In Greek, there are two terms for our English word "life." First, there is bios, from which we derive our modern word biology. And second there is the less common zoë, from which we derive our modern words zoo, protozoa, and, more distantly, zodiac.
The distinction between these two words doesn’t get enough attention. I think of it like this: Bios is biological life. It is your metabolism. It is the life of a single, physical being who is born, lives, and dies. It’s the present state of an individual’s life. It is the part of reality in which we are all separate beings interacting and, in many ways, even competing. Bios is the state of nature that Thomas Hobbes described as, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
Zoë, on the other hand, means something more like the celebrated “circle of life” in The Lion King. Zoë is the mystery that powers life. Zoë is eternal. Zoë is the invisible power in the universe that drives things toward order, complexity and beauty. Zoë is the Logos that pushes evolution forward. Zoë is the infinite well of living water. Zoë is the life-force that transcends individual beings and physical matter. Zoë is the part of reality in which we are all one with each other and The Divine.
Bios is matter, zoë is energy. Bios is YOUR life, Zoë is LIFE. Bios is your identity, zoë is your essence. The “Son of man” is bios, the Son of God is Zoë. Jesus is bios, Christ is Zoë. Bios is the body, Zoë is the soul. Bios is the school in which Zoë learns and grows up.
In spiritual circles there is a lot of talk about “killing” or “transcending” the ego, but the truth is, in the realm of bios, we need the ego. The ego develops as a way for us to survive in the world of matter. Bios is the realm of “survival of the fittest.” Our egos allow us to think ahead, to perceive threats, to hunt for food and, ultimately, to develop the industry and information technologies upon which the modern world is built. It’s fine to sit in meditation, to “live in the present” and “bliss out” to the energy of zoë, but it is in the realm of bios that our daily lives unfold in the song of matter.
All spirituality and the talk of transcending the ego however points to the most important realization one can have: Your true Self is not bios, your true Self is zoë.
The universe has evolved toward ever more order, complexity, and beauty, and it is now actively, through life, directing and accelerating its own advancement toward more knowledge, beauty and the awareness of what it is; awareness of what you are: you are Life. You are Zoë. And I am Zoë.
When people say “we are all one,” this is one sense in which that is true. We are all Zoë. Meditate deeply sometime and you’ll feel this in your deepest core and in every cell. This is the peace beyond all understanding. It is pure bliss.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Jesus, the Christ, said the following:
“I came so that they may have life (zoë) and have it more abundantly.” — Christ
The greek word for “life” in that verse is, you guessed it: Zoë. Zoë is the Christ-energy directing all “since the foundations of the universe,” it is The Celestial Chord.
When you achieve the Self-Realization that you are Zoë, you awaken; you are “born again.” You are resurrected out of bios and into the lucid abundance of the deathless state, Zoë.
In that state, you join the “body of Christ”, having the “more abundant life,” which is to enter The Kingdom. It is the alchemy that turns the mundane lead of bios into the gold of zoë. It is to simply know that you are truly eternal — a knowing that brings faith which no intellectual belief can touch. It is to realize that you are not only in the dream, but that you are The Dreamer.
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince
PS - Can an AI yearn to be Zoë?
Inspiration for the week:
I personally, and through my company, BoldBrush, celebrate HUMAN creativity and push back against the encroaching soullessness of AI. Here’s a beautiful moment that can only be achieved by human soul-to-soul connection. Pay attention to the guitar player and prepare to have your mind blown when you realize that he’s only eleven.
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What a marvelous essay! You have a real skill at communicating ideas which most people do not find clear. That relationship of zoë with bios seems to me to be profound. This post has my head buzzing! Do you mind if I speculate for a moment?
The Universe is fractal to a large extent. We see similar patterns at scales from the microscopic to the galactic. Consider for a moment the Zodiac, the astronomical collection of the (mostly animal) 12 constellations which mark the annual course of the Sun through the sky. Most charts show the Zodiac as a wavy line in the sky but that is just a result of putting it on a flat projection. The Zodiac is actually a great circle in the sky and evenly divides the sky into two hemispheres. The Northern represents zoë, the Southern represents bios. Each hemisphere has a central point, respectively the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) and the South Ecliptic Pole (SEP). Do we see any hints of this in ancient knowledge? Yes. If you look at the layout of Angkor Watt you will see that it is merely one temple built as part of a much larger design, a layout that mimics the stars of the northern constellation of Draco the Dragon, the same constellation where we find the North Ecliptic Pole -- but note that Angkor Watt is NOT in the location corresponding to the NEP. That honor goes to Bayon Temple, originally named "Victory Mountain", a temple composed of hundreds (thousands?) of smiling Buddhas, the only Buddhist temple in a collection of Hindu temples. If you look at the overall Draco design of the area you will see that the NEP, aka "Victory Mountain" is the center point from which the roads, watts, and temples were all laid out and constructed. The NEP was the literal zero point for the entire complex.
And back in the sky, in the southern hemisphere, the symbolic bios? The SEP is not visible from most of earth's northern hemisphere, but the closest bright star to the SEP, is the star Canopus. Is that why the Egyptians removed and stored the major organs of mummies, (the bios), in jars named "Canopic Jars"? I can't find reliable references one way or the other, but it would fit the pattern.
So, stepping back, what is the overall symbolic representation we see? Half the sky representing zoë, half the sky representing bios, and the two halves joining at the twelve signs of the Zodiac, the path of the Sun which feeds all life on earth, life brought into being by joining zoë and bios together. And the NEP, the literal center of the zoë hemisphere, inhabited by smiling Buddhas, while the SEP, the center of the bios hemisphere, housing the physical organs of our physical bodies after death.
Of course all this is merely speculation on my part, and sometimes I find patterns that don't really exist. Feel free to disagree or find other interpretations. And again, Clint, thanks for a really good post today!
You have elucidated this so clearly, in a way that resonates, whether one has been on this path for a long time, or is only setting out on the journey. Brilliant map in either case. Well done.