** Written for my Master's Program at CIIS, Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness**
The Awakened consciousness need not look outside of itself for the origin of the Universe. Of course, consciousness naturally has and will always look outside itself to understand its nature and expand its awareness. To perform inner and outer “soul-searching” is a good indicator where one might begin their Story. We begin a story not to suggest that there was nowhere else to start, but rather because it is where we’d like to start (presumably because it makes the most sense for us at a particular moment; a moment that is coupled with a particular intention. Interestingly, the mythical story always began with “Once upon a time…” As a Creative Philosopher with an interest in ancient wisdom, dimensional analysis, and human dynamics, I intend to begin formulating a story of the Universe that embraces the central origin in the hands of the developing conscious being. With this awareness I hope to expand to an understanding of the Universe as an ever-present morphic Being of Spiritual resonance. Finally, it is my heart-directed eteological intention to suggest that Humankind is undergoing a shift in consciousness which can be understood as a metamorphosis of Human Consciousness into Soul Consciousness.
At the center of the Universe is the realization that there is no true axial central dot, but rather that each conscious entity is its own center. By true, I mean that truth is relative to perceptual consciousness of being, or more simply, truth is relative to the perception of a particular Consciousness or Being of Awareness. In this sense, I deviate from the rational matrix dominant in modern man’s cultural system. This is not to denigrate Truth, as I still take it to be the most honest, practical, and noble form of our mental consciousness. However, I do mean to suggest that consciousness is not primarily mental, but rather an integral combination of the Heart’s tuning of higher forms of feeling, as well as mental truth. Wisdom then, is a form of intuitive ability where mental insight works with the heart to stay centered and harmonically in balance with the Universe as a whole. When wisdom and truth are in mutual alignment, the Human Consciousness is harmonically aligned with the Universe. When centered like this, the creative being becomes a compassionate, honest, creative being that is capable of effective manifestations of Beauty. This type of being in conscious awareness is the Core of source, origin, and Reality.
Of course, the Universe is not merely one being, but a multitude of co-creative entities. Since we are aware that we are not alone, and that we are surrounded by many similar but different forms of consciousness, we can proverbially see the nature of consciousness as a spectrum of visual colors, much like a rainbow. In this analogy, the 7 colors of the rainbow can be seen as 7 beings of individual consciousness. Historically, reductive Science has wanted to follow the rainbow to discover the “pot of gold” - all the way to its (dead) end. This has been riddled with contradictions and paradox because there is no pot of gold, beginning or ending, or truth that exists outside of a particular system of “knowing” via some form of conscious perception. One can reduce the colors to the label of light. Another might continue with that and claim it to ultimately be energy. At the heart of the matter, the rainbow could not be appreciated in its complexity of beauty without consciousness. Furthermore, it could not be available without the source of energy that has arisen as consciousness, and the origin of energy that has become a rainbow.
Truth is our most fundamental dogmatic misunderstanding of reality. Truth is not the apex of conscious experience. In fact, it has historically been an issue of serious self-destructiveness in Human Society. Any given “truth” is the denial of its opposite and a fundamental misunderstanding of the true nature of the Universe. However, this doesn’t entail that truth is without its very effective capabilities and practical applications for presenting the heart consciousness with options in Life.
Truth can be known as an empowering belief by the self, shared as a relatable understanding between the self and the other, mutually collectivized by the commonality of Us, and integrated as dynamic models for new modalities of conscious awareness; levels of awareness that allow a being to explore possible truths of beliefs and share insights. To be certain, the diminishing of truth as the Be-All-End-All, or Philosopher’s Stone, does not suggest the non-existence of truth. Truth, the pinnacle of the Mind, or ‘Psyche and Mentality’, then is to be more of a type of idea presented in a moment as conscious belief appropriate to a defined (and relative) space and time. Furthermore, this does not negate the ability for the emergence of an eteological understanding of Truth-In-Being, nor does it foolishly ignore the possibility of other potentialities. Rather, it builds a ‘rainbow bridge’ that is a processional construct for awareness to continue to transcend into higher dimensional levels of existence.
