16. PANTHEISM AND MATTER
An evolutionsits view
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The unparalleled success of the human gene reveals its finest achievement
in mankind's growing spiritual awareness. The whole evolutionary thrust
of the last 4 billion years has led us through the physical achievements
of the human body to the spiritual depths of the soul. Souls defy
matter, and the spirit of mankind now defies death.
Reflections of eternity: a play on light.
The body has become host to a powerhouse of unbridled intellectual
capacity, our brain. The brain functions on the basis of energy waves
which, like radio waves, are indestructible and eternal. Every thought
we have has an eternal energy, and the host for this eternal energy
is the dynamic we call God.
I perceive this god-force to be the energy powering evolution - without
this energy there is no evolution, the god-force has no vehicle of
expression, no voice and no form; like a radio transmitter without
a receiver, a theoretical but unproven faculty. Neither did god make
man, nor did man make god - but both are driven by the spirit of evolutionary
vigour which resides in the ether of collective, conscious awareness;
and this conscious awareness is the one great discovery of the last
100 years of our 4 billion year history.
DUALISM
The world's religious teachers all spoke of an external god, the
dualist, 'Him and us' concept of deity. What other language could
they have used to engage the attention of illiterate followers? The
'dualist god' is an image for the inner and outer energies of our
extraordinary instinct to evolve and our evolving potential for spiritual
awareness. This energy expresses itself as Life, through the primal
cells, the amoebae and the algae of 4 billion years ago, and the genes
that continue to govern the instinct for growth and replication.
This instinct has grown from primitive beginnings into the greatest
collective experience of psychic energy we now call God. Just as the
world of photosynthesising plants spent a billion years filling our
atmosphere with oxygen, long before any animal appeared, so has the
instinct for evolution fed, sustained and empowered the primitive
energies of eternity. This god-energy comprises every thought, instinct
and experience of evolutionary development. We share that energy,
power it and are powered by it. More than this, we are now aware of
it, and are individually and collectively responsible for it.
The genes of replication govern the hereditary pattern and coloration
of this marine shell
In the simplest terms, the evolution of life has developed in character
with the long history of evolution, into the next most appropriate
form of self expression, the spiritual self, our soul. We are a long
way from perfecting this new development, and Christ, Mohammed and
Buddha, (the Enlightened One), are among the many messiahs, avatars
and prophets of spiritual growth that have become manifest out of
our collective consciousness, and come to help us take that great
step into eternal knowledge by intellectualising our instinctive functions.
The spiritual thrust of mankind powered them all - and our prophets
responded to the needs of their own kind.
BALANCE
Evolution mobilises human personality traits as well as purely
physical ones. Good and bad must find their relative balance, through
participatory experience rather than intellectual appraisal. So must
love and hate, generosity and greed, compassion and indifference.
The higher values of the human experience, like loyalty, self sacrifice
and beneficence are the characteristics that define spiritual ennoblement
and show the way of eternity. Lesser values like anger, avarice or
greed lead to disillusionment and are eventually abandoned by the
evolving spirit in favour of higher goals.
Artists mobilise evolution by expressing the language of the collective
unconscious, the astrological drift of the age and the changing face
of human values. Art may be temporal or sacred, beautiful or repugnant,
anguished or enlightened. The diverse influences of art will all help
us to evaluate true worth. And conscious evaluation leads to spiritual
evolution20.
20 Francis Bacon's satirical preoccupation with artistic horror and Damian Hirst's predilection for pickled bodies reveal just two image makers whose work we need to evaluate.
BIRTH OF MATTER
Physical growth is no longer our evolutionary goal - but the genes
of awareness are still at work, now generating new levels of spiritual
growth and co-creating an even greater god. God is no more and no
less than the instinct that powers the search for development; first
physically, then biologically, now spiritually. For the first 10 billion
years of our universe's history no life appeared.
Where was the energy of God? It was busy manifesting itself in the
organisation of single, undifferentiated atoms, seeking to requite
the laws of science by combining with other atoms to form molecules
of matter.
An atom nucleus with its attendant protons, neutrons and electrons.
These molecules then continued their instinctive role in seeking
to regenerate themselves with more free atoms, to make more identical
molecules before clumping together into visible matter. I detect no
creation here, no awareness, just the instinct for attraction of negatively
and positively charged atomic particles that characterises the laws
of physics and governs the complex state of matter.
The 'Instinct' for life must obey the laws of science - or none of
us would exist. This instinct resides in quarks, the regulatory particles
governing the identity of atoms, and as such, grouped together into
molecules, pervade all matter, all energy and all form in the length
and breadth of the entire universe. The clumping together of split
atoms after the Big Bang speaks of this instinct to develop, proving
the laws of physics and giving birth to the energy we now call God.
