LOST contained many rites and passage of death themes.
In Japanese religion and culture, Shinigami ("death god" or "death spirit") are gods or supernatural spirits that invite humans toward death, and can be seen to be present in certain aspects of Japanese religion and culture. In popular culture, Shinigami have been focal points in shows like Death Note or Bleach.
But a case could be made that LOST was a show about Shinigami or gods of death.
If you agree with the premise that there is a supernatural barrier between life and death, earth and heaven, mortality and immortality, then there would probably be gatekeepers who would be present to either a) effectuate death ("the grim reaper"), b) help souls make the crossing ("the ferrymen across the River Styx") or c) mess with human beings (like the Greeks gods did in their mythology).
The island was an unusual place. It contained an immortal guardian, Jacob, and a smoke monster, his dead brother's apparent spirit. Everyone is "brought" to the island by its guardian. Humans notice that the island is unearthly - - - you cannot escape it, and time is different. Hence, the island is in the realm of the supernatural.
The inhabitants of a supernatural place would include gods of death. And the situation that called them into action would have been the Flight 815 plane crash. Hundreds of humans would lose their lives when the plane broke up at altitude. But what if a Shinigami, bored with his existence, decided to have fun playing with human lives. He would call these people "candidates" and put them through a series of games and challenges with his spiritual rival, MIB.
If you can imagine that Jacob "spared" the survivors of the plane crash to be his pawns, then the main characters were in a state of limbo: they were technically still "alive," but caught in a supernatural world of illusion, misdirection and danger.
Jacob played with his candidates much like Daniel did with his lab rat, Eloise. The island was a maze of psychological tests and video game style quests that would probably amuse a superior being like Jacob or MIB. The game could be as simple as whether any of the humans were intelligent enough to know where they were or what happened to them. When sideways church Christian told dead Jack that everything was real but there was no past or future but just now, this would confirm the state of death-limbo that Jacob snatched from each of them when the plane crashed.
It is a cruel premise that a death god would play with human souls like they were robotic toys. But in a hierarchy of power, a supernatural being would view humans as humans would view wild animals.
The island gave the survivors "suspended animation" from their deaths so that Jacob and MIB could experiment and play with them - - - to feed off their fears, emotions, laughter and tears.
It would help explain the ending where the immortal Jacob just "gives up." It is like a little child who outgrown his infant toys. He just walks away from them; they are put in the box in attic to be lost from memory. He releases the final governors of life to allow the main characters the false chance to save themselves from the inevitable: death. But even that was a cruel hoax.
Yes, gods of death do not portray themselves as nice guys. The culture puts the stamp of evil on them because death is something no one wants because it is the possible premature end of the line.
LOST as the playground of gods of death is a plausible premise for the series.
Showing posts with label themes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label themes. Show all posts
Monday, March 28, 2016
Monday, February 29, 2016
HEAVEN AND HELL
One of the interpretive themes of LOST was heaven and hell. Some fans felt that the main characters were in hell, symbolized the by the island and its various monsters, sinners and punishments. Others thought that the characters found their heaven in the sideways world, which ran concurrently in the Season 6 series - - - but if you look at Alpert's back story, it had been running for eternity.
The concept of duality - - - two different planes of existence - - - is also a reoccurring theme. Many scientists believe in the time-space continuum contains multiverses, where each action creates a new and slightly different universe based upon those probable effects of an action.
But there is a simple way of looking at the LOST's split story personality.
From a spiritual perspective, each living person has two states: an awaken state and a sleeping state. When you are awake, you are living and experiencing the good and bad of real life. Over time, daily routines like work and family become grinds. The repetitive nature of living is a drain upon one's creative, adventurous curiosities. In order to fulfill that need, people tend to have deeper, more complex dreams when they sleep. Sleep is a person's way of repairing and re-energizing their body. But it can also be a needed fantasy diversion to a person's "perfect world."
In fact, people sometimes can get "lost" in their dreams. They may not be able to tell what is real and what is fantasy. The illusions in dreams become delusions in real life. And this creates personality disorders and mental mistakes, deep problems at work or with family. A prime example could be Locke, who drifted fantasy games into his real life to the point where he gave up his normal existence to join a commune in the hope of finding a "family"
It can be said that when people are awake in their boring, rotten, habitual work world, they are living in hell. For most of us, we cannot change the relentlessness of this existence. We are trapped by circumstance and obligation.
But when we totally get away from the daily routine, our dreams can appear to be heavenly. Our fantasies make us the star of our own movie. We can be the hero, the lover, the protector, the superhero, the leader, the greatest person in the world.
LOST's island world could be considered the collision of both the heaven and hell aspects of a person's existence. It contains fragmented bits of both worlds which cannot exist together. The show rarely showed anyone sleeping - - - insomnia was rampant. It could be a clue that the characters were trapped in a limbo between being awake and being asleep - - - a place ruled by their nightmares.
The concept of duality - - - two different planes of existence - - - is also a reoccurring theme. Many scientists believe in the time-space continuum contains multiverses, where each action creates a new and slightly different universe based upon those probable effects of an action.
But there is a simple way of looking at the LOST's split story personality.
From a spiritual perspective, each living person has two states: an awaken state and a sleeping state. When you are awake, you are living and experiencing the good and bad of real life. Over time, daily routines like work and family become grinds. The repetitive nature of living is a drain upon one's creative, adventurous curiosities. In order to fulfill that need, people tend to have deeper, more complex dreams when they sleep. Sleep is a person's way of repairing and re-energizing their body. But it can also be a needed fantasy diversion to a person's "perfect world."
In fact, people sometimes can get "lost" in their dreams. They may not be able to tell what is real and what is fantasy. The illusions in dreams become delusions in real life. And this creates personality disorders and mental mistakes, deep problems at work or with family. A prime example could be Locke, who drifted fantasy games into his real life to the point where he gave up his normal existence to join a commune in the hope of finding a "family"
It can be said that when people are awake in their boring, rotten, habitual work world, they are living in hell. For most of us, we cannot change the relentlessness of this existence. We are trapped by circumstance and obligation.
But when we totally get away from the daily routine, our dreams can appear to be heavenly. Our fantasies make us the star of our own movie. We can be the hero, the lover, the protector, the superhero, the leader, the greatest person in the world.
