i.e.,
Allah-consciousness). Thus 'jihad' in its spiritual meaning as exertion is
crucial to a 'living practice' of Islam. As such it is an expression of
living theory as a living theosophy. For an accepting Muslim, and Islam embraces the notion of pluralistic
acceptance of difference and variety, an understanding of the precepts of
creed in 'awqaf'(i.e., all matters to do with the articles of faith in
Islam, where belief in Arabic is 'Al-Eemaan') should not clash to the point
of severance with the characteristics of Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' because
they are not so much 'anti-Islamic' as 'a-Islamic' and it is easy for the
Muslim to appreciate these ideas as those of a non-Muslim' while engaging
with the heuristic wisdom and insight of those same ideas when mediated by
an accepting Islamic gaze. This is how I am approaching Alan's ideas in a
spirit of Islamic appreciation and engagement. It is with unequivocal agreement that I feel Alan is blessed in knowing that
'wisdom enquiry' includes love. It surely does include love because love is one of Allah's many names. Thus as a Muslim I'd not be too perturbed by the fact that Alan's
characteristics of wisdom enquiry as rendered by Jack seems at first sight
not to be inclusive of an Islamic awareness, or Allah consciousness because
Islamic acceptance can easily become aware and inclusional of Alan,
Alhamdulillah. But that said I'm perturbed by the thought that on a cursory consideration
Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' could be dismissed as 'a-Islamic' because of the
impression it gives of not including Allah. For a Muslim this would be
unthinkable, haraam even, because such 'un-thinking' would be forbidden. So reading Jack's email I thought about the following, 1. How could Alan's characteristics of 'wisdom enquiry' be made more
invitational and accessible for Muslims? 2. How could a progressive Muslim use their knowledge of Islam to show how
Alan's 'wisdom enquiry' is consonant with the encouragement to Muslims to
embrace all teachings - Islamic and otherwise - to deepen our relationship
with Allah as we find peace with ourselves and with others with whom we
share the planet? For wouldn't this lead us in hope along the confluent path
equality? Thinking about thee implications emerging from Alan's ideas I wondered how
to correct (here I'm using 'correct' in the sense of correcting vision, and
not in the sense of correcting mistaken belief for the sake of
conformity)for this 'a-' tendency. As Muslim one can creatively 're/-form'
Alan's idea of 'wisdom enquiry' by asking two critically engaging questions
- How does Alan's notion of 'wisdom enquiry' enhance my understanding of the
kind of wisdom enquiry that would be helpful to me as Muslim? How does Islam encourage me to be open to and accepting of the wisdoms
flowing through and from alternative religious and secular knowing that
appear, on first sight, to be out of kilter with Islamic creed and faith? Hopefully this email response is a demonstration of how Alan's wisdom
enquiry has helped me to reform my peaceful engagement with Alan's ideas in
ways that energize my commitment to pluralism as a characteristic of my need
for a humanistic 'wisdom enquiry' that also enriches my awareness of the
power of God in my living practice of humanity and Islam, simultaneously,
i.e. this is one of the ways I understand Allah-consciousness. For despite Western misconceptions, mischief, and anti-Muslim racisms
(typified by the likes of BBC's John Humphreys expressions of an
ontologically hysterical anti-Muslim racism) the truth is that the
conditions of human compassion, consideration, respect and love required for
secular humanism and Progressive Islam are in no senses mutually excluding. Never have been, never will be: Alhamdulillah. In this email I'm trying to exert my intellect, my reason, my affect, and my
spiritual energy simultaneously. In my mind's eye I imagine a 'masala' of respect for Alan's wisdom enquiry
that is appreciative, and engaged in ways that show the values of Alan's
ideas reaching out toward and into the very heart of the matter of Islamic
wisdom enquiry, which requires Muslims to enquire wisely in respect of
Allah-consciousness. This willingness to remain open to the universal flow of energies that
contribute to knowledge while remaining uncompromised as a Muslim requires
felicitous exertions around ethics, beliefs, reason, love, compassion, and
passionate enquiry that seeks to be informed by and influential of, wisdom
