MASTERY OF THE POINT DIMENSION
The evolutionary journey of Living Things begins with the Point Dimension where Life exists with no sense of what is beyond its boundary, and no sense of the passage of time. Almost all of the biomass on Earth gets by just fine operating solely in this fundamental dimension. The key attribute of the Point Dimension is that it does not utilize the spatial dimensions, solely persisting through time. Persisting through time is the profound accomplishment of Living Things – the miracle of Life. By examining this achievement one peers into the great mystery of the continuity of life. Further discussion of this core attribute of living things can be found here:
PERSISTENCE ARCHETYPE
The key discoveries that led to the emergence of life were those foundational biochemical processes that we call metabolism. These are cyclical processes that unfold through time and are not strongly influenced by the spatial dimensions. In our bodies, these processes are very tightly correlated with our gut function. From this perspective, everything between our guts and our skin is merely a tool for delivering nutrients and energy.
More discussion on the gut here:
METABOLIC CORE
Originally Living Things functioned in an open, receptive state where they established the cyclical processes upon which life depends. At some point, Life discovered utility in enabling a closed condition wherein their cyclical processes halted – a closed state. This closed state was the response to sensory inputs that are dominantly for photo-sensing, olfactory or vibrational stimuli. Common to all of these senses is that they monitor the boundary of the organism in the present moment – responding internally to external stimuli. This open/closed “duality” is the essential, root action of Living Things.
More discussion on Boundary Sensing can be found here:
BOUNDARY SENSING
The closed state is protective, facilitating persistence until a more favorable environment emerges. This is discussed in the section on protection:
PROTECTION
NEXT EVOLUTIONARY LEAP
THE SUBSET OF ANIMALS