LOST's island world could be considered the collision of both the heaven and hell aspects of a person's existence. It contains fragmented bits of both worlds which cannot exist together. The show rarely showed anyone sleeping - - - insomnia was rampant. It could be a clue that the characters were trapped in a limbo between being awake and being asleep - - - a place ruled by their nightmares.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
SHIP SHAPE
John A Shedd said:
"A ship in the Harbor is Safe, but that is not what Ships are built for."
If LOST had a ship theme, it would have been more character driven: friendships, relationships and hardships.
Most of the main characters had few, if any friends. They were loners. They were depressed by their lot in life. Some may have been successful in their careers, but total losers in their social lives. The balance point was boredom.
As loners, most of the main characters had associates and acquaintances or co-workers, but no deep relationships. Romance was barely touched upon in the series. Hook ups were more carnal in nature than romantic relations.
Without friendships and relationships, the main characters were left with personal hardships. When a person does not have close friends or a spouse, they tend to focus upon themselves. They ask themselves "why" they don't have what they see around them in their own family, on television or in the culture: a happy family life. They tend to blame themselves so it turns into a descending spiral of guilt, shame, shyness, and withdrawal from society. In order to avoid rejection or being hurt by others, they find a safe harbor within their own four walls; they become deep introverts. Some then rely more upon their fantasies to cope than the reality of human companionship.
It took a plane crash to get some of the main characters out of their shells, to interact with strangers in a strange place. And in the process, they left some of their fears behind to grow into better human beings.
"A ship in the Harbor is Safe, but that is not what Ships are built for."
If LOST had a ship theme, it would have been more character driven: friendships, relationships and hardships.
Most of the main characters had few, if any friends. They were loners. They were depressed by their lot in life. Some may have been successful in their careers, but total losers in their social lives. The balance point was boredom.
As loners, most of the main characters had associates and acquaintances or co-workers, but no deep relationships. Romance was barely touched upon in the series. Hook ups were more carnal in nature than romantic relations.
Without friendships and relationships, the main characters were left with personal hardships. When a person does not have close friends or a spouse, they tend to focus upon themselves. They ask themselves "why" they don't have what they see around them in their own family, on television or in the culture: a happy family life. They tend to blame themselves so it turns into a descending spiral of guilt, shame, shyness, and withdrawal from society. In order to avoid rejection or being hurt by others, they find a safe harbor within their own four walls; they become deep introverts. Some then rely more upon their fantasies to cope than the reality of human companionship.
It took a plane crash to get some of the main characters out of their shells, to interact with strangers in a strange place. And in the process, they left some of their fears behind to grow into better human beings.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
HAPPINESS TRADE-OFFS
One of the main themes of life is finding and securing happiness.
But in the quest for happiness, something usually has to give.
In LOST, various main characters were searching for happiness, but most never found it.
For example, Rose and Bernard met late in life. It was a godsend for Bernard. Rose was his world. Until she got cancer. He panicked and tried to find any cure. That led to a strain in their relationship. Rose was a realist. Bernard was an optimistic dreamer. But for Bernard to secure his happiness with Rose, they both had to "die" in a plane crash. That was the only "cure" for Rose's cancer was that she became a spiritual being on the island.
For example, Jack's sole mission in his life was to get the acknowledgement of his skills from his father. As a result, Jack was never happy. He had no friends. He was obsessed with pleasing his father, and getting out of his father's shadow, that it caused him to be paranoid and obsessive in his relationships. His first marriage failed because of an alleged jealousy between his wife and his father. And his relationship in O6 arc with Kate fell a part as well. In order for Jack to be happy, he had to do the opposite. He had to control things. He had to have the final say. He had to be right.
And then there were characters like Locke who spent their entire lives trying to find happiness, but stumbled through it as a fool. His bitterness of being abandoned as a child clouded all of his life choices. It ruined his relationship with the one woman who cared about him and his disabilities. The only way Locke found any sliver of contentment was when he "died" and was reunited with his island friends.
Sociologists have studied this apparent personal paradox. Happiness is something we assume we want, but in reality, we sometimes give it up in exchange for comfort. Unfortunately, we’re often comfortable with not getting what we want, so resign ourselves to that fate. As researchers stated:
The concept of self-sabotage fits Locke to a tee. It also fits in Jack's grinding personality flaws of being an unloved, control freak. It also connects Kate's selfishness with her self-destructive behavior when she constantly tries to escape responsibility for her life's decisions.
Was Jack really happy in the end? I don't think so. Being a martyr and dying in the bamboo field was unnecessary. And when he went to the sideways church reunion, he was more in his own catatonic state than being in a state of happiness.
But in the quest for happiness, something usually has to give.
In LOST, various main characters were searching for happiness, but most never found it.
For example, Rose and Bernard met late in life. It was a godsend for Bernard. Rose was his world. Until she got cancer. He panicked and tried to find any cure. That led to a strain in their relationship. Rose was a realist. Bernard was an optimistic dreamer. But for Bernard to secure his happiness with Rose, they both had to "die" in a plane crash. That was the only "cure" for Rose's cancer was that she became a spiritual being on the island.
For example, Jack's sole mission in his life was to get the acknowledgement of his skills from his father. As a result, Jack was never happy. He had no friends. He was obsessed with pleasing his father, and getting out of his father's shadow, that it caused him to be paranoid and obsessive in his relationships. His first marriage failed because of an alleged jealousy between his wife and his father. And his relationship in O6 arc with Kate fell a part as well. In order for Jack to be happy, he had to do the opposite. He had to control things. He had to have the final say. He had to be right.
And then there were characters like Locke who spent their entire lives trying to find happiness, but stumbled through it as a fool. His bitterness of being abandoned as a child clouded all of his life choices. It ruined his relationship with the one woman who cared about him and his disabilities. The only way Locke found any sliver of contentment was when he "died" and was reunited with his island friends.
Sociologists have studied this apparent personal paradox. Happiness is something we assume we want, but in reality, we sometimes give it up in exchange for comfort. Unfortunately, we’re often comfortable with not getting what we want, so resign ourselves to that fate. As researchers stated:
Though happiness is of course what we all fundamentally want, for many of us, it isn’t really what we know...it isn’t what we’ve come to expect. It doesn’t feel like home...Getting what we want can make us feel unbearably risky...Self sabotage may leave us sad, but at least safely, blessedly, in control. It can be useful to keep the concept of self sabotage in mind when interpreting our and others’ odder behavior.Beyond that, next time you’re weighing a decision and thinking about the risk involved, it might help to consider the role of comfort and control.