requires an incredibly imaginative, and creative form of exertion, which is
the meaning of the Arabic word 'jihad'. The quality of this exertion (i.e., jihad) required by Muslims who live in
the West is exemplified in the reciprocal flow of energizing reason, affect,
patience and challenges I've encountered in trying - and failing - to craft
a thesis with Jack Whitehead as my supervisor. In the face of gross distortions by media in the West in respect of the
wonderful variety of forms of Islamic wisdom enquiry that are peaceful,
accepting and pluralist. The crudest crime against Islam that is being perpetrated by Western media
is in the representation of Islam, thoroughly ignorant and bereft of
respect, as a monolith, as a homogeneous set of practices, as if Islam is a
behemoth of medieval small-mindedness! Western media and ideology has little awareness of our beliefs. British
Muslims(and more generally those Muslims living in the West)are living in an
ambience of sheer hatred for who we are, and what we are misrepresented as
being, day in and day out, in Britain. It is true that for many of us we are
made to feel that we are not longer welcome in Britain, that our citizenship
is ersatz, that we are second-rate citizenry, that our commitment to the
British polis is somehow questionable and divided in its loyalty. Amartya Sen (2006) is so sensitive in his appreciation that British Muslims,
like me, have multiple identifications even when Islam is a most central
pillar in the house of our being. Yet Muslims, like me, and unlike me, are genuinely disappointed by the way
that Blair's government seems to encourage the simmering pot of anti-Muslim
racisms bubbling away, and the apparatus of the state, and its ideological
ancillaries and capillary's (such as the BBC that used to command respect,
but no longer does among so many Muslims in UK and elsewhere, for the
insensitivity and ethnocentricity of its reportage) can see the 'disguised
blessing' of this anti-Muslim hysteria. How so? It requires of us an
extra-special dimension of exertion - jihad - amid such hostility, and this
exertion is a crucial test for Muslims living in the West. As my friend Sheikh Khalfan Al-Esry puts it - "Yaqub, this may be a blessing
in disguise. How many of us, including myself, would have become articulate
and passionate about exerting our feelings, our creativity, our productive
enquiries, and our intellects in the direction of knowledge and
understanding of Allah-consciousness if this seething hatred of us had not
erupted in the West and elsewhere among non-Muslims?' In the face of this oppression of our practice of wisdom enquiry (as
Muslims) it is true that many of us have taken (un-)certain steps towards
exploring and dialoguing new forms of wisdom enquiry that matter to us as
Muslims. My wisdom enquiry has grown not out of a hatred of anti-Muslim
racists but out of my love for our common humanity expressed for me through
Allah consciousness, and for you, perhaps, differently, and this is fine
with me, and the majority of Muslims. And what I'm experiencing as wisdom, I believe, is the flow of peaceful
energies from my 'Living Islam'. [3] Postscript - Spiritual Reflections on My Family visit to Oman: An Ibadhi
form of 'living wisdom' is emerging in Oman whereby Ibadha are actively
engaging with Hindu, Buddhist and other schools of thought (belief) not to
change them or distort them but to understand and appreciate their value
Islamic wisdom enquiry. This ensures that Ibadha cultivate living pluralism
in the face of other wisdom traditions - of all and any kind - without one's
Ibadhi commitment to Allah being affected adversely or compromised in any
way. Jihad for me as Muslim is ensuring that in drawing on these traditions I
'know' why I am doing so in respect of my faith in God, and thus stretch,
extend, enhance, augment, deepen my attachment to the movements and flows of
wisdom energy in the planet (the principle of human connectivity) while
enjoying this 'exertion toward knowing and understanding' as ongoing, never
complete, always in fulfillment and yet dedicated to Allah-consciousness
through my humanistic responsibility for peace. This piece of writing is a facet of my expression of 'jihad', which means
the requirement for me to make a personal exertion towards peacefulness in
my self, among others, and with Allah. All of which seem to be compatible
and confluent with Alan's inclusion of the characteristic of 'love' within
his emergent thesis of 'wisdom enquiry'. My exertion here is to explain to friends and others, alike, what it takes
