Dimensions of Time
That time has many dimensions is a concept often advanced to account for prophecy. The gist of the idea is that time - which seems to unfold in a linear way, with the past comming before the present and the present before the future- might, in another dimension, not be experienced sequentially. The past, present, and future could exist simultaneously.
The concept that there are unfamiliar dimensions of time is most easily approached by way of those dimensions with which we are already familiar, those of length height , and breadth. These, in turn, are best approached,quite literally, from a strarting point, which, geometrically speaking, has a location but no dimensions. It does, however, realte to figures with dimensions in the following way:
If a point is moved through space, it marks a line, with the one dimension of length. If a line is moved through space, it traces the figure of a plane, with the two dimensions
of length and breadth. And if a plane is moved through space, it traces a figure with the three dimensions of lenght, breadth, and height. We can also work backword from a three-
dimensional body and find that the cross section of the the three dimensional cube is a two-dimensional plane, that the cross section of the plane is a one dimesional line, and that the
cross section of the line is a dimesionless point.
From this we can infer that a body of three dimensions is the cross section of a body of four dimensions and that a three dimensional body, when moved in a certain way, will produce a
body of four dimensions. Then comes the question, of what sort of body could a three dimensional shape be the cross section? And in what sort of new direction could a three dimensional shape
be moved to produce one of four dimensions, since a movement other then up or down, backword and forword, or side to side would simply produce a larger figure, not one of a different
dimension.
The answer of course is the feature duration. For as soon as something ceases to endure, it ceases to exist. To the three familiar dimensions, then, we should add the duration in time as a fourth
dimension. Ordinary three dimensional bodies should therefore be properly descibed as four dimensional, and a body of three dimensions must be defined as having only lenght, breadth, and
height but no duration. Is such a thing possible? It is, but only hypothetically. For, in fact, the point, line, and plane, do not truely exist as such. Any line that can be seen as breadth as well as
length (and duration) , just as any physical plane has a certain thickness as well as lenght and breadth.
What movement then, must a figure of three dimensions, undergo to produce a body of four dimensions?
We moved a plane in the dimension of height to produce a cube;so the movement of a (hypothetical) cube in the dimension of time should produce a (real) figure of four dimensions. What does movement in the dimension of time mean?
As we said, it must mean movement in a new direction, not up, down, or sideways. Are there any other kinds of movement?
For a start, there is the movement that the Earth's rotation imparts to everything upon it and that puts even apparantly motionless objects in motion. We can thus say that a three dimensional
body is the hypotheticaly motionless cross section of a real body who's fourth dimension,duration, is inseperable from the motion that the turning world inevitably imparts to everything. Further
inevitable motions are that of the Earth around the sun, of the sun around the center of the galaxy, and perhaps, of the galaxy itself around some unknown point. Since any perceptible body is,
in fact, undergoing all these motions simultaneosly, we can say that everything has these dimensions, though in a way that is ordinarily imperceptable. Because motions and the dimensions they
imply are only perceptable in a framework of time, they can be reffered to as dimensions of time.
If duration is one aspect of time, what might the others be? Among severl possibilities, we can suggest appearance and disapearance, change and recurrence. Of all possibilities only
duration is perceptable. When we say that something appears, we m,ean that we suddenly note it's existence; when something disapears, we note it's lack of existence. We percieve no
intermediate condition of "appearing" or "disapearing". In the same way we talk of change but actually only develop the concept as we percieve aggregates of characteristics that exist- or cease
to exist. And so we infer, but do not observe, the reccurance of sunset and sunrise, the passage of seasons, the growth of a child.
And yet, things really do appear and disapear, change and recur, although not actualy percieved to do so. They are, so to speak, hypothetical to us and must have their reality in other
dimensions of time, just as the hypothetical three dimensional body becomes real, that is, perceptable, in the dimension of time we call duration.
If access to hight dimensions of time belongs to one body, it is at least theoretically possible that it belongs, though invisible, to all bodies. We can further assume that such access is by way of
unfamiliar modes or levels of consciousness- and that the name we give to one of these is prophecy.
