An Ontology of Hell: The Abyss, the Maw and the Void

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Duality in Mythology

The struggle between unity and duality is the original sin. Duality is the fragmentation imposed by Yaweh in the myth of the tower of babel. It is the space that Cronos created to end suffocation and allow for life.

The law of duality is the force that permanently impedes the human from ever becoming fully one with the divine. It is the fundamental struggle and the driving force of life.

Unity and Duality in somatic Experience

Unity and duality are encoded in human somatic experience through the hug and the handshake.

While the hug maximizes connection and therefore unity, it does not allow for space. At the other hand, the handshake, which is the symbol for partnership and duality, maximizes space with minimum connection through the palms.

The Dance

The solution of the struggle is the the compromise between unity and duality. This state is represented in the couple dance. The couple dance simultaneously creates flow, movement, variation and oscillation. 

It allows for unity through contact and duality through the centrifugal force created from the rotation. The couple dance is a stable, yet deeply personal space. In that way, it allows for flourishing. 

The stable, personal space that is created by the dance between the true-self that is nurtured in meditation and the self-image that is nurtured during mind wandering is the necessary condition for sanity and mental health. 

That is the ultimate explaination of why "sitting" (zazen) is so healing. It allows for the balance through the oscillation between one-pointed meditative states and mind wandering.

The three Realms of Hell

Self-alienation arises when this equilibrium collapses.

A space that looses unity disintegrates and becomes the abyss. 

This is the ultimate risk of self-differentiation and the struggle for power. The abyss is a state of complete separation with no orientation and no support. In the abyss there is only lonliness and total isolation.

A space that looses duality collapses and becomes the maw. 

This is the ultimate risk of complete unity, which is the infinite. The maw is the state of the devoured. It results from obsession. In the maw, there is absolute constriction and the complete absence of autonomy. 

A space that looses both unity and duality dissolves and becomes the void. 

This is the ultimate risk of neither unity nor duality, neither infinite being nor finite being which is nirvana. The void is a state of apathy, depression, and nihilism. It is devoid of both life and love. It is a loss of will and the ambivalence of death. The void is the dark night of the soul.

POWER

Since life is a delicate balance, it is impossible to avoid these three realms. Acceptance of those will lead to immense power. It is the deal with the devil and the purpose of black magic.

The acceptance of the abyss will grant radical independence.

The acceptance of the maw will enable one to give and receive unconditional love without fear.

The acceptance of the void will enable one to engage in non-action and therefore reach emptiness and end suffering.

The Ontology of existential Horror

The power that arises from the acceptence of the three realms of hell is why people feel drawn to the art of horror. 

In horror:

• The abyss manifest as the alien and the ungraspable. 
• The maw manifests as the amalgamation, the deformation and the suffocation. 
• The void manifests as the loss of will, apathy and nihilism.

Depictions of the Realms of Hell

The Maw

• Cells—Louise Bourgeois
• Anything from Junji Ito
• I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream—Harlan Ellison
• The Trial—Franz Kafka

The Abyss

• Anything from H.P. Lovecraft
• Notes from the Underground—Fyodor Dostoevsky

The Void

• No longer Human—Osamu Dazai
• The Stranger—Albert Camus
• Crime and Punishment—Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Anything from the band Nirvana