I leave you to consider the ultimate question - Who came first? Did
our god precede matter, as creationists would have it, or is the scientific
miracle of matter slowly evolving into a spiritual environment in
which divinity can express itself; a configuration in which we now
recognise ourselves to be an indivisible part?
Appendix I GLOSSARY OF TERMS
~~~~~~~~~~~ v v v ~~~~~~~~~~
Anima |
The feminine, yin or inner aspects
of a man's spiritual and emotional energies. (Like sensitivity
and creativity). |
Animus |
The masculine, yang or outer aspects
of a woman's spiritual and emotional energies. (Like drive and
determination). |
Archetype |
Recurrent, behavioural model or symbol
derived from the collective unconscious. (Like saviour, virgin,
jester, hero, fool). |
Astrology |
Study of the relationship of planetary
placements to human behaviour. Astronomy Study of the astral
configurations and planetary placements in the universe. |
Aura |
Spiritual energy field surrounding
humans, animals or matter. |
Brain- channels |
Left-brain controls logic, rational
and analytical perspectives. Right-brain governs intuitive,
emotional and spiritual perception |
Chakras |
Vortices of energy interfacing between
dense energy (the body) and the subtle, etheric energies (the
spiritual). |
Channel |
A Medium or 'Sensitive' who is able
to communicate with a discarnate entity. |
Collective- unconscious |
The external memory bank of mankind
experienced as archetypal motivations (e.g. good (serving) and
evil (threatening). |
Ego |
The consciously acknowledged aspects
of the self which attempt to control the anti social instincts
of the Id. |
Healing |
The balancing of chakras and auras
and the alignment of our energy fields. |
Higher Self |
Our personal spiritual character
and guide to inner growth and divinity. |
Id |
Freud's name for the instinctive
or animal- aspects of our personality which seek immediate and
unrestrained gratification. |
Individuation |
Expansion of the individual's awareness
of the unconscious. |
Intellect |
Mankind's newly learned faculty of
thinking, learning and reasoning. |
Karma |
Cause-and-effect philosophy governing
our successive incarnations. Prevails mainly in Buddhist and
Hindu cultures. |
Mind |
Our seat of conscious awareness and
our window on thought and feeling. |
Persona |
The measured aspects of our true
self that we present to the outside world. |
Projection |
Tendency to see in others our own
unlived or unawakened personality traits. |
Psyche |
The spiritual centre or soul which
energises the human state. |
Psychiatry |
Study of the malfunctions of the
mind. |
Psychology |
The study of the conditions of the
mind. |
Quark |
Any of a group of elementary particles
governing the nature of sub atomic matter. |
Repression |
Aspects of the personality which
are held back from conscious awareness. |
Shadow |
Untamed, unlived and denied aspects
of the inner self; the dark that defines light. |
Soul |
The individual's incorporeal interface with eternity and
divinity. |
Sub- conscious |
Experiences and memories lodged temporarily
below the level of our conscious awareness. |
Superego |
The self imposed face of our ego,
with which it is usually in conflict. |
Synchronicity |
Interplay between inner spiritual
energies and outer physical experiences. |
Unconscious |
Unseen, collective energies that
influence our thoughts and behaviour without our conscious input.
Experienced both on a collective level, i.e., belonging to all
of mankind, and on a personal level, relating to our own experience
of awareness. |
Yang |
Chinese for 'light' and the active
aspects of thought and behaviour associated with masculine,
logic and left brain function. |
Yin |
The Yin and Yang interlocking symbol
of inner & outer harmony. Chinese for 'dark' and the passive
aspects of thought and behaviour associated with feminine, intuition
and right brain function. |
Appendix II. BIBLIOGRAPHY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Agartha - Beautifully encouraging and loving teachings from
'Mentor', the spirit guide who started communicating with Agartha,
an American housewife in the late 80's. By Meredith Lady Young.
ISBN 0-345-36277-2 Ballantine, New York.
Answers - Mother Meera The erudite teachings of a young
Indian woman of great spiritual presence, widely acclaimed to be
a divinely incarnated Avatar. World-wide following. ISBN 0-9622973-3-X.
Meeramma, New York.
Astrology of Fate - Liz Greene. A scholarly look at our
social heritage from Greek myth to modern Astrology. Complex but
digestible, the author's fluent style maintains interest.
Edgar Cayce on Reincarnation - Cayce was a devout Christian
who initially doubted the reality of his gift to perceive past lives.
One of the greatest of our modern clairvoyants, (he died only in
1945) those who have yet to be convinced about reincarnation should
read this simple and sincere book. ISBN 0-85030-857-7 Aquarian Harper.
Freud - Anthony Storr. Freud was the father of modern psychology
who first identified the relationship between emotional health and
our inner sentiments. Background study to modern psychology. ISBN
0 19 282210 1 Oxford Univ Press.
