The Law of One Search Results for ‘Ufo technology’

29 results found.

53.17 Questioner: Then, in general, I could say that if an individual has a “close encounter” with a UFO or any other type of experience that seems to be UFO-related, he must look to the heart of the encounter and the effect upon him to determine whether it was Orion or Confederation contact. Is this correct?

Ra: I am Ra. This is correct. If there is fear and doom, the contact was quite likely of a negative nature. If the result is hope, friendly feelings, and the awakening of a positive feeling of purposeful service to others, the marks of Confederation contact are evident.

12.8 Questioner: Does this account for what we call the “UFO Flaps” where a large number of UFOs show up like in 1973?

26.32 Questioner: Then as the UFO phenomena was made obvious to many of the population, many groups of people reported contact; many groups of people reported telepathic communication with UFO entities and many recorded the results of what they considered telepathic communication.

Was the Confederation, shall we say, oriented to impressing telepathic communication on groups that became interested in UFOs?

Ra: I am Ra. This is correct although some of our members have removed themselves from the time/space using thought-form projections into your space/time and have chosen, from time to time, with permission of the Council, to appear in your skies without landing.

8.6 Questioner: How did the United States learn of the technology to build these land [inaudible]?

Ra: I am Ra. There was a mind/body/spirit complex known to your people by the vibratory sound complex, Nikola. This entity departed the illusion, and the papers containing the necessary understandings were taken by mind/body/spirit complexes serving your security of national divisional complex. Thus your people became privy to the basic technology.

In the case of those mind/body/spirit complexes which you call Russians, the technology was given from one of the Confederation in an attempt, approximately twenty-seven of your years ago, to share information and bring about peace among your peoples. The entities giving this information were in error, but we did many things at the end of this cycle in attempts to aid your harvest from which we learned the folly of certain types of aid. That is a contributing factor to our more cautious approach at this date, even as the need is power-upon-power greater, and your people’s call is greater and greater.

26.20 Questioner: Thank you. In the recent past of the last thirty to forty years the UFO phenomena has become known to our population. What was the original reason for— I know there’ve been UFOs throughout history, but what was the original reason for the increase in what we call UFO activity say in the past forty years?

Ra: I am Ra. Information which Confederation sources had offered to your entity, Albert [Einstein], became perverted, and instruments of destruction began to be created, examples of this being the Manhattan Project and its product.

Information offered through wanderer, sound vibration, Nikola [Tesla], also being experimented with for potential destruction: example, your so-called Philadelphia Experiment.

Thus, we felt a strong need to involve our thought-forms in whatever way we of the Confederation could be of service in order to balance these distortions of information meant to aid your planetary sphere.

8.7 Questioner: I’m puzzled by these craft that we have undersea bases for. They are [inaudible]. Is this technology sufficient to overshadow all other armaments? Do we have just the ability to fly in these craft, or are there any weapons like there are— Were they given to us [inaudible] or are they just craft for transport? What is the basic mechanism of their [inaudible]? It’s really hard to believe is what I’m saying.

Ra: I am Ra. The craft are perhaps misnamed in some instances. It would be more appropriate to consider them as weaponry. The energy used is that of the field of electromagnetic energy which polarises the earth sphere. The weaponry is of two basic kinds: that which is called by your peoples psychotronic, and that which is called by your peoples particle beam. The amount of destruction which is contained in this technology is considerable, and the weapons have been used in many cases to alter weather patterns and to enhance the vibratory change which engulfs your planet at this time.

52.4 Questioner: Then I am assuming in the positively oriented social memory complexes that a much higher percentage of them use the personality disciplines for this travel. Is this correct?

Ra: I am Ra. This is correct. As positive fifth density moves into sixth there are virtually no entities which any longer use outer technology for travel or communication.

11.21 Questioner: What type of information is passed on from the crusaders to these people?

Ra: I am Ra. The Orion group passes on information concerning the Law of One with the orientation of service to self. The information can become technical just as some in the Confederation, in attempts to aid this planet in service to others, have provided what you would call technical information. The technology provided by this group is in the form of various means of control or manipulation of others to serve the self.

52.3 Questioner: I would ask this question in order to understand the mental disciplines and how they evolve. Do fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-density positive, or service-to-others orientated, social memory complexes use both the slingshot and the personality discipline type of effect for travel, or do they use only one?