to be a Muslim who desires wisdom enquiry - in order to explain to explain
why I choose to exert life energy to developing discernment of my knowledge
judgements while remaining open, mune and interactively available to the
possibility of the brilliance that can flow from other personal and social
formations of wisdom that would not be recognised as being 'Islamic' in any
conventional or formalistic sense and yet through which I can enrich my
connectivity with what the world can offer without compromising 'al-emaan',
which means faith and belief. The challenge to my educational activism is giving momentum by my commitment
and desire to becoming a reflexive Muslim. It is not a precondition of faith for a Muslim to hold to the conception
that the brilliance of 'wisdom' only shines through Islamic traditions. To
think this is to be mistaken, Muslim, and non-Muslim alike. However, there are several 'ayaat' that help us to wisdom enquiry as Muslims
and this is why the characteristics (or virtues perhaps?)of Alan's wisdom
enquiry seem to be resonating within me: "...For the one who loves knowledge, who studies constantly, and who applies
in practice what he learned. The student of knowledge should distribute his
time between memorizing, reading, revising, researching, and reflecting'
(attributed to Ibn Hazm, in Don't be Sad, page 296, by Aaidh ibn Abdullah
al-Qarni, 2003, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: International Islamic Publishing
House) The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was clear in advising the companions that
education - what I understand to be inclusional of Alan's 'characteristics'
of a wisdom enquiry - is a central article of faith because it is a
prerequisite for Allah-consciousness. Thus Muslims are encouraged to exercise full human license to explore,
evaluate and appreciate any forms of knowledge that enhance understanding,
insight, heurism, affective empathy, and individual growth. All forms of
knowledge are creatively available to Muslims in our desire to understand
and know Allah through our shared responsibility for the future of humanity. This is an illustration of a pluralism that inheres to Islam and always has
inhered within Islam. A 'masala of knowing' is held to be vital within Islam for developing the
kind of personal consciousness that enables a good life with others and a
truly profound attachment to Allah-consciousness. The 'jihad' associated with a reflexive, spiritual, affective and
intellectual exertion seems to be a crucial practice for all of us who wish
to develop those criteria by which sound and sensible standards of
knowledge-judgment can be made. The basis of discernment between and among knowledge judgements is
especially important for educators who are Muslim, where distinctive and
differentiated standards of judgement are required. The idea I'm articulating here is held in the Arabic word, 'furqaan', which
means a criterion for making a judgement between 'right and 'wrong'. What
I'm trying to achieve here is to liken 'furqaan' (criteria for judgement) to
McNiff and Whitehead's enduring use of the idea of embodied or ontological
values emerging as living standards of judgement - that is , for me,
'furqaan' - through their practice over time. This touches what it means (for me) to revert to an Islamic way of being.
In expressing these ideas I am committed to appropriately attributing those
sources of influence that are impacting the formation of my own
understanding and enquiry. Thus, it is in this spirit of respect - may I respectfully suggest this is a
characteristic of a quality of wisdom enquiry I value - that I'm drawing on
the influence flowing from an Islamic wisdom enquiry I've enjoyed during the
especially my friend Sheikh Khalfan Al-Esry who is an executive coach and MD
of his own OD business, while also being a member of an emergent and
upcoming generation of Ibadha sheikhs committed to wisdom enquiry with an
Islamic spin. Do visit Sheikh Khalfan's webpage - www.pros-per.biz Alan's wisdom enquiry is profoundly important for peace in the world. It is only Al-Mutaffifeen i.e. short changers, literally, or those who
'short change' the ideas of others in the Academy by giving 'less weight and
measure' to their ideas and contribution, who actually decrease the 'rights
of others'. These are indeed the terrorists as Lyotard identified them to
be. My response carries my wish to enhance Alan's rights and perhaps some of the
thoughts shared here can inform, if not actually influence, the social