The concept of self-sabotage fits Locke to a tee. It also fits in Jack's grinding personality flaws of being an unloved, control freak. It also connects Kate's selfishness with her self-destructive behavior when she constantly tries to escape responsibility for her life's decisions.
Was Jack really happy in the end? I don't think so. Being a martyr and dying in the bamboo field was unnecessary. And when he went to the sideways church reunion, he was more in his own catatonic state than being in a state of happiness.
Friday, July 17, 2015
SPIRIT ANIMALS
Otherkin are people who identify as partially or entirely non-human. Some say that they are, in spirit if not in body, not human.
This is explained by some members of the otherkin community as possible through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul, ancestry, or symbolic metaphor. Some scholars categorize this identity claim as "religious" because it is largely based on supernatural beliefs.
Otherkin largely identify as mythical creatures, with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: angels, demons, dragons, elves, fairies, sprites, aliens and cartoon characters. Many otherkin believe in the existence of a multitude of parallel/alternative universes, which would explain the existence and the possibility to relate to fantastical beings and fictional characters.
Many of these themes like life, death, demons, monsters, souls, reincarnation, heaven and hell, are embodied in the LOST mythology. Why were the Others called "the Others." Was this a clue to their origin, as otherkin (not human but spirits)? That would put a different spin on the island and the show's premise, being more underworld than real world.
Another realm of otherkin is the bonding of humans with spirits. Self-identification with another person, community or lifestyle helps mold a person's character and personality. Otherkin is essentially another manifestation of this phenomenon, which has its roots deep in human psychology; in other human tribes, it's perfectly acceptable to identify with a spirit animal and to take on traits and fetishes relating to that creature.
What would be the spirit animals for each main character "Candidates?"
Hurley: Turtle. Slow, steady, nonthreatening, loner.
Kate: Rabbit. Fast, on the run, avoids people and danger, cute, adorable.
Sawyer: Snake. Lies low, stalks prey, strikes when least expected, deadly.
Sayid: Scorpion. Shifts with the sand, dangerous quick strike ability, deadly.
Jack: Horse. Strong, steady, a hard worker.
Locke: Lone Wolf. Seeker, follower, trying to find own path.
Jin: Shark. Always on the move, looking for opportunity, advantage, willing to hunt in pack.
This is explained by some members of the otherkin community as possible through reincarnation, having a nonhuman soul, ancestry, or symbolic metaphor. Some scholars categorize this identity claim as "religious" because it is largely based on supernatural beliefs.
Otherkin largely identify as mythical creatures, with others identifying as creatures from fantasy or popular culture. Examples include: angels, demons, dragons, elves, fairies, sprites, aliens and cartoon characters. Many otherkin believe in the existence of a multitude of parallel/alternative universes, which would explain the existence and the possibility to relate to fantastical beings and fictional characters.
Many of these themes like life, death, demons, monsters, souls, reincarnation, heaven and hell, are embodied in the LOST mythology. Why were the Others called "the Others." Was this a clue to their origin, as otherkin (not human but spirits)? That would put a different spin on the island and the show's premise, being more underworld than real world.
Another realm of otherkin is the bonding of humans with spirits. Self-identification with another person, community or lifestyle helps mold a person's character and personality. Otherkin is essentially another manifestation of this phenomenon, which has its roots deep in human psychology; in other human tribes, it's perfectly acceptable to identify with a spirit animal and to take on traits and fetishes relating to that creature.
What would be the spirit animals for each main character "Candidates?"
Hurley: Turtle. Slow, steady, nonthreatening, loner.
Kate: Rabbit. Fast, on the run, avoids people and danger, cute, adorable.
Sawyer: Snake. Lies low, stalks prey, strikes when least expected, deadly.
Sayid: Scorpion. Shifts with the sand, dangerous quick strike ability, deadly.
Jack: Horse. Strong, steady, a hard worker.
Locke: Lone Wolf. Seeker, follower, trying to find own path.
Jin: Shark. Always on the move, looking for opportunity, advantage, willing to hunt in pack.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
LIFE OR DEATH
What would you choose: life or death?
Probably 99.9 percent of us would choose life.
But what if you were so troubled that you felt that in death you would receive new life?
This is the contradiction that is the daily headlines. Suicide bombers attack innocent people under the belief that they will have a better life in afterlife. Some teens under horrible torment of bullies, self-esteem issues, too high expectations and peer pressure weigh that option.
There is also the question of faith. Individuals believe in either an afterlife or not. People hope that there time on earth has a more infinite meaning.
LOST attempted to explore those themes.
It is hard to tell whether Locke convinced himself that he was better off killing himself than trying to help the island or his friends. Recall, he basically mucked up everything in his life, including his relationship with Helen and Jack, who he considered his rival and probable best friend.
It is hard to tell when Sayid came to the conclusion that he was better off dead when he took the submarine bomb and tried to leave the ship. Recall, he had lost his Nadia, then Shannon, in tragic accidents. He was an outsider and an outcast. He may have gotten along with a few island castaways, but he never fit in.
In the big picture of LOST, the writers did dance around to the side that there is hope in death.
The sideways world has to be considered a lukewarm attempt to show the afterlife as a continuation of the human lives we all live, day to day. The sideways purgatory or weigh station to paradise/heaven mocked the same struggles of real life, but with no lasting consequences except perhaps feelings of personal regret or remorse (as with Ben who decided to "stay" on to work out some of his issues with Rousseau and Alex). But that is the odd part about LOST's vision - - - each individual is his or her own judge and jury on what sort of afterlife they will be rewarded by the unknown gods (such as Jacob, MIB, the island, or some other supernatural power).
Though we were told that the island contained the power of life, death and rebirth, the sideways world showed us that it was each individual who controlled their own destiny.
Probably 99.9 percent of us would choose life.
But what if you were so troubled that you felt that in death you would receive new life?
This is the contradiction that is the daily headlines. Suicide bombers attack innocent people under the belief that they will have a better life in afterlife. Some teens under horrible torment of bullies, self-esteem issues, too high expectations and peer pressure weigh that option.
There is also the question of faith. Individuals believe in either an afterlife or not. People hope that there time on earth has a more infinite meaning.
LOST attempted to explore those themes.
It is hard to tell whether Locke convinced himself that he was better off killing himself than trying to help the island or his friends. Recall, he basically mucked up everything in his life, including his relationship with Helen and Jack, who he considered his rival and probable best friend.