Ra: I am Ra. The positively oriented social memory complex will be attempting to learn the disciplines of mind, body, and spirit. However, there are some which, having the technology available to use intelligent energy forces to accomplish travel, do so while learning the more appropriate disciplines.

52.2 Questioner: Thank you. I think that possibly I am on an important point here because it seems to me that the great work in evolution is the discipline of personality, and it seems that we have two types of moving around the universe, one stemming from disciplines of personality, and the other stemming from what you call the slingshot effect. I won’t even get into the sub-light speeds because I don’t consider that too important. And I only consider this material important with respect to the fact that we are investigating discipline of the personality.

Does the use of the slingshot effect for travel—is that a what you might call an intellectual, or a left brain, type of involvement of understanding rather than a right brain type?

Ra: I am Ra. Your perception on this point is extensive. You penetrate the outer teaching. We prefer not to utilise the terminology of right and left brain due to the inaccuracies of this terminology. Some functions are repetitive or redundant in both lobes, and further, to some entities the functions of the right and left are reversed. However, the heart of the query is worth some consideration.

The technology of which you, as a social complex, are so enamoured at this time is but the birthing of the manipulation of the intelligent energy of the sub-Logos which, when carried much further, may evolve into technology capable of using the gravitic effects of which we spoke. We note that this term is not accurate, but there is no closer term.

Therefore, the use of technology to manipulate that outside the self is far, far less of an aid to personal evolution than the disciplines of the mind/body/spirit complex resulting in the whole knowledge of the self in the microcosm and macrocosm.

To the disciplined entity, all things are open and free. The discipline which opens the universes opens also the gateways to evolution. The difference is that of choosing either to hitchhike to a place where beauty may be seen, or to walk, step by step, independent and free in this independence to praise the strength to walk, and the opportunity for the awareness of beauty.

The hitchhiker, instead, is distracted by conversation and the vagaries of the road and, dependent upon the whims of others, is concerned to make the appointment in time. The hitchhiker sees the same beauty, but has not prepared itself for the establishment, in the roots of mind, of the experience.

10.8 Questioner: Is there any danger of this happening to Earth at this time?

Ra: I am Ra. We feel this evaluation of your planetary mind/body/spirit complex’s so-called future may be less than harmless. We say only the conditions of mind exist for such development of technology and such deployment.

It is the distortion of our vision/understanding that the mind and spirit complexes of those of your people need orientation rather than the “toys” needing dismantlement, for are not all things that exist part of the Creator? Therefore, freely to choose is your honour/duty.

8.11 Questioner: Wouldn’t this type of craft totally solve, or come close to solving, a lot of the energy problems as far as transport goes? That we’re used to transporting [inaudible] . . . transporting [inaudible].

Ra: I am Ra. The technology your peoples possess at this time is capable of resolving each and every limitation which plagues your social memory complex at this present nexus of experience. However, the concerns of some of your beings with distortions towards what you would call powerful energy cause these solutions to be withheld until the solutions are so needed that those with the distortion can then become further distorted in the direction of power.

26.21 Questioner: Then what you did, I am assuming, then, is to create an air of mystery with the UFO phenomena, as we call it, and then by telepathy send many messages that could be either accepted or rejected under the . . . following, of course, the Law of One, so that the population would start thinking seriously about the consequences of what they were doing. Is this correct?

Ra: I am Ra. This is partially correct. There are other services we may perform. Firstly, the integration of souls or spirits, if you will, in the event of use of these nuclear devices in your space/time continuum. This the Confederation has already done.

87.10 Questioner: It seems, though, that in the case of many UFO contacts that have occurred on this planet, that there must be some knowledge and use of the First Distortion, in that the fourth-density entities have carefully remained aloof and anonymous, you might say, for the most part, so that no proof in a concrete way of their existence is too obvious. How are they oriented with respect to this type of contact?

Ra: I am Ra. We misperceived your query, thinking it was directed towards this particular type of contact. The nature of the fourth-density’s observance of the Free Will Distortion while pursuing the seeding of the third-density thought patterns is material which has already been covered.* That which can be offered of the negatively oriented information is offered. It is altered to the extent that the entity receiving such negative information is of positive orientation. Thus many such contacts are of a mixed nature.