Gildas Communicates - Scripts from the spirit guide channelled
by Ruth White. The books written about Gildas's messages do not
appear to do justice to his wisdom, knowledge and empathy. ISBN
85435 141 8 Spearman.
Going Within - Shirley Maclaine. A well informed and convincing
'first person' account of this talented author's spiritual journey.
Includes some fascinating eye witness accounts of phenomena like
psychic surgery, artist-channellers and assorted miracle makers.
ISBN 0-553-40048-7 Bantam.
Lazy Man's Guide to Riches - Joe Karbo. A practical guide
to life management through positive thinking. Humorous, effective
and sound. Success Classics Library.
Messages from a Doctor in the Fourth Dimension -Dr Karl
Nowotny. An extraordinary document dictated to a 'channel' by a
recently deceased doctor of considerable repute. No one should overlook
the significance of the increasing flow of informed communication
from the other side, the 'fourth dimension'. Dr Nowotny warns against
the dangers of dabbling with the spirit world, but explains from
his vivid and first hand standpoint what happens when we die and
what our tasks are on this and on the other side of the biological
divide. Read it. ISBN 0 7212 0895 9 Regency Press
New Primal Scream - Arthur Janov. A study of the effects
our dormant, neglected or suppressed emotions have on our lives.
First published in 1970 and still the leading work. Readable and
informative. ISBN 0 349 10203-1 Abacus.
Other Lives, Other selves - Dr Roger Woolger. Jungian trained,
Buddhist orientated author, teacher and lecturer. An enlightening
and authoritative look at past lives, prenatal choices and karmic
balance. Unique and original thinker. Essential reading. ISBN 1-85274-084-1
Thorsons.
Out on a Limb - Shirley Maclaine. Shirley's readable if
sometimes almost unbelievable story of her spiritual awakening -
subsequently made into a mini TV series in America and now available
in UK on video. ODY 643 Odyssey.
Psychology of C.G.Jung - Jolande Jacobi. Jung's many books
are profound and scholarly. Abbreviated versions are more digestible
at first. Strong spiritual beliefs reveal themselves in his work.
Read also Jung's Memories, Dreams, Reflections. ISBN 0 7100 15968
Routledge.
Relating - Liz Greene. A Jungian astrologer's illuminating
study of the psychological relationships between choice and fate.
All Liz's books are recommended for study, but start with this one.
ISBN 0 904576 54X. Coventure.
Seat of the Soul - By Gary Zukav, a Vietnam veteran; deeply
convincing and original perspective of the universe and its purpose.
Read it.... ISBN 07126 3071 6 Rider.
The Holotropic mind - Stanislav Grof . Grof's highly respected
research into the individual and collective unconscious spans 30
years and includes studies on drug induced psychic states and breathworking
techniques. His extraordinary findings support his view of a one-ness
of all creation and is a profound and enlightening perspective on
the nature of consciousness.
The New Creation in Christ ISBN 0-06 250659-5 - Bede Griffiths.
A Benedictine monk who combined Eastern and Western religious philosophies
with a unique and clearly stated interpretation. A charismatic,
convincing and universally respected teacher. ISBN 0-232-52014-3
Darton Longman & Todd.
The Road Less Travelled - Scott Peck. A well informed and
illuminating look at the faults and failings of our emotional development.
By a well known psychologist and author. ISBN 0 09 972740 4 Arrow.
The Third Chimpanzee - Jared Diamond An anthropologist's
intriguing view of the development of mankind and his extraordinary
social habits. ISBN 0 06 098403-1 Harper.
Tibetan Book of Living and Dying - Sogyal Rimpoche. A modern,
practical and usable manual and a rare source of inspiration in
dealing with the much neglected matter of death and dying. ISBN
07126 5437 2 Random Century.
Tibetan Book of the Dead. Traditional Buddhist teaching
which deals with the powerful energy of dying, where the experiences
of life are carried over into the Bardo state, the spiritual home
of reincarnating souls. ISNB 0-19-281302-1 Oxford University Press.
Whole in One - David Lorimer, (Director of the Scientific
and Medical Network). A well researched and detailed study of the
near-death experience, life review and the social, moral and spiritual
appraisal of humanity. ISBN 0-14-019258-1 Arkana.
Appendix III Acknowledgements
~~~~~~~~~~~ v v v ~~~~~~~~~~~
Page 42 'St Michael'. A sculpture installed in the Summit Chapel
at St Michael's Mount, Cornwall. Courtesy of Lord St Levan. Bronze,
28 inches. By Lyn Constable Maxwell.
Page 68 Sculpture 'Dying to Love' - carved plaster, 5 inches,
by Simon Constable Maxwell.
Page 76 'Despair'. Carved in plaster, 3 inches high. By Simon Constable
Maxwell
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