We must then try and view truth as a helpful organizing entity of consciousness that works with the ‘Heart-Matrix’ to develop understanding. Truth changes according to perception of experience, wisdom of having experienced and understanding of better methods for living. It is a construct used to support the ‘Heart of Being’ in its journey of ascendance into the mysteries of the Universe and the Spiritual reward of Beauty.
An enlightened consciousness embodies the Mind, of which is the Center for Mental Truths, and the Heart, that is the Center of Human Spirit. The Heart is the Creative Identity that differs from mental Being in its unique tastes, desires, wishes, dreams, and formations of beauty. I’d say that it is the primal source of Consciousness’ imagination and aspiration of Beauty. To be clear, I have identified two sub forms of consciousness as experienced by an illuminated Human Being; Mind and Heart Consciousness. I want to point out that I do not view either as subserving to the other. I’d rather propose a unity. We can see the Heart as an instrument of primal creative source attuned to the Earth and Her vibrations. We can view the Sun as the Light Being that brings understanding to the primal Imaginal Source Being. Harmony comes in conscientious mutual dynamics between these two sources. If one thinks about it, if we don’t deny these bifurcations of the conscious being, then we can also embrace both the physical reality and its energetic counterpart. Much like a Big Bang being a quantum enclosed casing for energy, the heart is the casing for spirit. Similarly, the brain is the casing for consciousness. To deny this, is to deny our origin, and to deny the very Essence of our Being.
It may be helpful to think of the Heart as a primal central dot that our Mind picks up as the felt presence of Being. For this reason, I have always advocated the essential wisdom of the primacy of self-experience. This primacy is one’s chance to experience the nature of the Universe while developing the spirited Being. Finding commonalities between felt experience and analyzed perception is the strength of analogical reasoning that makes it a powerful form of eteology. Indeed, when one can find congruencies between the beauty of external nature and the internal nature, this resonance is grounds for a sort of truth through wisdom of awareness. Again, this is not a truth that cannot be transcended, but rather, it is one heartfelt idea that can later be transcended when externalized nature presents new and interesting realities that resonates with internal spirit.
Be mindful then. The starting point is of our choice. Conscious Being is the mysterious node where the birfurcated energy of perception meets the experience of external reality. In other words, we are the Philosophers Stone. We are the thing that unites the very dualities that over-rationalizing mentality has found so paradoxical. In this respect, the Universe must be an evolving Being, much like ourselves. Where energy and matter meet, the heart and mind connect, the Conscious Being exists to bridge the awareness in-between. My own personal metaphysical Story of Origination is that which is most real to me. It is my own Conscious Being.
I can genuinely say, (without a sense of egotism or denial of the other), that the center of my Universe is my own sentient being. Believing that I am not alone, I can say that you too are also a center of the Universe. We together can say that the center of our Universe is a Human Collective Consciousness or Noosphere. I see Chardin’s Noosphere as the collective of human consciousness as it is structured and composed at any given moment.
With my sentience and your sentience, and our collectivity, we may be aware that our human sense perception has “discovered” that the Center of the Universe appears (is perceived by us with our senses) to be a form of pure energy. When looking through a telescope (in any direction), astronomers see that the oldest light appears 13.7+ Billion light-years away. At that point it seems to turn plasmatic. We may also be aware of human consciousness knowing a sense in which the microcosm also has infinite potential energy, sometimes called zero-point energy by quantum physicists. If at two ends of the spectrum there appears to be pure energy, and I am aware, via primacy of experience, that my consciousness seems to be a form of spirited energy (enveloped by the organic membrane), I would naturally intuit that a helpful and good origin of the Universe, in a metaphysical sense, seems to be a form of pure consciousness that progressively seeks new modes of expression in embodied forms of nature.