48.5 Questioner: I was afraid of that.

My lecture yesterday* was attended by only a few. If this had occurred during a UFO flap, as we call them, many more would have attended. But since Orion entities cause the flaps, primarily, what is Orion’s reward, shall I say, for visibility in that they actually create greater chances and opportunities for dissemination of information such as mine at this time?

Ra: I am Ra. This assumption is incorrect. The flaps cause many fears among your peoples, many speakings, understandings concerning plots, cover-ups, mutilations, killings, and other negative impressions. Even those supposedly positive reports which gain public awareness speak of doom. You may understand yourself as one who will be in the minority due to the understandings which you wish to share, if we may use that misnomer.

We perceive there is a further point we may posit at this time. The audience brought about by Orion-type publicity is not seeded by seniority of vibration to a great extent. The audiences receiving teach/learnings without stimulus from publicity will be more greatly oriented towards illumination. Therefore, forget you the counting.

21.28 Questioner: Thank you very much. I apologise for being so stupid in making my questions, but this has cleared up the point nicely for me. Thank you.

Then in the second 25,000-year major cycle was there any great civilisation that developed?

Ra: I am Ra. In the sense of greatness of technology there were no great societies during this cycle. There was some advancement among those of Deneb who had chosen to incarnate as a body in what you would call China.

There were appropriately positive steps in activating the green-ray energy complex in many portions of your planetary sphere including the Americas, the continent which you call Africa, the island which you call Australia, and that which you know as India, as well as various scattered peoples.

None of these became what you would name great as the greatness of Lemuria or Atlantis is known to you due to the formation of strong social complexes and in the case of Atlantis, very great technological understandings.

However, in the South American area of your planetary sphere, as you know it, there grew to be a great vibratory distortion towards love. These entities were harvestable at the end of the second major cycle without ever having formed strong social or technological complexes.

This will be the final question in completion of this session. Is there a query we may answer quickly before we close, as this instrument is somewhat depleted?

26.36 Questioner: Then I am assuming all of the UFO groups who were getting telepathic contact from the Confederation were, shall we say, high-priority targets for the Orion crusaders, and I would assume that a large percentage of them were, shall we say, had their information polluted then.

Can you tell me, do you have any idea what percentage of these groups were heavily polluted by the Orion information, and if any of them were able to remain purely a Confederation channel?

Ra: I am Ra. To give you this information would be to infringe upon the free will, or confusion, of some living. We can only ask each group to consider the relative effect of philosophy and your so-called specific information. It is not the specificity of the information which attracts negative influences; it is the importance placed upon it.

This is why we iterate quite often, when asked for specific information, that it pales to insignificance, just as the grass withers and dies while the love and the light of the One Infinite Creator redounds to the very infinite realms of creation forever and ever, creating and creating itself in perpetuity.

Why, then, be concerned with the grass that blooms, withers, and dies in its season only to grow once again due to the infinite love and light of the One Creator? This is the message we bring. Each entity is only superficially that which blooms and dies. In the deeper sense, there is no end to beingness.

7.12 Questioner: I am interested in the application of the Law of One as it pertains to free will and what I would call the advertising done by UFO contact with the planet. That is, the Council has allowed the quarantine to be lifted many times over the past thirty years. This seems to me to be a form of advertising for what we are doing right now, so that more people will be awakened. Am I correct?

Ra: I am Ra. It will take a certain amount of untangling of conceptualization of your mental complex to reform your query into an appropriate response. Please bear with us.

The Council of Saturn has not allowed the breaking of quarantine in the time/space continuum you mentioned. There is a certain amount of landing taking place. Some of these landings are of your peoples. Some are of the entities known to you as the group of Orion.

Secondly, there is permission granted, not to break quarantine by dwelling among you, but to appear in thought-form capacity for those who have eyes to see.

Thirdly, you are correct in assuming that permission was granted at the time/space in which your first nuclear device was developed and used for Confederation members to minister unto your peoples in such a way as to cause mystery to occur. This is what you mean by advertising and is correct.

The mystery and unknown quality of the occurrences we are allowed to offer have the hoped-for intention of making your peoples aware of infinite possibility. When your peoples grasp infinity, then, and only then, can the gateway be opened to the Law of One.

