Aleph: the Silent Beginning
Aleph, (א) the first verb of the Hebrew alphabet has no sound on its own, yet acts as a womb for all other letters. It resembles the breath before the creation of the universe, silent yet pregnant with infinite potential. It is made up of two Yods (י , the 10th letterof the Hebrew alphabet expressing duality which is one the building block principles of nature. One Yod could refer to the implicate order.being a finer and shorter line, while the lower Yod to the explicate one being longer and denser. They are connected with a diagonal Vav. (ו) the 6th letter of the Hebrew Alphabet.
Minimalism as Metaphor:
If we were to associate Aleph with minimalism, in the design of the leading hotels of the world it manifests itself clearly in various ways. In a few words it is associated with understated elegance, To provide some examples it offers:
• Spatial clarity, open rooms, uncluttered, geometrically balanced;
• Natural materials such as stone wood and linen , raw or in subtly refined state;
• Muted colour palettes, shades of cream, sand, charcoals creating a visual quietude. Occasionally you could find a single bold hue , or one sculptural object serving as a focal point of the whole design;
• Natural light, emphasized through large windows and artificial light set indirectly;
• Cultural echoes such as volcanic stone from Santorini Greece.
Cultural Subtlety
One such minimalism manifestation is the latter – i.e cultural subtlety. To understand the true essence of Aleph in this context, we can use cultural echo as a metaphor for it.
To begin, with let me remind you what ia metaphor truly is. A metaphor is a figure of speech when one things is described as being something else in order to illuminate meaning though association. It is not plain comparison; it is transference of the essence from one entity to another. To explain via an example, when we say time is a river, we don’t mean it is literally a river. Rather the metaphor suggests flow, irreversibility, movement which are literal characteristics of a river, are transferred indirectly to describe the essence of time.
Aman Tokyo hotel cultural echo
Let’s now take a specific hotel the Aman Tokyo hotel one of the leading hotels of the world.
The hotel echoes Zen design. You only see one ikebana arrangement , tatami textures, a tea ceremony tray perfectly placed . These are cultural Japanese codes but they are never explained. You walk into a lobby and you can find a tokonoma holding a seasonal flower. The silence pondering in the air is not absence it is Japanese concept of ma – the space between things. To move seamlessly through the decor the cedar panelling walls recall mountain temples, the wash paper glows like cloud filtered light, the bath stone is the same used in Ancient Japan. A staff member walks silently, offers you a tea cup and bows wordlessly. This is not performance. It is cultural fluency, it reflects Japanese.
–
行動ではなく精神で – not in action but in spirit. …
.
Which give rise to the following statement – questions:
Levels of awareness
Deliberate restrain in cultural reference could be associated with explicate order, the tangible form, the particle, while the deeper layers of meaning underneath the minimalist surface could perhaps be linked to the implicate order, the essence , the reason behind the restraint, the wave within the fframework of the wave/particle reality. The essence is silent but it is filled with infinite potential.
Integrity
The essence of culture is associated with its integrity. Avoiding stereotypes conveys depth without reducing culture to a cliché, caricature, commodity for consumption. From another stand point it invites deeper guest and designer engagement. Avoiding surface level projections fosters genuine appreciation over exoticism.
Crescendo
To access the explicate order you rely on logic. This is linked with classical physics, which is associate with certainty and predictability. To access the implicate order you rely on intuition. This is the world of the quantum physics. The more you try to grasp and control quantum phenomena the more they elude you, the same way that a poet’s Muse is free and resists being tied one to a single definition. One is not hierarchically superior to another. Logic is more linked to ego and structure, while intuition to inner awareness. Both are necessary to reach a state of flow~~~
To understand what is needed to access the implicate order we can use Archimedes saying that ‘Mathematics reveals its secrets to those who approach it with pure love’ Mathematics isn’t just a set of formulas, it is a language of unseen harmony and cosmic order. To access this level we must drop ego and give rise to purity and deep love.
It is at this level that great mathematicians ‘listen’ to equations, ‘feel’ when a proof is elegant, ‘see’ the beauty in a solution. Even at the explicate level of reality is shows everything at once with no sequence…..
It is the same things as the one that Nikola Tesla said that ‘My brain is only a receiver, in the Universe there is a core from which we obtain knowledge, strength and inspiration. I have not penetrated into the secrets of this core, but I know that it exists.”…
It is at this level that Art, Poetry, Literature, Music Masterpieces have been created, Nobel prize winners and laureates shine. ….
(breathe)
It is at this level that parents feel humbleness in the presence of their new born baby
(pause…)
It is purity, reverence towards the veiled mystery……..
Because the cultural essence is rooted in the implicate state, it carries the resonance state. The particle after all carries the echo of the respective wave. When somebody encounters it even though it is an explicate structure it can awaken the implicate layer on them..-A guest ceases to be a passive recipient, his or her soul becomes the co- creator of meaning.
Practical awareness
The most important thing is that if you take cultural subtlety whether you are the designer of it or a guest enjoying this experience it shifts your perception . Seeing the wave behind the participle in your life :
• You stop reacting to appearances, you see moments as part of a pattern;
• You provide meaning to the seemingly small detail a sunris , a coffee in the morning, the sea breeze, a baby kiss, your first kiss;
• You build deeper relationships;
• You feel more deeply;
• You are more creative rather than mechanical;
• You recognize possibility hidden its structure;
And this becomes paradoxically the most practical awareness there is……
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World Hidden, unseen framework in culture and design
Note: Greek clarity – form proportion, logos- archetypal brilliance
Echoes: Hebrew depth, French refinement
Mathematics, the hidden formula : Behind every beautiful fragnance there are ratios balances accords
Mood/ sillage: Cultural echoes whispering
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~