If we follow Chardin’s Noosphere to its climactic apex, we could understand the Universe as a type of Uni-spheric entity that is the combined matrix of collective conscious reality. Reality then, is a creative combination of every Being’s imagination and development of conscious awareness. Though not necessary or well-formed at this moment, I view this “entity” and the Collective Other, the Collective Consciousness, the All-Seeing Eye, the Concrescence of Consciousness in Reality and the Radiating Energy of Spirit and Nature. This integral source of Being, is the Creative Conscious node of Being, where every Spirited Soul of Individual Consciousness connects to form a Unispherical formation of Awareness that directs the expressed presence of reality. For that entity, we are the external reality, and for us, it is the external reality. More appropriately, we are of the same reality, because the other is just another form of our Spirit and the Collective of Beings.
I’d like to continue along by stating my most fundamental emergent eteological assertion; one that is more a wisdom than a truth; more understanding than specific fact. Simply put: In every one thing, exists the connection of everything else – and reflexively, the connection of everything, which I take to be Spirit, is the presence of all Being. When I say this I think of fractals. From everything comes everything else. It is not entirely the same as that which it is connected to, nor is it completely different or separate. A certain amount of novelty is retained which gives birth to further creative potential in the form of new being. All Being is, in essence, a relationship of Conscious Being (like each and every one of our conscious Being’s), that connect at the Center of Spirit, which reflexively, is therefore an emergent Conscious Being. Together, We are God, and likewise, God is the Collectivity of All of Us. Here we can see that the dynamic connection of All Conscious Beings into a Central Source of Spirit, as BEING the very necessary condition for resolving the bifurcation we experience as internal and external reality – Every Conscious Being, in its connection to Spirit, forms a Spiritual Being, that continues the evolving nature of Conscious Awareness, to make its own contributions to the Universe.
We categorically, by the very truth and heart of our nature, must be the “other Spirit” to the emergence of an Entity or Being at the central source of our combined Being. In other words, by the very fact that nothing can be separate in the Universal whole, (note: it can be polarized but not separate), we can’t help but share our nature with every Being, and thus, affect every Being. This dynamic is fractal. It is the Source equation producing a result or giving birth to a creation that then becomes a Being in its own right that experiences by taking the original source of Being and feeding it through its own unique identity matrix. A new result is produced: a fractal of the first. Much like two amoebas came from the splitting of one, and a new baby comes from the communion of two, the result is a combination of the original source(s).
Implementing a fractal understanding of the Universe, we can use analogical reasoning to suggest that the Universe is like a Human – and obviously, also unlike a human. Is the pupil of our eyes, as it consumes photons of light, much different than black holes? By the nature of the fractal Universe, the similarities and differences are apparent. I like to take a dimensional approach to understanding consciousness because I find it useful for creating ideas that can bridge the human to the Universe. In other words, drawing upon scientific observations and the principles generally observed, the Universe may help us understand the Human better. Likewise, we may simultaneously learn more about the Universe in the process.
Modern society generally views the Big Bang as an unsatisfactory theory because of its inherent contradictions. I believe that this mythical story also lead to the bifurcated issue of the difference between matter and consciousness, as well as the problem of time. What came before? What was first? These paradoxical questions only exist within the stereotypical “standard western rationalist framework” of understanding. Despite the truths of that, I think that our society is currently in a phase at which we are between confused and fragmented stories for Being and a collective united Story of Being. My aim is partially to deconstruct these and similar paradoxes by carefully untangling the mental consciousness and spiritual consciousness; components that make us Beings of Universal Nature.
