Thingyness

Thinginess is like springiness but has nothing to do with trampolines or mattresses. Something’s thinginess has to do with its place on the spectrum of coalescence. A thoughtform is less thingy than a legal contract. Thinginess is the materiality, coagulation, or concreteness of something. The thing might be quite flexible, not concrete at all. When we bring something from the upper pachas into the perceptual world of humans, we’re increasing its thinginess. When something is not very thingy it can be hard to communicate, to make use of it, to share it, to build with it, or build on it. This isn’t a value judgement, but we sometimes judge things that are less thingy. They make some people anxious or just impatient. I believe it leads us to sometimes say things like, “ideas are cheap” or “ideas 1%, execution 99%.” It’s true when something is really thingy, it is much easier to make use of it. But this kind of mentality can snuff an idea before it becomes itself; before we discover its complete trueness. Imagine a child’s beautiful imagination; discourage it and it may not re-emerge for years. Cultivate it and it’ll blossom. I’d like to give more credit to the less thingy and more idea-like forms of things. I’d like to help people who are trying to make real-world change even when their things are mere rumblings in their tummies. Ways to make things more thingy:

• Labels/names: Give your thing a name. “Naming it” is an oft used tactic in dealings with emotions. 

• Instances: help other people connect to your thing, by showing how other things in the world are examples of your thing.

• Analogy: analogies are like examples, but they are not instances of your thing. They’re metaphorically related.

• Applicability: If you, give people a way of applying your thing. How can they use it in their work or personal life? Does it help solve a problem? Or think differently, in a useful way about something?

• Replicability: From 1 to 10 to 100 to 1M, Billions, etc.