The third term is VÆREN — Norwegian for BEING, in the ontological sense.

English-speaking readers will recognise this as close to Heidegger’s Sein, translated as Being. The connection is real: both descend from Proto-Indo-European bhuH-, the root of existence itself. But VÆREN in this theory is used more precisely than Heidegger’s Being: it is not the Being of beings, nor the question of Being — it is simply the ground state, the fact that something rather than nothing exists, prior to all differentiation.

Throughout this book, the original Norwegian term VÆREN appears occasionally, but the English term BEING is used throughout as the primary designation of the concept. Here, BEING refers to existence itself, prior to all content, distinction and experience.

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