1. A method for processing in a reactive system, comprising the steps of: receiving an event message in response to an event occurring in the reactive system, the event message including event information; converting the event message into a first universal data structure including at least a portion of the information; processing the first universal data structure; selecting in response to the processing, a first state machine definition defining a first state machine; instantiating the first state machine; and controlling processing within the reactive system using the first state machine.