It is hard to tell when Sayid came to the conclusion that he was better off dead when he took the submarine bomb and tried to leave the ship. Recall, he had lost his Nadia, then Shannon, in tragic accidents. He was an outsider and an outcast. He may have gotten along with a few island castaways, but he never fit in.
In the big picture of LOST, the writers did dance around to the side that there is hope in death.
The sideways world has to be considered a lukewarm attempt to show the afterlife as a continuation of the human lives we all live, day to day. The sideways purgatory or weigh station to paradise/heaven mocked the same struggles of real life, but with no lasting consequences except perhaps feelings of personal regret or remorse (as with Ben who decided to "stay" on to work out some of his issues with Rousseau and Alex). But that is the odd part about LOST's vision - - - each individual is his or her own judge and jury on what sort of afterlife they will be rewarded by the unknown gods (such as Jacob, MIB, the island, or some other supernatural power).
Though we were told that the island contained the power of life, death and rebirth, the sideways world showed us that it was each individual who controlled their own destiny.
Friday, March 6, 2015
GEMINI SYNDRONE
There is a philosophy that each person is born with a duality.
Gemini is the ‘twins of the zodiac.’ That itself kind of captures the whole concept of duality, but on a philosophical level; you have yin-yang, positive and negative, day and night, and left and right. These are principles that we created. We made words for those things to help us understand the world that we live in. Bringing those two sides together, everybody has good and bad days, good things and bad things, and even we have good shows and bad shows. It’s just trying to balance those two things to make your life more fulfilling and trying to make it the most positive experience you can.
Each person could be said to contain two individual characters.
There is the conscious self as opposed to the unconscious self. In the light of day we have a public self, while at night we can have a private, dark self where societal rules do not apply.
There is the good behavioral person as opposed to the evil persona. Each person has within themselves to do evil. It is how we check this bad twin is what keeps normal people from becoming criminals.
We have split personalities of the work ethic and the procrastinator, where there is a moving slide mixing the two elements to determine the course of our daily lives. Some days we are work horses, other days we are lazy bums.
We also have various emotional states that are constantly in flux. Love-hate relationships. Kindness versus cruelty. Extroverted energy to introverted paralysis. There are various shades of the emotional self that has many variables based upon cultural and environmental cues.
LOST had various themes which included a duality principle.
The mirror is a reflection of one's self. It also could be considered to represent the other side of your personality (usually a darker one).
Duality is a central principle in Egyptian burial mythology, where a person's soul is divided into parts which are reunited if the person passes final judgment.
Several main characters went through drastic phases in their lives. For example, Ben was a shy, introverted school boy who deep inside hated his father to the point of being an evil mass murderer and dark tyrant. But even then, the story twists unbelievably to Ben as a sympathetic nice guy waiting to cure his sins in the sideways purgatory. Fans were drawn quickly to the evil Ben more so than the redeemed Ben.
And the fact that LOST was set in two different dimensions is still a cause of great concern. Was the sideways world purgatory, heaven, dream state or alternative universe? Likewise, was the island time line real, imagined, science fiction worm hole or psychotic?
The series raised duality concepts but failed to clearly address them in a coherent fashion.
Gemini is the ‘twins of the zodiac.’ That itself kind of captures the whole concept of duality, but on a philosophical level; you have yin-yang, positive and negative, day and night, and left and right. These are principles that we created. We made words for those things to help us understand the world that we live in. Bringing those two sides together, everybody has good and bad days, good things and bad things, and even we have good shows and bad shows. It’s just trying to balance those two things to make your life more fulfilling and trying to make it the most positive experience you can.
Each person could be said to contain two individual characters.
There is the conscious self as opposed to the unconscious self. In the light of day we have a public self, while at night we can have a private, dark self where societal rules do not apply.
There is the good behavioral person as opposed to the evil persona. Each person has within themselves to do evil. It is how we check this bad twin is what keeps normal people from becoming criminals.
We have split personalities of the work ethic and the procrastinator, where there is a moving slide mixing the two elements to determine the course of our daily lives. Some days we are work horses, other days we are lazy bums.
We also have various emotional states that are constantly in flux. Love-hate relationships. Kindness versus cruelty. Extroverted energy to introverted paralysis. There are various shades of the emotional self that has many variables based upon cultural and environmental cues.
LOST had various themes which included a duality principle.
The mirror is a reflection of one's self. It also could be considered to represent the other side of your personality (usually a darker one).
Duality is a central principle in Egyptian burial mythology, where a person's soul is divided into parts which are reunited if the person passes final judgment.
Several main characters went through drastic phases in their lives. For example, Ben was a shy, introverted school boy who deep inside hated his father to the point of being an evil mass murderer and dark tyrant. But even then, the story twists unbelievably to Ben as a sympathetic nice guy waiting to cure his sins in the sideways purgatory. Fans were drawn quickly to the evil Ben more so than the redeemed Ben.
And the fact that LOST was set in two different dimensions is still a cause of great concern. Was the sideways world purgatory, heaven, dream state or alternative universe? Likewise, was the island time line real, imagined, science fiction worm hole or psychotic?
The series raised duality concepts but failed to clearly address them in a coherent fashion.
Friday, September 19, 2014
LOGO
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In stark black and white, a color theme in the series.
Blackness as in the vast void of space. The unknown dimensions for which time and space resides.
Darkness, another theme of the series. Good against evil; science against faith.
The word "lost," which infers definitions like misguided, fear, troubled, misplaced, forfeited, neglected, fallen, irredeemable, irreclaimable, irretrievable, past hope, past praying for, vanished, strayed, condemned, cursed, doomed. All words which could describe elements in the series.
Is the LOST logo opening the perfect symbol for the show?
It probably can mean that viewers got "lost" in the various mysteries, twists, Easter eggs, red herrings, blind corners, pseudo-science, theories, counter-theories and relationship twists.
It probably can mean that the producers-writers got "lost" in their flashback format, their editing techniques to drive up emotions or drama, background details, cliffhangers and supernatural elements to concentrate on a coherent final season script.
It may also in the annals of television history a "lost" opportunity to be the greatest show ever; one with total critical, peer and viewer overwhelming approval.
Monday, December 30, 2013
UNIVERSAL ILLUSION
Nature News had a recent article which poses the question of whether the Universe is merely a holographic illusion. There is scientific debate on how the universe operates, with string theory being one of the explanations. But science has trouble verifying its various theories.