37.5 Questioner: We will attempt to work around these problems in dissemination of the Law of One. It will take some careful work to do this, but we will. I personally will not cease while still incarnate to attempt to disseminate this. I believe it will be necessary to write a book, most probably about UFOs, since the Law of One is connected with the phenomenon. It’s connected with all phenomena, but this is the . . . seems to be the easiest entry into dissemination.

My first plan is to, using the UFO in the advertising sense that it was meant by the Confederation, use this as an entry into an explanation of the process of evolution that has gone on on this planet, and how the rest of the . . . or the Confederation has been involved in a more understandable way, shall I say, for the population who will read it, using the Ra material in undistorted form just as it has been recorded here in various places through the book to amplify and clarify what we are saying in the book. This is the only way that I can see right now to create enough dissemination for the people who would like to have the Law of One for them to be able to get it. I could just go ahead and print up the material we have off the tape recorder and publish it, but we would be unable to disseminate it very well because of distribution problems.

Will you comment on my second idea of doing a general book on UFOs including the material from the Law of One?

Ra: I am Ra. We shall comment. We hope that your Ra plans materialise. This is a cosmic joke. You were asking for such an example of humour, and we feel this is a rather appropriate nexus in which one may be inserted. Continue with your intentions to the best of your natures and abilities. What more can be done, my friends?

51.2 Questioner: Thank you. This next question I feel to be a transient type of question; however, it has been asked me by one whom I have communicated with who has been intensely involved in the UFO portion of the phenomenon. If you deem it too transient or unimportant we’ll skip it, but I have been asked how is it possible for the craft of, shall we say, the fourth-density to get here in that it seems that, as you approach the velocity of light, mass approaches infinite. We have talked about the increase of spiritual mass, and it was just a question as to how this transition from very distant planets is made in craft. And my question would be why craft would be necessary at all? This is not an important question.

Ra: I am Ra. You have asked several questions. We shall respond in turn.

Firstly, we agree that this material is transient.

Secondly, those, for the most part, coming from distant points, as you term them, do not need craft as you know them. The query itself requires understanding which you do not possess. We shall attempt to state what may be stated.

Firstly, there are a few third-density entities who have learned how to use craft to travel between star systems while experiencing the limitations you now understand. However, such entities have learned to use hydrogen in a way different from your understanding now. These entities still take quite long durations of time, as you measure it, to move about. However, these entities are able to use hypothermia to slow the physical and mental complex processes in order to withstand the duration of flight. Those such as are from Sirius are of this type.

There are two other types:

One is the type which, coming from fourth, fifth, or sixth density in your own galaxy, has access to a type of energy system which uses the speed of light as a slingshot, and thus arrives where it wishes without any perceptible time elapsed, in your view.

The other type of experience is that of fourth, fifth, and sixth densities of other galaxies, and some within your own galaxy, which have learned the necessary disciplines of personality to view the universe as one being and, therefore, are able to proceed from locus to locus by thought alone, materialising the necessary craft, if you will, to enclose the light body of the entity.

10.1 Questioner: I think it would clarify things for us to go back to the time just before the transfer of souls from Maldek to see how the Law of One operated with respect to this transfer, and why this was necessary. What happened to Maldek, or the people on Maldek, to cause them to lose their planet? How long ago did this occur?

Ra: I am Ra. The peoples of Maldek had a civilisation somewhat similar to that of the societal complex known to you as Atlantis in that it gained much technological information and used it without care for the preservation of their sphere, following to a majority extent the complex of thought, ideas, and actions which you may associate with your so-called negative polarity, or the service to self.

This was, however, for the most part, couched in a sincere belief/thought structure which seemed to the perception of the mind/body complexes of this sphere to be positive and of service to others. The devastation that wracked their biosphere and caused its disintegration resulted from what you call war.

The escalation went to the furthest extent of the technology this social complex had at its disposal in the space/time present of the then time. This time was approximately seven oh five oh oh oh, seven hundred and five thousand [705,000] of your years ago. (The cycles had begun much, much earlier upon this sphere due to its relative ability to support the first-dimensional life forms at an earlier point in the space/time continuum of your solar system.) These entities were so traumatised by this occurrence that they were in what you may call a social complex knot, or tangle, of fear. Some of your time passed. No one could reach them. No beings could aid them.

