Let's begin with the Hermetic teaching of the ancient Egyptians. Hermes Trismegistis a master from ancient Egypt laid down seven principles. The first one of the seven is, "The All is mind; the universe is mental." The Greeks made him one of the god's of the pantheon, but it seems he was more potent as an Egyptian mystic. So let's add Aldous Huxley to the mix with his view of "Mind at Large" and Carl Jung and his concept of the collective unconscious. Further let's add the scientific work of Dr. Donald Hoffman, and Dr. Bernardo Kastrup. Even further, let's add the experiments in quantum mechanics that has shown the universe is conscious at its most basic building blocks known to humanity thus far. With all of these considerations, in my view, the case becomes overwhelming with a preponderance of evidence that the material world is indeed a mental construct, and we are participating conscious agents using the material world as an interface.
Again, maintaining some of my Christian roots, and believing that all religious tradition contains mystical revelation from the creative source I will include this passage from John's first letter. 1Jn 3:2 "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is." So what is John referring too in this passage? First, he is referring to the Logos indwelling Jesus, and Jesus providing the awareness that the Logos indwells all of us. Who is it that will ultimately be revealed? I believe that it is who and what the Logos really is. This verse in my view is a direct reference to the fact that all humanity is participating in the divine nature. When one realizes that the Logos is God-Consciousness, it brings this concept in line with the first hermetic principle. The universe is truly mental and mentally created.
Returning for a minute to Dr. Donald Hoffman. He and his research team believes that the material world that we experience is an interface for individual conscious agents to interact similar to a video game, computer or virtual reality. And while I logically and intuitively believe he and his team are right, I am also confronted with the realization that I am locked into this material plane of existence. The material world I experience is truly solid. I cannot put my hand through my desk and I cannot walk through walls. It is important to acknowledge that the world that Hoffman describes and sees is in my view the spiritual aspect of our world. I see a direct correlation between conscious agents interfacing with one another and what mystics call the spiritual realm or plane.
While I believe that our thoughts individually can greatly impact our material world, I also realize that the material construct is communal, that is, the product of the many conscious agents. It is this idea that makes me realize the importance of corporately generated thought entities and forms. To really make the significant changes that will improve the world we live in for all people, it will take group thought forms to produce it. It will take an awareness of how ubiquitous thought entities are, how they operate and, how they take on a life of their own, to come back to consciousness and perpetuate real transformational change.
It starts individually, but will only truly be successful if it is accepted by many individual conscious agents willing to agree in thought. This is a place where those evangelical groups that engage in corporate prayer for a common goal have impactful influence. It is not limited to evangelical prayer groups however, and in my view, much of what they focus on is not really addressing the pressing problems we face as a society today. In large part, they are not focused on social justice or ending racism. They are not focused on ending widespread poverty, injustice or inequality.
This is an area where people could form groups that are committed to changing the current thought forms, and creating new ones that are geared toward improving these areas. It does not have to be prayer per se, it can be focusing attention and thoughts to improving this area. While it must begin individually with each of us, it cannot remain siloed. It needs people to join together in agreement of thought and intention to bring about a change that will also take on a life of its own and further act to influence other conscious agents. This I believe is a way to bring God and spirituality beyond religion.
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