A team of physicists has provided some evidence that our Universe could be just one big holographic projection. In 1997, theorical physicist Juan Maldacena proposed that in his model of the Universe, which gravity arises from infinitesimally thin, vibrating strings could be reinterpreted in terms of well-established physics. The mathematically intricate world of strings, which exist in nine dimensions of space plus one of time, would be merely a hologram: the real action would play out in a simpler, flatter cosmos where there is no gravity.
Maldacena's idea thrilled physicists because it offered a way to put the popular but still unproven theory of strings on solid footing — and because it solved apparent inconsistencies between quantum physics and Einstein's theory of gravity. It provided physicists with a mathematical Rosetta stone, a 'duality', that allowed them to translate back and forth between the two languages, and solve problems in one model that seemed intractable in the other and vice versa. But although the validity of Maldacena's ideas has pretty much been taken for granted ever since, a rigorous proof has been elusive.
Yoshifumi Hyakutake of Ibaraki University in Japan and his colleagues reported evidence that may prove Maldacena’s conjecture is true. Hyakutake computed the internal energy of a black hole, the position of its event horizon (the boundary between the black hole and the rest of the Universe), its entropy and other properties based on the predictions of string theory as well as the effects of so-called virtual particles that continuously pop into and out of existence. He and his collaborators also separately calculated the internal energy of the corresponding lower-dimensional cosmos with no gravity. The two computer calculations match.
“It seems to be a correct computation,” says Maldacena, who did not contribute to the Japanese team's work. “(The findings) are an interesting way to test many ideas in quantum gravity and string theory," Maldacena adds. The two papers, he notes, are the culmination of a series of articles contributed by the Japanese team over the past few years. “The whole sequence of papers is very nice because it tests the dual [nature of the universes] in regimes where there are no analytic tests.”
“They have numerically confirmed, perhaps for the first time, something we were fairly sure had to be true, but was still a conjecture — namely that the thermodynamics of certain black holes can be reproduced from a lower-dimensional universe,” says Leonard Susskind, a theoretical physicist at Stanford University in California who was among the first theoreticians to explore the idea of holographic universes.
Neither of the model universes explored by the Japanese team resembles our own, Maldacena notes. The cosmos with a black hole has ten dimensions, with eight of them forming an eight-dimensional sphere. The lower-dimensional, gravity-free one has but a single dimension, and its menagerie of quantum particles resembles a group of idealized springs, or harmonic oscillators, attached to one another.
Nevertheless, says Maldacena, the numerical proof that these two seemingly disparate worlds are actually identical gives hope that the gravitational properties of our Universe can one day be explained by a simpler cosmos purely in terms of quantum theory.
The concept of "duality" was present in the LOST series. In fact, duality has been a theme of mankind throughout its history. Ancient people thought in terms of a dual system: heaven and earth, gods and man, fire and water, time and space, good and bad, etc. There was also duality taught in religious believes between the two worlds: material and spiritual. Ancient Egyptians took the concept further to state that after death, a person's soul splits into different forms, the ba and ka, to journey through the underworld. So it is not surprising that human beings view the world around them through the concept of duality.
The LOST story structure wound up to be in two dual planes of existence: the island and the sideways worlds. Was one real and the other a projection? Were both real but in different time space? Or were both projections of the same universe but reflected back as illusions? The parallel that cutting edge science is still cannot figure out the universe, and LOST fans still cannot agree on what the show's main premise was is somewhat comforting and troubling at the same time.
A team of physicists has provided some evidence that our Universe could be just one big holographic projection. In 1997, theorical physicist Juan Maldacena proposed that in his model of the Universe, which gravity arises from infinitesimally thin, vibrating strings could be reinterpreted in terms of well-established physics. The mathematically intricate world of strings, which exist in nine dimensions of space plus one of time, would be merely a hologram: the real action would play out in a simpler, flatter cosmos where there is no gravity.
Maldacena's idea thrilled physicists because it offered a way to put the popular but still unproven theory of strings on solid footing — and because it solved apparent inconsistencies between quantum physics and Einstein's theory of gravity. It provided physicists with a mathematical Rosetta stone, a 'duality', that allowed them to translate back and forth between the two languages, and solve problems in one model that seemed intractable in the other and vice versa. But although the validity of Maldacena's ideas has pretty much been taken for granted ever since, a rigorous proof has been elusive.
Yoshifumi Hyakutake of Ibaraki University in Japan and his colleagues reported evidence that may prove Maldacena’s conjecture is true. Hyakutake computed the internal energy of a black hole, the position of its event horizon (the boundary between the black hole and the rest of the Universe), its entropy and other properties based on the predictions of string theory as well as the effects of so-called virtual particles that continuously pop into and out of existence. He and his collaborators also separately calculated the internal energy of the corresponding lower-dimensional cosmos with no gravity. The two computer calculations match.
“It seems to be a correct computation,” says Maldacena, who did not contribute to the Japanese team's work. “(The findings) are an interesting way to test many ideas in quantum gravity and string theory," Maldacena adds. The two papers, he notes, are the culmination of a series of articles contributed by the Japanese team over the past few years. “The whole sequence of papers is very nice because it tests the dual [nature of the universes] in regimes where there are no analytic tests.”
“They have numerically confirmed, perhaps for the first time, something we were fairly sure had to be true, but was still a conjecture — namely that the thermodynamics of certain black holes can be reproduced from a lower-dimensional universe,” says Leonard Susskind, a theoretical physicist at Stanford University in California who was among the first theoreticians to explore the idea of holographic universes.
Neither of the model universes explored by the Japanese team resembles our own, Maldacena notes. The cosmos with a black hole has ten dimensions, with eight of them forming an eight-dimensional sphere. The lower-dimensional, gravity-free one has but a single dimension, and its menagerie of quantum particles resembles a group of idealized springs, or harmonic oscillators, attached to one another.
Nevertheless, says Maldacena, the numerical proof that these two seemingly disparate worlds are actually identical gives hope that the gravitational properties of our Universe can one day be explained by a simpler cosmos purely in terms of quantum theory.
The concept of "duality" was present in the LOST series. In fact, duality has been a theme of mankind throughout its history. Ancient people thought in terms of a dual system: heaven and earth, gods and man, fire and water, time and space, good and bad, etc. There was also duality taught in religious believes between the two worlds: material and spiritual. Ancient Egyptians took the concept further to state that after death, a person's soul splits into different forms, the ba and ka, to journey through the underworld. So it is not surprising that human beings view the world around them through the concept of duality.