Approximately six hundred thousand [600,000] of your years ago, the then-existing members of the Confederation were able to deploy a social memory complex and untie the knot of fear. The entities were then able to recall that they were conscious. This awareness brought them to the point upon what you would call the lower astral planes where they could be nurtured until each mind/body/spirit complex was able, finally, to be healed of this trauma to the extent that each entity was able to examine the distortions it had experienced in the previous life-illusion complex.

After this experience of learn/teaching, the group decision was to place upon itself a type of what you may call karma alleviation. For this purpose they came into incarnation within your planetary sphere in what were not acceptable human forms. This, then, they have been experiencing until the distortions of destruction are replaced by distortions towards the desire for a less distorted vision of service to others.

Since this was the conscious decision of the great majority of those beings in the Maldek experience, the transition to this planet began approximately five hundred thousand [500,000] of your years ago, and the type of body complex available at that time was used.*

2.2 Questioner: Could you tell us something of your historical background, your earlier times in the illusion, possibly your incarnation on this planet that you spoke of before, and contact with earlier races on this planet? Then we would have something to start with in writing this book.

Ra: I am Ra. We are aware that your mind/body is calculating the proper method of performing the task of creating a teach/learning instrument. We are aware that you find our incarnate, as you call it, state of interest. We waited for a second query so as to emphasise that the time/space of several thousand of your years creates a spurious type of interest. Thus in giving this information, we ask the proper lack of stress be placed upon our experiences in your local space/time. The teach/learning which is our responsibility is philosophical rather than historical. We shall now proceed with your request which is harmless if properly evaluated.

We are those of the Confederation who, eleven thousand of your years ago, came to two of your planetary cultures which were at that time closely in touch with the creation of the One Creator. It was our naïve belief that we could teach/learn by direct contact, and the free-will distortions of individual feeling or personality were in no danger, we thought, of being disturbed, as these cultures were already closely aligned with a[n] all-embracing belief in the live-ness or consciousness of all.

We came and were welcomed by the peoples whom we wished to serve. We attempted to aid them in technical ways having to do with the healing of mind/body/spirit-complex distortions through the use of the crystal, appropriate to the distortion, placed within a certain appropriate series of ratios of time/space material. Thus were the pyramids created.

We found that the technology was reserved largely for those with the effectual mind/body distortion of power. This was not intended by the Law of One. We left your peoples. The group that was to work with those in the area of South America, as you call that portion of your sphere, gave up not so easily. They returned. We did not. However, we have never left your vibration due to our responsibility for the changes in consciousness we had first caused and then found distorted in ways not relegated to the Law of One. We attempted to contact the rulers of the land to which we had come, that land which you call Egypt, or in some areas, the Holy Land.

In the Eighteenth Dynasty, as it is known in your records of space/time distortions, we were able to contact a pharaoh, as you would call him. The man was small in life-experience on your plane and was a . . . what this instrument would call, wanderer. Thus, this mind/body/spirit complex received our communication-distortions and was able to blend his distortions with our own.

This young entity had been given a vibratory complex of sound which vibrated in honour of a prosperous god, as this mind/body complex, which we call instrument for convenience, would call “Amun.” The entity decided that this name, being in honour of one among many gods, was not acceptable for inclusion in his vibratory sound complex. Thus, he changed his name to one which honoured the sun disc. This distortion, called “Aten,” was a close distortion to our reality as we understand our own nature of mind/body/spirit-complex distortion. However, it does not come totally into alignment with the intended teach/learning which was sent. This entity, Akhenaten, became convinced that the vibration of One was the true spiritual vibration, and thus decreed the Law of One.

However, this entity’s beliefs were accepted by very few. His priests gave lip service only, without the spiritual distortion towards seeking. The peoples continued in their beliefs. When this entity was no longer in this density, again the polarised beliefs in the many gods came into their own, and continued so until the one known as Muhammad delivered the peoples into a more intelligible distortion of mind/body/spirit relationships.

Do you have a more detailed interest at this time?

Ra: I am Ra. This is correct although we would not call these Bigfoot, as they are scarce and are very able to escape detection. The first race is less able to be aware of proximity of other mind/body/spirit complexes, but these beings are very able to escape due to their technological understandings before their incarnations here. These entities of the glowing eyes are those most familiar to your peoples.

8.2 Questioner: There was a portion of the material yesterday which I will read where you say, “There is a certain amount of landing taking place. Some of these landings are of your peoples; some are of the entities known to you as the group of Orion.” My first question is what did you mean by the “landings are of your peoples”?

