2006 Thought for the Day Visual Navigation with Worlds, Cultures, Scales and Abstraction 24 09 2006

The question of visual navigation has been broached a number of times before. I shall try to give some concrete examples that we can implement immediately. We have been exploring 5 Worlds (Appendix 1). This is for Strategy 9. The entry level will need to be simpler (Appendix 2). What the user will see on entering the programme is the same as now with the picture of the world tree. There will be three main ways of proceeding:

1)Verbal: using the questions and meters as we have been doing

2)Topic Maps: on which Vasyay is working. If we press one of the Topic Map Words we move to the appropriate database and start topic mapping.

3)Visual: if we press on the opening picture of the world tree we enter into a world of pictures. Today’s thoughts are about this.

If we press the picture a new set of menus appears

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
1. Worlds and Planes
2. Cultures
3. Scales
4. Abstractions
5. Topics
6. Subjects
Choice / Level / Strategy / Goals
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

If we choose Worlds and Planes

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Worlds and Planes
1. 3 Worlds
2. 4 Worlds
3. 4 Planes
4. 5 Planes
5. 7 Planes
6. 8 Planes
7. 9 Planes
8. 9 Worlds
9 10 Planes
10. 22 Planes
11. 33 Planes
12. More
Choice / Level / Strategy / Goals
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

If we Choose Cultures a basic menu might be:

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Cultures
1. China
2. Celtic
3. Christian
4.Greece
5. Hebrew
6. India
7. Islam
8. Scandinavia
9.Russia
World / Culture / Scale / Abstraction
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

If we Choose Cultures an intermediate menu might be:

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Cultures
1. China
2. Celtic
3. Christian
4. Near East
5. Greece
6. Hebrew
7. India
8. Islam
9. Japan
10. Scandinavia
11. South America
12. Russia
World / Culture / Scale / Abstraction
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

An advanced menu might be:

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Cultures
1. Aboriginal
2. Africa
3. China
4. Celtic
5. Christian
6. Egypt
7. Greece
8. Hebrew
9. India
10. Islam
11. Japan
12. Scandinavian
13. South America
14. Russian
World / Culture / Scale / Abstraction
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

If we choose Scales

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Scales
1. Cosmos
2. Heaven
3. Intellect
4. Earth
5. Building
6. Tree
6. Person
7. Underworld
World / Culture / Scale / Abstraction
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

If we Choose Abstractions at the basic level:

ee Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Abstractions
1. Image
2. Matrix
3. Image with Term
4. Image 3 D
5. Photo
6. Model

If we choose abstractions at the intermediate level we are back to categories that I discussed on 23.09.2004

See Path / Up - Back
VISUAL NAVIGATION:
Abstractions
1. Number
2. Term
3. Image
4. Matrix
5. Image with Term
6. 2+D Image
7. 3 D Image
8. Photo
9. Model
10.
World / Culture / Scale / Abstraction
Basic / Intermediate / Advanced / Refresh

If we choose Topics in the original list we go to Topic Maps under the word we have chosen. Similarly if we choose Terms in the list we go to the familiar Terms or Subjects. In other words choices 5 and 6 in the original list take us back to the other two navigation methods.

So how would the navigation work? Well we start with the image that we now have on the opening page (Appendix 3). If we click on the diagram then the menus discussed above come up. If we choose cultures and click on the choices we get appropriate world trees. E.g. Russia takes me to the Siberian Ygddrasil. Near East takes me to the Sumerian example etc.

When Sashay has the omnilinks principle extended to pictures then when we press on a specific word in the Yyddrasil picture e.g .Asgard then the system will deal with it the way it does in omnilinks and provide a list of Terms, Titles etc which contain Asgard.

If we click on Worlds in the meters then we have a series of worlds and planes from which to choose. E.g. We choose 5Planes. When we have chosen the Cultures menu appears and we say: Russian. This takes us Ginnungapap (Appendix 4). I have added the Russian to make you feel at home. Say we choose 4 worlds and Hebrew then we go to the image in Appendix 4. It would be very useful if we used a subtle difference in background colour for the 3-4 basic worlds and when we are in a culture we mark the name of the world as they do.

Suppose we are with the Hebrew 4 Worlds and now change Culture: e.g. Christian then we get the image in Appendix 5. Again it will be the case that if we click on any of the terms such as Tree of Life then we get the information we have in the DB on Tree of Life.

Now although the topic is 4 worlds this is also a Hexagram – so an advanced mode would remind us of this and allow us to go navigating through hexagrams –as in the slide show we already have on this.

The same basic diagram also gets used to describe 4 (higher) Planes. So if we stay Christian and click on 4 Planes we get Appendix 6. Alternatively if we click on 8 Planes we get the two diagrams together in Appendix 7. This principle applies also in Hebrew. Hence Hebrew 10 planes takes the Sephiroth of Appendix 4 and treats each as a separate plane. Hebrew 22 planes uses the same Sephiroth and uses the links between the points to identify 22 planes. If one then joins the 10 and the 22 one stacks 2 Sephiroths on top of each other to have 32 planes. Some schools have a Sephiroth for each world etc.

If we now use the same image and change scales to the Human Scale this takes us to Appendix 7 and changing cultures we come to the 7 chakras etc. If we change scale to Temple then we get Appendix 8. If we change Scale to Tree we get Appendix 9. The pictures in Appendix 8 have a larger context as we see in Appendix 10….

When we realize that the same upward and downward triangle that make up the hexagram which is the key to the Da Vinci Code are linked with the Indian creation are the Seal of Vishnu, the Seal of Solomon and at another scale also define the tropics of Cancer, Equator and Capricorn then we realize how this tree approach really takes us back to the roots of culture. As my final example I show an upside down tree that looks normal until we realize that it has seven stars of Ursa Maior. This is Scale: Cosmos. When you realize that the seven stars of Ursa Maior are the Seven Wise Men (Sapta Rishi ) in India, then we can see how, when we get further with the Relations (Strategy 9), then we can go to far more subtle plays on this theme. So we can see how Buddha as a man, symbolically as a tree, symbolically as a star in astronomy are all connected and how his 7 steps on earth recapitulate the 7 everythings in the heavens. But that is longer term. For the moment I think that this visual entry into new models is very important because it reveals how the infrastructure (as the Americans would say) is the same in the great cultures. Each one has 7 days, 12 months etc. The challenge lies in showing how these shared deep structures are the bases for rich expressions of diversity.

1. Appendix The 30 implicit cubbyholes as a classification of traditional disciplines using 6 questions x 5 worlds.

Appendix 2: Three worlds as Implicit entry point

Appendix 3 The Three Worlds: Heavens

Earth

Underworld

Metaphysical

Mental

Natural/Physical

Appendix 4: 5 Levels : Ginnungapap

1— Мидгард, 2— Муспельхейм, 3— Нифльхейм, 4— Асгард, 5— Хель, 6— Ванахейм, 7— Ётунхейм, 8— Свартальвхейм, 9— Юсальфхейм.

Natural/Ph

Appendix 4 Worlds: Hebraic

Metaphysical

Will Atziluth

Creation Beriah

Formation Yetzirah

Natural Action Asiah

Metaphysical

Natural/Physical

Appendix 5: Four Worlds Christian: Lower Triangle

Appendix 6 Four (Higher) Planes Christian: Higher Triangle

Appendix 7 8 Planes Christian: Lower and Upper Triangle

Appendix 7 Scales

Appendix 8 ScaleTemple

Appendix 9 Scale: Tree

Appendix 10: Context of Appendix 8.

Appendix 11. Scale: Cosmos

1