The LOST story structure wound up to be in two dual planes of existence: the island and the sideways worlds. Was one real and the other a projection? Were both real but in different time space? Or were both projections of the same universe but reflected back as illusions? The parallel that cutting edge science is still cannot figure out the universe, and LOST fans still cannot agree on what the show's main premise was is somewhat comforting and troubling at the same time.
Monday, November 11, 2013
THOTH
If the island had name, it would have been Thoth.
Thoth was an ancient Egyptian god-like being who was said to have represented knowledge, science, magic and guidance of souls through the passage in the underworld.
He was often depicted as a half-man, half Ibis. He often helped Ra, the Sun God, through his nightly passage through the underworld. The image of a winged god of knowledge is also found in other cultures, including ancient religions of Hindu, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were both numerous and varied. First, Thoth served as a mediating power, especially between the forces of good and evil, making sure neither had a decisive victory over the other. This aspect was particularly relevant in his arbitration of the conflict between Set and Horus. Likewise, Thoth's mediation role was also evident in his netherworldly alter ego A'an, the god of equilibrium, who monitored the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals and recorded the results in a celestial ledger.
Thoth was also understood to serve as the scribe of the gods, and was credited with the invention of writing and alphabets. As a result, he was also acknowledged as the progenitor of all works of science, religion, philosophy and magic. In the Hellenistic period, the Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, numerology, mathematics, geometry, surveying, medicine, botany, theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory. The Greeks further claimed he was the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.
Thoth was also characterized as a creator deity: the self-begotten and self-produced One. In this context, he was understood to be the master of both physical and moral law, both of which corresponded to the proper understanding and application of Ma'at. As such, he was credited with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth, and everything in them, and to direct the motions of the heavenly bodies.
In this particular context of the Egyptian pantheon, Thoth's this-worldly and other-worldly power was almost unlimited, rivaling both Ra and Osiris.
Thoth was also prominent in the Osiris myth, being of great aid to Isis. After Isis gathered together the pieces of Osiris' dismembered body, he gave her the words to resurrect him so she could be impregnated and bring forth Horus, named for his uncle. When Horus was slain, Thoth gave the formula to resurrect him as well.
Mythological accounts also assign him credit for the creation of the 365 day calendar. According to this tale, the sky goddess Nut was cursed with barrenness by Shu, who declared that she would be unable to conceive during any of the months of the year. Coming to her aid, Thoth, the crafty god, discovered a loophole—since the lunar calendar year was only 360 days long, the addition of days that were not contained in any given month would circumvent the hex. Thus, Thoth gambled with Khonsu, the moon, for 1/72nd of its light (five days) and won. During these five days, the goddess conceived and gave birth to Osiris, Set, Isis, Nepthys, and (in some versions) Kheru-ur (Horus the Elder, Face of Heaven). For his exploits, Thoth was acknowledged as "Lord of Time."
All of Thoth's powers dovetail nicely into the various aspects of the elements of the island.
Throughout the series, the conflicts between the forces of good and evil resulted with neither having a decisive victory over the other. The ideas of lists and missions and judgments follow Thoth's monitoring of the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals on ledgers. The island was filled with themes of science, religion, philosophy and magic. It would appear that the island had certain unbroken "rules," as stated in the Jacob-MIB conflict which may represent Thoth's mastery of both physical and moral law. In his myths, there are great stories about being a guardian in the underworld and healer of infertility. Infertility and guardianship of the island were two prominent themes in the series. Also, Sayid's resurrection from the dead in the Temple waters was surrounded by columns of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs which were probably the formula for the ceremony and magic.
The island would best be described as Thoth or his domain. It is apparent that there may have been an unseen entity behind the curtain beyond Jacob or MIB. With all his powers, Thoth seems to fit the bill as being the man behind such a supernatural curtain.
Thoth was an ancient Egyptian god-like being who was said to have represented knowledge, science, magic and guidance of souls through the passage in the underworld.
He was often depicted as a half-man, half Ibis. He often helped Ra, the Sun God, through his nightly passage through the underworld. The image of a winged god of knowledge is also found in other cultures, including ancient religions of Hindu, Taoism, and Buddhism.
Thoth's roles in Egyptian mythology were both numerous and varied. First, Thoth served as a mediating power, especially between the forces of good and evil, making sure neither had a decisive victory over the other. This aspect was particularly relevant in his arbitration of the conflict between Set and Horus. Likewise, Thoth's mediation role was also evident in his netherworldly alter ego A'an, the god of equilibrium, who monitored the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals and recorded the results in a celestial ledger.
Thoth was also understood to serve as the scribe of the gods, and was credited with the invention of writing and alphabets. As a result, he was also acknowledged as the progenitor of all works of science, religion, philosophy and magic. In the Hellenistic period, the Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, numerology, mathematics, geometry, surveying, medicine, botany, theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory. The Greeks further claimed he was the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.
Thoth was also characterized as a creator deity: the self-begotten and self-produced One. In this context, he was understood to be the master of both physical and moral law, both of which corresponded to the proper understanding and application of Ma'at. As such, he was credited with making the calculations for the establishment of the heavens, stars, Earth, and everything in them, and to direct the motions of the heavenly bodies.
In this particular context of the Egyptian pantheon, Thoth's this-worldly and other-worldly power was almost unlimited, rivaling both Ra and Osiris.
Thoth was also prominent in the Osiris myth, being of great aid to Isis. After Isis gathered together the pieces of Osiris' dismembered body, he gave her the words to resurrect him so she could be impregnated and bring forth Horus, named for his uncle. When Horus was slain, Thoth gave the formula to resurrect him as well.
Mythological accounts also assign him credit for the creation of the 365 day calendar. According to this tale, the sky goddess Nut was cursed with barrenness by Shu, who declared that she would be unable to conceive during any of the months of the year. Coming to her aid, Thoth, the crafty god, discovered a loophole—since the lunar calendar year was only 360 days long, the addition of days that were not contained in any given month would circumvent the hex. Thus, Thoth gambled with Khonsu, the moon, for 1/72nd of its light (five days) and won. During these five days, the goddess conceived and gave birth to Osiris, Set, Isis, Nepthys, and (in some versions) Kheru-ur (Horus the Elder, Face of Heaven). For his exploits, Thoth was acknowledged as "Lord of Time."
All of Thoth's powers dovetail nicely into the various aspects of the elements of the island.
