Laws of the Universe #2: The Law of Infinite Supply

Today we discuss the second of the so-called 'Laws of the Universe,' the 'Law of Supply' or 'The Law of Infinite Supply'.

Please note I am not talking about the economic Law of Supply and Demand.

Just to recap, I  previously defined a 'law' as something that is held to be true by most people - 'conventional wisdom,' if you like.

The definition of the Law of Supply law states that 'Everything that exists, ever existed or will ever exist is 100% evenly present in all places at the same time.'

Now this is a very broad generalization that needs further elaboration.

On the face of the statement, most people would say this is not true - for instance, how indeed could something exist in the past, the present and the future at the same time?

Sure, in a crude sense an ancient temple can exist in multiple time periods, but it can also not exist in some time periods.

A galaxy can exist in one form and size in one period of time and not at all in another period (e.g. after it is destroyed or before it is created).

Thus the definition of this statement as a 'law' comes into question, and in order to explain further we need to examine 3 separate aspects of this statement.

1: 'Oneness' ('Everything')

When the law states 'Everything' it implies that it applies to every known (and unknown) thing in the universe - and by that we mean matter and energy in whatever form it takes.

Certainly the statement applies to energy - the First Law of Thermodynamics says it cannot be created or destroyed, but merely changes its form, such as in nuclear fusion.

Matter can be 'destroyed' but the only destruction is its transference back into energy, such as in nuclear fission, again only changing its form.

Thus, as Einstein's famous equation 'e=mc2' says, matter and energy are the same.

The phrase 'evenly present' also alludes to oneness as well, even though we see the universe in discrete forms such as objects.

If you look at the universe as a giant sheet of paper, on part of it there may be blobs and other shapes and in other places it may just be blank. But is still a sheet of paper.

2: Time

The law also implies that past, present and future are simply one and the same. This continues the idea (which originated in eastern philosophies) that 'everything is one' and 'one is everything.'

This may be hard for westerners to grasp because we see time as moving from the past through the present to the future, usually in a straight line.

How can something exist in the past, present and future all at the same time? Indeed, it is an oxymoron to say this, because the inherent meaning of the words 'past', 'present' and 'future' is that they all exist at 'different' times.

The only possible explanation is that there is no 'time' and that it is only a mental construct. In other words, the past only exists in our minds, as does the future, but the only real experience is 'now.'

3: Lack vs Abundance

The third aspect of this this law conveys the idea that there is no such thing as lack, and that there is an abundance of everything in the universe.

It could be hard to see this on the surface. For instance if you are out in the desert and are looking for water - there is definitely a 'lack' of water. Yes, water exists elsewhere on the planet and in the universe, but not immediately where you are. There is thus a spacial-temporal 'lack' but not a universal 'lack.'

It may well be more accurate to state that 'lack' is only a state of mind, and if you look for abundance you will surely find it.

Consider the example above of the universe as a piece of paper. In some parts of the paper there are blobs (abundance) and some are just blank (lack) - it's still a piece of paper.

Given that humanity is a creative species we can transform 'lack' into 'abundance.' We find ways to irrigate the desert and grow our crops. We can focus on the blobs of abundance not the vacant spaces of lack.

Conclusion

The three aspects above illustrate how complex the universe is when we try an pick it apart, but it need not be.

Perhaps a better way to approach life and the universe might be to accept things as they are at core, but to use our creativity to improve our own experience of it.