That time has many dimensions is a concept often advanced to account for prophecy. The gist of the idea is that time - which seems to unfold in a linear way, with the past comming before the present and the present before the future- might, in another dimension, not be experienced sequentially. The past, present, and future could exist simultaneously.
The concept that there are unfamiliar dimensions of time is most easily approached by way of those dimensions with which we are already familiar, those of length height , and breadth. These, in turn, are best approached,quite literally, from a strarting point, which, geometrically speaking, has a location but no dimensions. It does, however, realte to figures with dimensions in the following way:
If a point is moved through space, it marks a line, with the one dimension of length. If a line is moved through space, it traces the figure of a plane, with the two dimensions
of length and breadth. And if a plane is moved through space, it traces a figure with the three dimensions of lenght, breadth, and height. We can also work backword from a three-
dimensional body and find that the cross section of the the three dimensional cube is a two-dimensional plane, that the cross section of the plane is a one dimesional line, and that the
cross section of the line is a dimesionless point.
From this we can infer that a body of three dimensions is the cross section of a body of four dimensions and that a three dimensional body, when moved in a certain way, will produce a
body of four dimensions. Then comes the question, of what sort of body could a three dimensional shape be the cross section? And in what sort of new direction could a three dimensional shape
be moved to produce one of four dimensions, since a movement other then up or down, backword and forword, or side to side would simply produce a larger figure, not one of a different
dimension.
The answer of course is the feature duration. For as soon as something ceases to endure, it ceases to exist. To the three familiar dimensions, then, we should add the duration in time as a fourth
dimension. Ordinary three dimensional bodies should therefore be properly descibed as four dimensional, and a body of three dimensions must be defined as having only lenght, breadth, and
height but no duration. Is such a thing possible? It is, but only hypothetically. For, in fact, the point, line, and plane, do not truely exist as such. Any line that can be seen as breadth as well as
length (and duration) , just as any physical plane has a certain thickness as well as lenght and breadth.
What movement then, must a figure of three dimensions, undergo to produce a body of four dimensions?
We moved a plane in the dimension of height to produce a cube;so the movement of a (hypothetical) cube in the dimension of time should produce a (real) figure of four dimensions. What does movement in the dimension of time mean?
As we said, it must mean movement in a new direction, not up, down, or sideways. Are there any other kinds of movement?
For a start, there is the movement that the Earth's rotation imparts to everything upon it and that puts even apparantly motionless objects in motion. We can thus say that a three dimensional
body is the hypotheticaly motionless cross section of a real body who's fourth dimension,duration, is inseperable from the motion that the turning world inevitably imparts to everything. Further
inevitable motions are that of the Earth around the sun, of the sun around the center of the galaxy, and perhaps, of the galaxy itself around some unknown point. Since any perceptible body is,
in fact, undergoing all these motions simultaneosly, we can say that everything has these dimensions, though in a way that is ordinarily imperceptable. Because motions and the dimensions they
imply are only perceptable in a framework of time, they can be reffered to as dimensions of time.
If duration is one aspect of time, what might the others be? Among severl possibilities, we can suggest appearance and disapearance, change and recurrence. Of all possibilities only
duration is perceptable. When we say that something appears, we m,ean that we suddenly note it's existence; when something disapears, we note it's lack of existence. We percieve no
intermediate condition of "appearing" or "disapearing". In the same way we talk of change but actually only develop the concept as we percieve aggregates of characteristics that exist- or cease
to exist. And so we infer, but do not observe, the reccurance of sunset and sunrise, the passage of seasons, the growth of a child.
And yet, things really do appear and disapear, change and recur, although not actualy percieved to do so. They are, so to speak, hypothetical to us and must have their reality in other
dimensions of time, just as the hypothetical three dimensional body becomes real, that is, perceptable, in the dimension of time we call duration.
If access to hight dimensions of time belongs to one body, it is at least theoretically possible that it belongs, though invisible, to all bodies. We can further assume that such access is by way of
unfamiliar modes or levels of consciousness- and that the name we give to one of these is prophecy.
