IT IS is an abstracted model of the entire universe at every scale from the Big Bang to the farthest reaches of the Universe.  That is, the IT IS model can be applied to any kind of object or concept in order to understand the nature of that thing.

And IT IS is not just abstracted, but it is abstracted to the highest possible level.

IT IS is a dualistic philosophy in that it recognizes two absolute aspects of the universe between which lies the totality of all reality.

Dualistic approaches to representing the most essential levels of existence are common.  The Judeo/Christian concept of Good/Evil, God/Devil, Heaven/Hell is one such dualistic belief system in which God is considered absolutely good and the devil absolutely evil, and the world in which we live is an ongoing battle between these opposing forces.

The iChing model associated with Taoism and Confusionism identifies Yin and Yang as the two essential aspects of all reality.   Yang represents hot, light, strong, etc. while Yin represents cool, dark, weak, etc.

The philosopher Rene Descartes was supporting his duality of body and mind when he said “I think, therefore, I am”.

Dualistic models for explaining the most fundamental questions about the existence of the universe have endured since cavemen first observed the rising and setting of the sun, and vast numbers of humans instinctively accept a dualistic nature of reality today.

But dualism has been relegated to the domain of religion and philosophy and generally disregarded in science as too simplistic to explain the infinitely complex interactions between all the elements in the universe.

That’s probably a good thing given how fanciful the details become when trying to apply the iChing or Christian theology to explain real events in our world, let alone the universe at large.

IT IS changes everything.

IT IS is a dualistic approach to defining realty that applies to the world of science as well as to philosophy and religion.  In fact, whether the topic is business, physics, biology, psychology, sociology, economics, ecology, law, art, politics, education, parenting, romance, or anything else in the Universe, the IT IS model can be applied to provide problem-solving context around any topic.

OK, having built up what “IT IS” can do, I’ll go into some deeper details to support these claims.

IT IS defines two fundamental, essential and absolute aspects of the Universe: IT and IS.  Despite the obvious challenge in trying to describe absolute concepts in terms of inherently limited words, I’ll state here that “IT” can be represented by the concept of “structure” and “IS” can be represented by the concept of ”energy”.   But in order to provide a fuller understanding of these concepts, the following chart breaks these two fundamental forces into a series of opposites.

At first glance you might look at those lists and think it’s just a rehash of the Yin Yang concepts.

But look closer.

In the iChing, Yin tends to be represented as basically the absence of Yang.

But not always.  the iChing resorts to various analogies like “north of a mountain” (yin) vs. “south of a river” (yang) or “the moon” (yin) vs. “the sun” (yang).  When you really think about it, the iChing is pretty fuzzy, which is maybe what suits it as a tool for “predicting” the future.

Judeo/Christian philosophy is just as dicey.  What is Good?   What is Evil?  What is considered “Good” in one time, culture or circumstance might very well be considered “Evil” in another.   Who can judge?  Ultimately, it has to come down to “what does God consider Good and Evil”.  The Bible provides us with limited information about the myriad situations we face today, and while you might claim that prayer is a means to understand the will of God, you can never really be sure whether your prayerful insights are truly the word of God or just psychological mind games.

But IT IS is different.  The differences between IT and IS are crystal clear, and with some thought can be identified in any given person, thing, concept, situation, or anything you can think of.

For Example:

This seems like a good place for an example. Somebody from the audience, give me a concept… Traffic? OK. Easy one for starters. Good.

In terms of traffic, IT plays a very important roll. Highly structured environment. Lanes. Signs and directions. Strict rules. Police.

Why? That’s what it takes to get all those people from here to there as fast as possible. That’s the IS. All those different things those myriad people are doing and on their ways to doing in a complex web of people, places and things. It’s the reason we are driving in the first place.

“Traffic” is a single concept that describes virtually infinite motivations and constantly changing activity within a very structured environment.

Can you think of any object, place, concept, or anything to which these two fundamental constructs can’t be applied? I would love to hear about it if you can.

Alternatively, can you think of any other aspect of reality that is just as fundamental as these two? I would love to hear your theories on that as well.

I am just getting started with articulating this philosophy that I’ve been pondering for the last 20 years. I would love to hear what you think.