formation of your conversation about Alan's 'wisdom enquiry'. Yaqub A glossary of terms that could be helpful to make unfamiliar terms more
accessible, insha' allah: 1. Omani refers to nationals or citizens of the Sultanate of Oman. 2. Ibadhi is the name for a follower of a school of thought and living
practice of faith within the 'umaah' (community of Islam) known as Ibadhism
- a collective term for several Ibadhi's is 'Ibadha', while 'Al-Ibadhiya'
refers to the collective consciousness and physical existence of Ibadhi's
among the Umaah (of Islam). Note - by way of a helpful analogy, Ibadha
within Islam are perceived rather similarly to Educational Action
Researchers within mainstream educational research as being quirky,
irritating, weird, and to a large extent 'marginal' despite some of the
wisdom that flows from scholars and practitioners in the educational AR
tradition. 3. Umaah refers to the multi-billion community of believers, who are
referred to individually as Muslim. While the Umaah gives the sense of a
unitary and homogenous group this is not the actual situation. Islam is
heterogeneous and pluralistic because of the various 'schools of thought',
rather than sects within Islam (my thanks to Sheikh Qahlan Al-Kharusy for
this insight)who are held together in umaah (i.e., community and
communication)by what they hold in common rather than what differentiates
them as Muslims. Islam is characterized by agonistic dialogue arising from
the debate over sameness and difference like any other pluralistic and
anti-totalizing community. 4. Sheikh is the name given to those who are wisdom enquirers and whose
wisdom is held to be valid by members of the Umaah; there is no requirement
for any consensus concerning the expression of such wisdom just as there is
no need for a consensus concerning the wisdom of Alan or Jack. Yet there
would have to be more than one person who is affected by the sense of a
person's wisdom before they are referred to as 'sheikh'. 5. Al-Eemaan means faith, belief 6. Al-Hikmah means wisdom, and can mean 'as-sunnah, or rules for religious
governance, too. 7. Jihad means 'exertion' to understand, to know, to conduct wisdom enquiry
that is dedicated to enhancing peace with God (Allah), peace in the world
with others, with pace with oneself so that one learns to trust the
friendship of one's inner voice when it speaks, while remaining especially
willing to challenge the comfortable assurance of this voice, too. In this
dialectics lies 'al hikmah' (i.e., wisdom) it seems to me because the
dialectics of agreement/disagreement seems to be fundamental to all self
questioning, and human reflexivity. 8. Aayaat - signs, proofs, evidences, indications, verses, hadith i.e.,
stories of wisdom told about the life and views held by the Holy prophet,
Muhammad, some of which are dubious in provenance. Bismillah ur rahman ur rahim. -----Original Message-----
From: Jack Whitehead [mailto:A.J.Whitehead@bath.ac.uk]
Sent: 22 September 2006 09:04
To: Undisclosed recipients:
Subject: Wisdom Enquiry - addition for Monday evening's educational
conversation 5.15-7.00 in 1WN 3.8 on 25/09/06 Alan Rayner has sent in the following characteristics of 'wisdom enquiry'
and I'm looking forward to an exploration with Alan of their implications
for our conversation on researching our educational practices of
inclusionality. Love Jack. "I think wisdom enquiry has the following fundamental characteristics,
from which many others can be derived.
1. It seeks understanding of nature and human nature and does not attempt
to set these apart. 2. It is unprejudiced and hence in a sense un-objective, based on
considering all available evidence from all available perspectives. 3. It recognizes the restrictive nature of any fixed, uniquely situated
perspective in which an observer is distanced from the observed. 4. It does not isolate reason from emotion or give precedence to one over
the other. 5. It corresponds with and is therefore not set in opposition to natural
dynamic processes and geometry, thereby obviating conflict and paradox. 6. It does not, except as an analytical tool, impose an artificial
rectilinear frame upon nature or regard linearity as precursive to
non-linearity. 7. It does not, except as an analytical tool, deliberately exclude or
ignore some vital aspect of nature for the sake of convenience. 8. It recognises that all form is a dynamic inclusion of space - not an
occupier of space - and so is not definable in absolute terms. 9. It recognizes that all is included in and influenced by all - content
is inseparable from context at any scale. 10. It includes love."