The above diagram is an effort to provide a visual graphic
of my view of the nature of reality. The foundation of the diagram is Cosmic
Consciousness or Creative Consciousness that I see as primal in the creation of
the corporeal material world. I have taken cues from the Kybalion and the seven
Hermetic Principles. You can see in the diagram a cyclic construct that keeps
individual conscious agents, more commonly known as souls, cycling in and out
of material and corporeal reality at the will of the individual. The only place
in my view that free will can exist is with the overall cosmic consciousness
which is eternal and with the individual aspect of that consciousness which we
call souls, which are likewise eternal. It is in the eternal nature of souls that
free will exists.
I base the cyclic nature of reality on the principle of
correspondence. the second principle of the Kybalion. It states as above so
below and as below so above. The idea is that both the material realm and the
spiritual realm are similar in nature. Therefore, one can extrapolate from the
material realm which is visible the nature of the unseen spiritual realm. We
see cycles everywhere in the material world and by the principle of
correspondence we can know that the spiritual realm is cyclic as well.
It is the cyclic nature of reality that has me convinced
that reincarnation is a reality. I view it in a nuanced way that is different
than most of the traditional views of reincarnation. It is the incarnation
process that allows us to exercise our free will. While this may anger some
people who have experienced trauma, I am of the belief that we choose our life
paths and to a great degree what experiences we will have. If we all exist in
the eternal now, and if matter cannot be destroyed only changed, then a life
span has much less effect on our eternal soul than it would seem while in the
midst of incarnation.
When I say I view it differently and nuanced I mean that I
do not see it as souls being trapped in a karmic cycle that they must advance
in to move off the treadmill. The little that I know about Buddhism and
Hinduism assumes that souls are locked into the cycle from some outside
superior force. That karma is similar to a punishment reward system that gives
an alternate dynamic of the orthodox Christian view of heaven and hell. What
resonates for me is that each of us individual souls are autonomous. We
ultimately decide what we participate in and consequently what we learn. What
we learn is added to the experiential knowledge of Cosmic Consciousness. I do
not think that we have to learn lessons over and over. I like the system of
spiral dynamics to explain the progression of the soul, the soul’s journey, and
the soul’s purpose.
This leads to the concept that we are not trying to move
back to oneness. We can do that at will and we do that similar to resting or
sleeping. This means that for me the material corporeal world is not evil and
not the construction of an evil demiurge. This is the place that I part ways
with Christian Gnosticism. I do not think that Yahweh is an evil creator. I
think that Yahweh is the construction of a people that saw evil in the world
and tried to explain it in human terms. I do not believe that the creator
ordered genocide. I do not believe that the creator destroyed the world by a
flood because the creation was too evil. I think things like that are merely
experiences of Cosmic Consciousness and an innate consequence of geometrical
form. Beyond that I will not try to explain as it is perhaps incomprehensible.
So, the whole journey back to oneness and the source does not fit into my
paradigm.
Another aspect of our reality that is plausible is the
reverse of as below so above. That of course is as above so below. If indeed
consciousness is foundational, then matter and the corporeal world is very
similar to a dream. Is it only our dream or is it a corporate dream. I tend to
think it is the latter. I conclude that from the as below so above aspect of
correspondence. We see within societal structure governing and planning
committees. It is reasonable to me then that the material realm is a construct
of what would be similar to a committee. This communal spiritual aspect could
be called a dream and locks us into the duration of our incarnation. It is more
solid than the dreams we individually dream but made essentially from the same
stuff, mind. In this case however, it is from the cosmic mind, the universal
mind, or the mind at large. This fits in with the first principle of the
Kybalion, “The All is Mind, the Universe is Mental.” So, there is a very
plausible way to see material reality as God’s dream.
It does seem natural to me that at some point in our
evolution on the incarnation path, we will be able to use our individual minds
for the purpose of mental alchemy. There is a way in which we are all capable
of changing circumstances by a mental process. This falls back to the principle
of correspondence. As above so below. Since Cosmic Consciousness creates
reality as we know it, then being a conscious agent, having within us the
divine nature of the Logos or consciousness of God, it follows that we too can
create reality and change reality with our mind and thought process.
After seventy-six years of living, I have settled on a
metaphysical and esoteric view of reality that includes panpsychism and
panentheism. My spirituality is syncretistic with an emphasis on the teachings
of Jesus and the Tao Te Ching. I think that Buddhism and Hinduism have value as
well. However, all religions are merely symbolic metaphorical views of reality.
While I find physicalist materialistic science wanting, I am happy to rely on
all it has established short of its explanation of creation being accidental.
For me, the idea that consciousness is the fundamental reality resonates and it
is being more widely accepted by some philosophers and scientists. In other
words, I see consciousness as the creative source and would be happy to call it
Cosmic Consciousness. I also see Christ Consciousness, Mind at Large, Universal
Consciousness as synonyms for Cosmic Consciousness.
It is easy for me to see mathematics as the prime
foundational knowledge. It is from mathematics that all other aspects of
reality emerge. Dimensions come from geometry,
so I see sacred geometry as an important aspect of reality and the catalyst of
form. I view Cosmic Consciousness as ethereal. I believe it to be synonymous
with spirit. I am beginning to see spirit as a quality of universal or cosmic
consciousness and its connection to matter or corporeal reality is the soul. I
define soul as similar to psyche or the Greek word Psuche. This is the spirit
of a human or an animal. I contrast that with the Greek word Pneuma and the
Hebrew word Rauch. They both are wind and are the metaphor for Cosmic
Consciousness or Creative Source/spirit.
I have adopted an eclectic or syncretistic spirituality. I
draw from mystical revelations in all religious traditions. I am most familiar
with Christianity, both orthodoxy and gnostic expressions. I would say that
next I am familiar with Hermetic philosophy. Third but certainly not lesser, is
the Tao Te Ching. I am somewhat familiar with Buddhism and Hinduism. The
foundation of my spirituality is Christian Mysticism, Gnosticism, combined with
Hermeticism and Neoplatonic philosophy. I am also informed by Jungian
Psychology, certain aspects of cognitive science and new ideas in quantum
physics.
A significant influence for me is the Kybalion and other
writings by William Walker-Atkinson. I have studied the Corpus Hermeticum from
three different sources and translations. I frequently read the Tao Te Ching
and have looked into Greek philosophy that I believe to be influenced by
Egyptian mystery religions. While I have not looked into the Kabballah, I am at
least familiar to the extent that it reinforces the esoteric teaching of
Hermeticism.
I will end this here for now with a quote from the Kybalion.
“The ALL is mind, the universe is mental.”
No comments:
Post a Comment