One paradox that always mystified me was the perceived problem of infinity. When I stare into a mirror that reflects upon another mirror, I feel like I am looking into one of the most fundamental mystery’s of the Universe. Once seeing infinity as a concept only understood by God, I now prefer the term ‘indefinite reality’ where potential rests. Infinity is what one needs to provide space for the future of creative expansion - in and out of Being. Thinking back to the mirrors that are reflecting upon each other, I now like to say that they go on indefinitely. Indeed, it would seem that one can continue the spiraling fractal of the mirror within the mirror until your vision is no longer a useful medium, you become tired, or you get distracted by its unending perplexity. Infinity then, is what we mean when we say that something can go on forever, probably will forever go on, or perhaps, is that which we have not yet been able to define or determine. Thus it is the undefined reality. It is also, I believe, the illusion of reality, necessary for the very existence of mystery, beauty, and individual consciousness. Is the Universe a framework where an infinite division or intended bifurcation of dualities is constructed for the purpose of existence? And isn’t this nothing more than the very things we hold most dear in life? – the dynamic of relationships whereby Beings are allowed to perpetually experience new forms of beauty that they have a part in creating. I can let you decide. My point is to expose the mental mind to the resolve and necessary open freedom needed by heart consciousness to allow for the type of Being that we appreciate.
There are other problems with our current modern framework, but for now we can at least understand that they are a result of the very system which they are a part of. When one expands outside of the system, gains an “out-of-box” perspective, one may begin to find that they are in a better position to understand existence. Certainly, we Humans are at a crucial stage in our development where we are hoping to come to a new understanding of ourselves and the Universe so that we may live in abundance and harmony. The other road would seem to lead to extinction.
I think Gebser was wise in trying to identify the different levels or aspects of consciousness. I disagree with his analysis of ancient peoples, but I think that can be overlooked for this paper in as much as we recognize to embrace his dimensional analysis of consciousness. (I do wish to say however that) in my opinion, the social complex of today tends to produce people who project their understanding of consciousness on to other cultures and people of the past. Regardless of our current experience, and good intentions, or even of our notions to be integral in our thinking, we still have inherited a linear bias towards our thinking – one based on evolutionary theory and a purely rational construct for consciousness. We seem to have inherited a peculiar deconstructive task whereby we take apart our social and philosophical matrix of understanding. However, I think it is valid to say that every period of time, in e very culture and social complex, has a multitude of beings with their own understanding. Shamans, ascetics, holy men, monks, and perhaps you and I, are merely Beings that decide to remove themselves from the enclosed matrix of social complex in order to understand how best to direct it for the future. Despite our ability to project what it might be like if we had a “2 dimensional consciousness,” we cannot remove ourselves completely from the culture of which we are a part. For this reason, I believe that ancient and indigenous cultures have had access to an understanding of nature, consciousness, and the universe, that provides valuable insight into the future of Human consciousness. (More on this later)
While our social job as deconstructionists may appear fragmented, it would have a special purpose. However, to do our job well, we must not forget the higher goal – constructive synthesis or integral modalities of existing. We may not want to forget that our tools of deconstruction are just another construct, because it is a tool that can become destructive. By the sheer fact that we live in a period where past modes of consciousness are deteriorating on a global scale, we are inherently not at the apex of human understanding, yet. I think these ideas are especially important now because I believe our ancient ancestors were correct in foretelling that our current era is the time in which a major mutation is taking place. The fragmentation of our being, as a result of the social matrix that embraces a dualistic rational systems-based approach, has separated us from our deeper Being. We have forgotten who we are. Perhaps, we have deconstructed ourselves so that we could put ourselves back together again – even better. That should be the task of the human living now. In fact, that is the special opportunity we are presented with today.
Despite the inability of many people to view the landscape of human consciousness from the apex that it may have been viewed from by the ancients, we are ultimately reducing (via logical synthesis) so that we may better understand our true nature as the origin of source itself. In my own extensive deconstruction of the social construct, I have reduced logical rationalism to its cold and empty void. Initially frightened, I regained a sense of purpose by detaching myself from that patriarchal modality and was able to establish a very important concept, namely that: one of the most fundamental laws of the Universe is that it is composed of relationships. It is with appreciation of the beauty of complexity that I am able to slowly turn off the ‘machinehead mentality’ and make space for something new – make space for the new creation. In so doing, something seems to have begun to seep in from ‘the cracks of forgotten existence’ and opened my eyes, figuratively and literally. I believe it to be the beginning of a mutation, much like that of which Gebser spoke.