Throughout the series, the conflicts between the forces of good and evil resulted with neither having a decisive victory over the other. The ideas of lists and missions and judgments follow Thoth's monitoring of the posthumous judgment of deceased mortals on ledgers. The island was filled with themes of science, religion, philosophy and magic. It would appear that the island had certain unbroken "rules," as stated in the Jacob-MIB conflict which may represent Thoth's mastery of both physical and moral law. In his myths, there are great stories about being a guardian in the underworld and healer of infertility. Infertility and guardianship of the island were two prominent themes in the series. Also, Sayid's resurrection from the dead in the Temple waters was surrounded by columns of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs which were probably the formula for the ceremony and magic.
The island would best be described as Thoth or his domain. It is apparent that there may have been an unseen entity behind the curtain beyond Jacob or MIB. With all his powers, Thoth seems to fit the bill as being the man behind such a supernatural curtain.
Friday, October 11, 2013
PERSONALITY CHART
On the left side, positive attributes which begin with basic hope, then move up to dreams, love, trust and leadership. On the right side, negative attributes with basic regret, then fears, hate, naivety, to being a follower. A stronger will comes with each level toward the bottom line of being either a leader or a follower (a theme of the series).
I started the chart by simple word association. I began with hope, then quickly worked up the emotional ladder. I then started on the right side with the opposite of hope which I thought would be regret, and then by quick word association got through the series to the opposite of leader.
On the light side, there is a fairly clear progression a person would take in a path to leadership. One would have to have some hope (which is tied to a goal). From that point, one would dream about that goal. One must love what they are after. Then they must trust themselves enough to succeed. And once that trust has been obtained, it can be projected upon others to form leadership.
Likewise, regrets can easily morph into fears. Fears can compound themselves into hate. Hate can cloud judgment to make a person outwardly naive. Being naive means people can take advantage of you. You become a follower.
In the light example, we can take Jack. Jack had hope as a young boy that he would someday impress his father. He dreamed that he would become as successful as this father. He loved medicine and his ability to help other people. His love of his craft led to other people, including patients, trusting his judgment. Such trust can him leadership skills in his OR teams. People looked to him to make the right clinical decisions. Those qualities made him a natural candidate to lead the survivors.
On the flip side, Locke had regrets from an early age. He regretted not having a normal family life as a child. Her feared that he would be unwanted as he was raised by successive foster homes. He began to hate how people perceived him. He hated that he was being directed to the uncool sciences when he wanted to be a popular athlete. His hate made him distrustful of other people. As a result, he bounced from meaningless job to meaningless job. He became withdrawn. He was then quite naive when his father reappeared in his life. So much so, that his kidney was stolen. Because he was so naive about the people around him, he could only be a follower throughout his life. And that realization is something that Locke attempted to rebel against, until he realized that no one would follow him. That dissolved any hope (and all those light side emotional states) of change. He died a bitter and broken man.
But both sides can stumble down a different path. Hope can turn into fears, which could become so strong as to consume one's psyche to love the paranoia and pain. That misguided love of pain can lead to naive isolation, which was the safety net Hurley had at Santa Rosa.
Likewise, regrets can turn into one's dreams. Unfulfilled dreams can quickly turn into hate. Hate can be marshaled into developing a trust with other people who do not factor in your dreams. That trust turns one into a follower, just as Sayid had become during his youth to Iraqi soldier days.
This chart also shows that change can make a difference. False hope can turn into hate, but that strong emotion can be channeled into great leadership qualities, as was the case with Ben and his ascension to leader of the Others.
Likewise, regrets can turn to love and that love can make you follow a special person instead of running away, which is an explanation for Kate becoming Jack's partner in the after life church at the end.
Monday, July 15, 2013
JACOB'S LADDER
There is a biblical story called Jacob's Ladder. It gives a symbolic
representation of the steps pious humans have in order to get to heaven.
The description of Jacob's ladder appears in the Book of Genesis:
Jewish commentaries offer several interpretations of Jacob's ladder. Some scholars believe the ladder signified the exiles which the Jewish people would suffer before the coming of the Messiah. First the angel representing the 70-year exile of Babylonia climbed "up" 70 rungs, and then fell "down." Then the angel representing the exile of Persia went up a number of steps, and fell, as did the angel representing the exile of Greece. Only the fourth angel, which represented the final exile of Rome by the guardian angel (Esau), kept climbing higher and higher into the clouds. Jacob feared that his children would never be free of Esau's domination, but God assured him that at the End of Days, Edom too would come falling down.
Another interpretation of the ladder keys into the fact that the angels first "ascended" and then "descended." This explains that Jacob, as a holy man, was always accompanied by angels. When he reached the border of the future land of Israel, the angels who were assigned to the Holy Land went back up to Heaven and the angels assigned to other lands came down to meet Jacob. When Jacob returned to Canaan he was greeted by the angels who were assigned to the Holy Land.
Another view is that the place at which Jacob stopped for the night was in reality the future home of the Temple in Jerusalem. The ladder therefore signifies the "bridge" between Heaven and earth, as prayers and sacrifices offered in the Holy Temple soldered a connection between God and the Jewish people.
The philosopher Philo Judaeus had an allegorical interpretation of the ladder. He gave four interpretations, which are not mutually exclusive:
In Islam, Jacob is revered as a father figure and a prophet. Muslim scholars drew a parallel with Jacob's vision of the ladder and Muhammad's event of the Mi'raj. The ladder of Jacob was interpreted by Muslims to be one of the many symbols of God, and many saw Jacob's ladder as representing in its form the essence of Islam, which emphasizes following the "straight path." The significance of the ladder in the Islamic mystic perspective that the ladder is the created Universe. Jacob dreamed and saw the ladder stretching from Heaven to earth, with Angels going up and down upon it; and it is also the "straight path", for indeed the way of religion is none other than the way of creation itself retraced from its end back to its Beginning.
Angels have been best described as messengers to human beings. There were numerous messengers in the series counseling, mentoring and helping the main characters get back to or survive the island. People like Naomi, Abbadon, and Eloise intervened in the characters lives and gave them information to help or direct them back to the island. Some turned into messengers of Jacob as a result of their stay on the island (Alpert and Dogen). One theory is that Jacob was the guardian angel for his "candidates."
The Island as a nexus point between realms is consistent with the symbolism of Jacob's ladder. The idea that the ladder represents both the beginning and end, with angels going back and forth through time to guide souls up the steps, is consistent with the time skips of the Island. At times, a person needs to take two steps back (learn something) in order to move one step forward (toward redemption or knowledge or peace).
