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Ken suggests that it's not until the last twenty minutes of part 3, Revolutions, that the key to the trilogy is revealed: although—and perhaps because—Neo is physically blind, he sees the machines as luminous, golden light—not quite how the "bad guys" are seen in most movies. And yet Neo is unmistakable in what he says to Trinity: "If you could see them as I see them, they are all made of Light...." Indeed, the machines represent Spirit, but Spirit as alienated and therefore attacking....
Thus, as Ken summarizes a more integral interpretation (that takes into account what is revealed in all three films), Zion represents body (filmed in blue tint), the Matrix represents mind (green tint), and the machines—this is the kicker revealed in part 3—represent spirit (golden tint). For those of you keeping track, this is indeed quite similar to the Great Nest of Being as taught by the world's wisdom traditions, a spectrum of being and consciousness reaching from body to mind to spirit.
Borrowing from the wisdom of Christian mysticism, "The flames of Hell are but God's love denied," and so an alienated and dissociated spirit manifests as an army of machines bent on destroying humankind. It is only in the integration of body, mind, and spirit that all three are redeemed and peace returns.
I've been trying to understand what Ken Wilber means when he speaks about alienated spirit. I must admit, the only viewpoint I have comes from my Judeo-Christian background, which says that when Adam sinned in Eden, he became broken (for lack of a better description). Before the Fall he had an integrated mind, spirit and body and was a whole being. But after the Fall he became a slave to his flesh and its lusts and was therefore imbalanced. But something tells me this is not exactly the scenario to which Ken Wilber subscribes. I'm hoping somebody on this forum is more familiar with his writings to show his slant on things.
Also, I've been thinking about the nature of the Second Renaissance, its connection to alienated spirit and the whole reason for using the word "renaissance" to begin with. When I did some quick research on the original Renaissance, there are a couple different viewpoints. There is the older 19th century viewpoint that there was one Renaissance in history which was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. The more current view is that there have been several renaissances throughout history, each one with a specific name such as the Italian Renaissance. I'm assuming that the Wachowski Brothers are leaning more toward the traditional view since they precede it with "Second," indicating that there has only been one before it.
The word renaissance means a rebirth or revival, and hints not only at something new but perhaps a return of something old that has been forgotten. I'm a little fuzzy on how this pertains to the Matrix mythology. Originally I figured it was simply a reference to the new civilization, as described by Smith in M1 ("this is our time"), but upon closer inspection I noticed that the point in the Second Renaissance when the narrator speaks about the essence of the Second Renaissance is right after the new symbiotic relationship between man and machine is introduced. This is before the final meeting at the United Nations and before the Matrix, so I don't think it has anything to do with the Matrix itself. It seems to be more a reference to machines getting energy from humans. Right after this the narrator says, "Bless all forms of intelligence."
So in summary if anyone has opinions on Ken Wilber's opinion of alienated spirit (or in general the integral method approach to alienated spirit) and/or its connection to the Second Renaissance, I'd be very curious to hear it.
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