I am developing a dimensional understanding of consciousness. It would best be presented in a type of hyper textual holographic media format, but we can make do with our imagination. Because I believe that Beings desire to understand what it means to be in existence, I see the pursuit of greater consciousness to be connected to a type of conquest of dimensionality.
The zero-point Dimension of Pure Being
This is the source of pure energy and conscious spiritual awareness. It is represented as a dot because we can see no smaller. The one thing, by its very nature, can only be reflected upon from a higher dimension. When we do so, it can be understood as both nothing and everything. It is nothing because one thing by itself is ultimately meaningless as it has no relational dynamics. Thus it is Zero dimensional. It can also be understood as everything because without it, nothing could exist. In fact, I’d call it the bifurcation where nothing and everything become one single, indefinable, plasma of being.
It is the undefinable (and infinite) point at which energy becomes form. It always exists as the eternal moment of now. It is the center of origin and the ever-present realization of being. For a human, that is our base reality which exists as a bifurcation between awareness of conscious being and material reality. That point can never be defined without introducing some level of relational dynamic. It is in a sense, existing being as pure essence.
Sometimes I call it the energy collector because I view it as responsible for the perpetual processing of Being. It is the reason that rationality views a bifurcation between matter and energy, body and mind, soul and spirit. Perhaps, finally, I’d claim that it is a type of unconscious awareness. Because it is the awareness of all where all connects in spirit, it is the point at which Being Concresces and emerges – therefore, it is where nothing is transmuted by everything to become one thing – a Being in Awareness. Our rational mind will contest this notion, but that is its nature. For clarity’s sake, let’s just call it the origin where spiritual energies meet to realize the awareness of being; the All-Seeing-Eye of Beings interconnected to form creative reality.
The Human-Being as Awareness of Being: Illuminating the Conscious Spirit
Present day man, for the most part, seems to exist (at base-level) as a Zero-Point Being of Spirit, with a 3-dimensional physical reality of form, a two-dimensional mental consciousness, and a 1-dimensional understanding of time.
For man, the conscious reality is generally perceived as the 3rd dimension. I contend that this is because we can’t (yet) see beyond a binocular perspective-oriented point-of-view. We typically refer to this “external” reality as our physical reality, but it inherently and essentially requires every dimension described above.
Our mental reality, which has eagerly sought to externalize itself through empirical scientific observation and rational analysis, exists on a 2-dimensional level. It deconstructs to analyze, and is therefore able to reconstruct via synthesis. At its most detrimental, our consciousness is fragmented until it becomes a deconstructive duality of alienation and separation. I think of the term “Raising our consciousness,” to mean that we should use our consciousness in a three-dimensional format. This type of consciousness is the one able to see differences but also capable of integrating and synthesizing into a holistic understanding of union. In that sense, it is capable of taking the 2nd dimension, the 1st dimension, and the Zero-dimension and integrating it into a successful 3-dimensional form for the reality of all.
The zero dimension of man includes (but is not limited to) his sense of feeling. Human consciousness is quite aware of this more primal nature of being as the spark of life. A wise consciousness works to raise these aspects of awareness and integrate them into a higher level of awareness. As 0-dimensional modalities, feelings can be irrational. They blend together and have high levels of boundary dissolution. The world of feeling is a great metaphor we can use to understand the experience of non-dual polarities. The way that love and hate interweave with fear and resolve with compassion is exactly how we experience the sense of feeling. It is also exactly why our mental faculties freak out about irrationality, paradox, and also, the mysterious essence of life.
The rational brain can effectively identify feelings, but always has trouble trying to fit feelings into dual categories. For instance, is the opposite of love hate or fear? Where does compassion fit in? Interestingly, as a 0-dimensional form of experience, it now appears to be more connected to the 3-dimensional reality of the automatic body. The conscious mind then, is that which would mold 0-dimensional feelings with 2-dimensional mental capabilities to affect the 3-dimensional reality positively.