Ra: I am Ra. Your peoples have, at this time/space present, the technological achievement, if you would call it that, of being able to create and fly the shape and type of craft known to you as unidentified flying objects. Unfortunately for the social memory complex vibratory rate of your peoples, these devices are not intended for the service of mankind but for potential destructive use. This further muddles the vibratory nexus of your social memory complex, causing a situation whereby neither those oriented towards serving others nor those oriented towards serving self can gain the energy/power which opens the gates to intelligent infinity for the social memory complex. This in turn causes the harvest to be small.

10.15 Questioner: I was wondering about the advent of the civilisation called Atlantis and Lemuria, the way these civilisations occurred, and where did they come from [inaudible] civilisations?

Ra: I am Ra. This is the last question of this work. The civilisations of Atlantis and Lemuria were not one but two. Let us look first at the Mu entities.

They were beings of a somewhat primitive nature, but those who had very advanced spiritual distortions. The civilisation was part of this cycle, experienced early within the cycle at a time of approximately five three oh oh oh, fifty-three thousand [53,000] of your years ago. It was an helpful and harmless place which was washed beneath the ocean during a readjustment of your sphere’s tectonic plates through no action of their own.

They set out those who survived and reached many places in what you call Russia, North America, and South America. The Indians of whom you have come to feel some sympathy in your social complex-distortions are the descendants of these entities. Like the other incarnates of this cycle, they came from elsewhere. However, these particular entities were largely drawn from a second-density planet which had some difficulty, due to the age of its sun, in achieving third-density life conditions. This planet was from the galaxy Deneb.

The Atlantean race was a very conglomerate social complex which began to form approximately three one oh oh oh, thirty-one thousand [31,000] years in the past of your space/time continuum illusion. It was a slow-growing and very agrarian society until approximately one five oh oh oh, fifteen thousand [15,000] of your years ago. It reached quickly a high technological understanding which caused it to be able to use intelligent infinity in a less informative manner.

We may add that they used intelligent energy as well, manipulating greatly the natural influxes of the indigo or pineal ray from divine or infinite energy. Thus they were able to create life forms. This they began to do instead of healing and perfecting their own mind/body/spirit complexes, turning their distortions towards what you may call the negative.

Approximately eleven thousand [11,000] of your years ago, the first of the, what you call, wars, caused approximately forty percent of this population to leave the density by means of disintegration of the body. The second and most devastating of the conflicts occurred approximately one oh eight two one, ten thousand eight hundred twenty-one [10,821] years in the past according to your illusion. This created an earth-changing configuration and the large part of Atlantis was no more, having been inundated. Three of the positively oriented of the Atlantean groups left this geographical locus before that devastation, placing themselves in the mountain areas of what you call Tibet, what you call Peru, and what you call Turkey.

Do you have any brief questions before we close this meeting?

22.21 Questioner: Then did the technological advancement of Atlantis come because of this call? I am assuming the call was answered to bring them the Law of One and the Law of Love as a distortion of the Law of One, but did they also then get technological information that caused them to grow into such a highly technological society?

Ra: I am Ra. Not at first. At about the same time as we first appeared in the skies over Egypt and continuing thereafter, other entities of the Confederation appeared unto Atlanteans who had reached a level of philosophical understanding, shall we misuse this word, which was consonant with communication to encourage and inspire studies in the mystery of unity.

However, requests being made for healing and other understandings, information was passed having to do with crystals and the building of pyramids as well as temples, as you would call them, which were associated with training.

82.20 Questioner: Did the highly technological societies evolve travel through what we call space to other planets or other planetary systems? Did some of them do this?

22.20 Questioner: Was this first calling then at a time before Atlantis became technologically advanced?

82.19 Questioner: Did such societies evolve with technologies of a complex nature, or were they quite simple? Can you give me a general idea of the evolvement that would be a function of what we would call intellectual activity?

Ra: I am Ra. There is infinite diversity in societies under any circumstances. There were many highly technologically advanced societies which grew due to the ease of producing any desired result when one dwells within what might be seen to be a state of constant potential inspiration.

That which even the most highly sophisticated, in your terms, societal structure lacked, given the non-complex nature of its entities, was what you might call will or, to use a more plebeian term, gusto, or élan vital.