The Island could also be a representation of a temple, where lost souls are sorting out by the angels, who give each person opportunities to move up the ladder toward heaven. Some, like Michael, miss their opportunity when he kills Libby and Ana Lucia to cover up his betrayal. Others, like Jack, have to juggle at times the competing interests of his fellow castaways like Solomon.
It is clear that the Island was some kind of "bridge" that allowed the main characters to forge a sideways world finish line to their ascent into the after life. But there is no consistency from a moral perspective of who was allowed the grace of God to arrive at the sideways church to "move on." Most of the people in the church had ethical and moral faults that were never forgiven. The writers large white wash of the past comes from a narcissistic perspective: once a person acknowledged his or her own death in the sideways world, their sins were magically erased so they could finish the climb to heaven. Or, as a few have mentioned, that the sideways purgatory was just that; the white light may not have been salvation but the doorway to punishment for their unforgiven sins.
In order to get to paradise, a soul must retrace its path from the end back to the beginning. This concept is similar to the ancient Egyptian beliefs that upon death, the soul divides and takes many dangerous journeys in order to be reincarnated in the after life. On the Island, the main characters did retrace their lives (some events or decisions mirrored past events). People did have second or third chances to change their lives. Some took advantage of that opportunity; some failed to revert to their dark pasts. The retracing of the characters lives through the island trials (steps of the ladder) could be the hidden mystery of the series. Jacob's role was not one of the devil or judge, but as a spotter on the ladder each candidate sought to climb.
The description of Jacob's ladder appears in the Book of Genesis:
There are various interpretations of this story in various religions.Jacob left Beersheba, and went toward Haran. He came to the place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! And behold, the Lord stood above it [or "beside him"] and said, "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Issac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants; and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done that of which I have spoken to you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I did not know it." And he was afraid, and said, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
Jewish commentaries offer several interpretations of Jacob's ladder. Some scholars believe the ladder signified the exiles which the Jewish people would suffer before the coming of the Messiah. First the angel representing the 70-year exile of Babylonia climbed "up" 70 rungs, and then fell "down." Then the angel representing the exile of Persia went up a number of steps, and fell, as did the angel representing the exile of Greece. Only the fourth angel, which represented the final exile of Rome by the guardian angel (Esau), kept climbing higher and higher into the clouds. Jacob feared that his children would never be free of Esau's domination, but God assured him that at the End of Days, Edom too would come falling down.
Another interpretation of the ladder keys into the fact that the angels first "ascended" and then "descended." This explains that Jacob, as a holy man, was always accompanied by angels. When he reached the border of the future land of Israel, the angels who were assigned to the Holy Land went back up to Heaven and the angels assigned to other lands came down to meet Jacob. When Jacob returned to Canaan he was greeted by the angels who were assigned to the Holy Land.
Another view is that the place at which Jacob stopped for the night was in reality the future home of the Temple in Jerusalem. The ladder therefore signifies the "bridge" between Heaven and earth, as prayers and sacrifices offered in the Holy Temple soldered a connection between God and the Jewish people.
The philosopher Philo Judaeus had an allegorical interpretation of the ladder. He gave four interpretations, which are not mutually exclusive:
- The angels represent souls descending to and ascending from bodies (some consider this to be Philo's clearest reference to the doctrine of reincarnation).
- In the second interpretation the ladder is the human soul and the angels are God's logoi, pulling the soul up in distress and descending in compassion.
- In the third view the dream depicts the ups and downs of the life of the "practiser" (of virtue vs. sin).
- Finally the angels represent the continually changing affairs of men.
In Islam, Jacob is revered as a father figure and a prophet. Muslim scholars drew a parallel with Jacob's vision of the ladder and Muhammad's event of the Mi'raj. The ladder of Jacob was interpreted by Muslims to be one of the many symbols of God, and many saw Jacob's ladder as representing in its form the essence of Islam, which emphasizes following the "straight path." The significance of the ladder in the Islamic mystic perspective that the ladder is the created Universe. Jacob dreamed and saw the ladder stretching from Heaven to earth, with Angels going up and down upon it; and it is also the "straight path", for indeed the way of religion is none other than the way of creation itself retraced from its end back to its Beginning.
Angels have been best described as messengers to human beings. There were numerous messengers in the series counseling, mentoring and helping the main characters get back to or survive the island. People like Naomi, Abbadon, and Eloise intervened in the characters lives and gave them information to help or direct them back to the island. Some turned into messengers of Jacob as a result of their stay on the island (Alpert and Dogen). One theory is that Jacob was the guardian angel for his "candidates."
The Island as a nexus point between realms is consistent with the symbolism of Jacob's ladder. The idea that the ladder represents both the beginning and end, with angels going back and forth through time to guide souls up the steps, is consistent with the time skips of the Island. At times, a person needs to take two steps back (learn something) in order to move one step forward (toward redemption or knowledge or peace).
The Island could also be a representation of a temple, where lost souls are sorting out by the angels, who give each person opportunities to move up the ladder toward heaven. Some, like Michael, miss their opportunity when he kills Libby and Ana Lucia to cover up his betrayal. Others, like Jack, have to juggle at times the competing interests of his fellow castaways like Solomon.
It is clear that the Island was some kind of "bridge" that allowed the main characters to forge a sideways world finish line to their ascent into the after life. But there is no consistency from a moral perspective of who was allowed the grace of God to arrive at the sideways church to "move on." Most of the people in the church had ethical and moral faults that were never forgiven. The writers large white wash of the past comes from a narcissistic perspective: once a person acknowledged his or her own death in the sideways world, their sins were magically erased so they could finish the climb to heaven. Or, as a few have mentioned, that the sideways purgatory was just that; the white light may not have been salvation but the doorway to punishment for their unforgiven sins.
In order to get to paradise, a soul must retrace its path from the end back to the beginning. This concept is similar to the ancient Egyptian beliefs that upon death, the soul divides and takes many dangerous journeys in order to be reincarnated in the after life. On the Island, the main characters did retrace their lives (some events or decisions mirrored past events). People did have second or third chances to change their lives. Some took advantage of that opportunity; some failed to revert to their dark pasts. The retracing of the characters lives through the island trials (steps of the ladder) could be the hidden mystery of the series. Jacob's role was not one of the devil or judge, but as a spotter on the ladder each candidate sought to climb.
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