Time is a strange illusory aspect of existence that seems to be intimately related to material need for space, the mind’s ability to organize, the heart’s rhythmic polarity of pulse, and the awareness of a Being’s ability to conduct at a point of concrescent form and radial energy. I sometimes think of time as a 1-dimensional vector that orients the direction of process. For instance, the 1st dimension is symbolized as a single line, but is composed of two end-point dots. Without time, how does one connect the dots? With a feeling of will, and a mental ability to see one course of action over another, a Being could go from left to right, or right to left. From this we see that time is needed for both analysis and decision making.
When we call time a vector, we are saying that it is oriented in a direction. We always experience the ever-present origin of now (except when we descend to the shadows of unconsciousness – or, proverbially blink the eyes of consciousness to rest, refresh, and re-orient from nothing back to existence), we always remember the element of a past, think about the future, and may understand that time is relative. Understanding the theory of relativity allows us to raise our mind towards a reality of relativity in our own conscious experience. While we don’t experience it much, we do have a vague sense of it when the teapot won’t boil while you wait, or when time flies as you are having fun. Therefore, there is a sense in which it exists in our conscious reality, but has not yet been fully integrated into conscious experience – but I believe, in a sense, it is about to.
We already experience a sense of consciousness where time is interestingly non-existent. We call it dreaming. I am speculating that from the shadows of our mysterious subconscious, the human is giving birth to a new form of being that is of a higher energetic density. The veil of time will probably be removed enough to dissolve the barrier between consciousness and its access to the Universe over great distances of space. However, it will retain a level of distinction in as much as sequences are needed to synchronize conscious understanding in relation to the self, the other, and the Universe at large. We are, in effect, and according to my speculation, becoming 4th dimensional beings.
The very indigenous and ancient cultures that prophesize a Shift of Ages (the event we have simplified into the notion of 2012), are the cultures that call integral time the “Dream Time.” I believe that dreaming is the human preparatory experience for a Spiritual Consciousness that is ready to undergo a transmutation into a higher dimension. Due to the unveiling of time as we understand it, the nature of that reality is one in which the external physical materiality does not have the extended feedback process of slowly being changed by our consciousness. In our present 3-dimensional conscious reality, the feedback mechanism that connects source to consciousness appears to be stifled by great distance. Very few humans are able to break the light barrier of consciousness. The 4th dimensional reality, on the other hand, has a biofeedback loop that is much faster. That which you think can be created in an amount of time that we would consider instantaneous. A consciousness that is not aware of its connection to the Universe or its ability to create its own reality, and is not grounded with a compassionate Spirit, will most likely be instantaneously destructive or hazardous to other 4-th dimensional beings. That is why now is a very important time to integrate the different modalities of consciousness with our full awareness of being.
The Kingdom of Light, metaphorically and literally awaits us. I do not simply conjecture based upon inference of Dream Time consciousness. I have begun to experience the Dream-Time Consciousness while being aware of my existence in the third dimension. I believe that my two eyes, in conjunction with my inner eye (pineal gland), are able to triangulate a type of holofractalographic interface. I can have my eyes open and see “reality.” I can literally close my eyes and immediately begin to see a reality that is quite alien and exotic – without falling asleep. It is a bit like living in two worlds. Perhaps this is the transitory state of consciousness, and perhaps we actually will be living in two different worlds of the same Universe. That I do not know.
What I sense, and what I believe at the Core of my Heart, is that I am starting to mentally understand this process. I am aware that it is happening. I see the human body as a cocoon for conscious awareness to have an environment for playing, learning, and experiencing. The butterfly, in this analogy, is the very thing that we have always wanted. It is that which Thomas Berry said we need. The human being is preparing for the spiritual harvest of the Soul.
