It’s All Connected: A peek into the theory of everything and the problem of evil.

First look at the preponderance of the evidence. Consciousness is indeed the foundational aspect of reality, and it is the source from which all dimensions exist. Yes, there are several dimensions. This earth plane can be likened to a laboratory and a university. It offers the chance for one to develop love in a real sense. I am speaking of genuine love for self and for the other. The only way to truly love the other is to fully love and accept oneself. It does, however, have its limitations and drawbacks. It can be beautiful and rewarding, and it can be dangerous and unforgiving. The one thing to take to heart is that each of us is eternal and exists in the eternal now. That is a difficult thing to grasp as this dimension of space time hides the eternal reality, and instead provides the illusion of temporary existence. This illusion seems more real than reality and is deceptive to say the least. It is punctuated by the fact of birth and death.

While we are one with the source we are also separate souls or conscious agents and the following paradox is real. We are one and separate at the same time and in that our oneness is greater than our separateness. These facts can be understood intuitively and quite likely will resonate with you as well. This is important foundational information to begin to look at the theory of everything. There is a problem with space-time and quantum mechanics. Physicists have been searching for a theory of everything that would unify the explanation of the material universe. To date, they have not been able to reconcile the two into one congruent theory. I believe it is because they are trying to do it with physics alone and even if they did it would not be a theory of everything.

Along with the problem of physics, there are other problems that face humanity. There is the “hard problem” of consciousness. Alongside of this, philosophers and theologians have been faced with the “problem of evil.” The theory of everything should solve all of the problems. The first problem I want to confront is the problem of evil. To do this it is necessary to create some thought experiments. The reason is that while the problem of consciousness is a more fundamental problem, the problem of evil gets in the way of exploring all the possibilities. My hope is that in presenting these thought experiments I will not create straw men but be faithful to the explanations that currently exist.

I am not that happy with the definition of theist or deist. I would say that I am an amalgamation of both, and perhaps there needs to be another term though I do not have one to offer. Here is how I currently see God. I much prefer the term creative source because of the negative connotation so many have for the term god. I also like the word parent as I want to include both genders in the creator, but I have been willing to settle for father, and I am also growing fonder of the Hermetic term “The All.” I would label myself a panpsychist. I absolutely see consciousness as foundational. There is a ubiquitous history of that concept which I will deal with at a later point.

I see each of us souls as conscious agents. However, similar to what I believe Dr. Donald Hoffman has suggested, there are conscious agents of lesser consciousness than humanity all the way to the smallest building block and it is a combination of these agents that increasingly grow intellect and understanding. I believe that creative source, which I will forward refer to as consciousness is eternal. If it is the first cause of everything, it always was and always will be. It can anticipate everything that is was and ever will be. However, as solely consciousness it cannot experience anything. So then, this is where Dr. Bernardo Kastrup comes to my rescue philosophically. Consciousness chooses to splinter into a kind of dissociative personality Hoffman calls conscious agents that has a unique place in the corporeal and material world. Our experience is that humanity is at the pinnacle, but it is possible that there are conscious agents much more advanced in experience than us. Of course, as of this date that is speculation on my part.

Consciousness is continually expanding, and this expansion is brought about by the experiences of conscious agents. What we can be sure of is that this expansion is happening in the corporeal material world. It is a logical conclusion that there are other dimensions as well. We have hints of this but do not have specific understanding of what they are or what they might be like from a conscious agent vantage point.

Since we are an agent of the one creative consciousness, our essence is eternal as well. That is why all of the mystical traditions explain our existence as children of the creator. In a corporeal, material, temporal world we cannot be sure of this by any other means than intuition or mystical revelation. However, for me it makes sense that our sense of self as conscious agents is as eternal as consciousness. So within the corporeal, material, and temporal plane there is suffering and pleasure, joy and sadness.

I must add to this that within creative consciousness it seems logical that the individual conscious agents would by committee have input and say so in developing the material corporeal world. This is the place where “free will” would come into existence. Furthermore, it is logical that this committee would make certain that each conscious agent was treated in an egalitarian way. Each would experience suffering and pleasure, joy and sadness equally over the multiple incarnation process. This in and of itself would provide a type of theodicy for the creative source, consciousness. Since time is a product of material reality, at the consciousness level or the unification of conscious agents, there only exists the eternal present or the eternal now. It is in this way that suffering could be a logical choice for the expansion of conscious experience. However it would all be evened out in the eternal present. While this may not be comfort for those who are experiencing extreme suffering in the material plane, it never the less would supply a reasonable explanation of why suffering takes place.

There is natural evil and there is moral evil in the material corporeal realm. Neither of these exist in the eternal present beyond the expanding experience of consciousness. This is the place where I believe that it is all moving toward the expansion of love. I base this on spiral dynamics. Spiral dynamics shows that humanity is moving on an upward spiral toward more and more enlightenment. Of course, I acknowledge that there is much that is evil in this world, but the fact is that it is diminishing over time and more and more conscious agents are operating in a benevolent manner toward one another. It therefore seems logical that this upward spiral is the purpose and plan of consciousness. If this is the case it is reasonable to suggest that at the creative conscious source level is the highest vibration which is peace and love, and the purpose is to have conscious agents that become more aware of this concept and experience each in an ever-increasing fashion.

Yes, this concept involves reincarnation, but it is by choice. It is within the whole of creative consciousness, but it is at the individual conscious agent level that free will exists. Each individual conscious agent is aware of the potentiality of each incarnation but does not have that awareness based on experience, and it is experience that works it out in space and time. Likewise, it is experience that creative consciousness is using to expand and grow the universe or if you prefer the multiverse. Each conscious agent being a part of creative consciousness then, is totally free to choose each incarnation. It is also possible to choose not to incarnate and remain in the whole, but that does not last forever in time as challenges arise and a rested agent is ready for the next experience.

It should be stated that the goal is to create the perfection enjoyed by the whole creative consciousness in a material and corporeal world.. My experience thus far shows me that is impossible and is the precise reason for needing occasional rest after many tries. However, spiral dynamics points to the fact that it is improving on and upward trajectory. While this certainly does not explain everything, it logically goes a long way toward explaining the problem of evil and its solution.

Next, we will look at the place of the mystics, Jesus, Buddha, the Tao, and Shamanism within this explanation.

 

God Beyond Religion: Progressive Awakening; Two Mystical Contributions from the Jesus Narrative

One of my friends on Facebook posted that he realized that he was arrogant when he was an evangelical pastor and that it was a waste of precious time. The arrogance came into play as he thought that God had given him a message every week and that it was important for the people to come and hear it every week. He went on to say that he was delivered from that. This caused a light bulb moment for me because I can recall doing the same thing.  I too thought that God was giving me a weekly sermon that was spiritually important for those who I was teaching and preaching too. What I realized with this is that we all, humanity, are going through, and are at different stages of an awakening to deeper consciousness and deeper reality. It could be that this is because of the dawning of a new age, literally. The age of information, the age of Aquarius. I must admit that the presupposition that informs this idea for me is panpsychism. It is best described by the idea that was stated in the Kybalion, “the All is Mind, the universe is mental.” As the days go by, I become more and more convinced of this view of reality.

So, to differentiate me from my online friend, I’m not sure that it was a waste of time. Rather it was a transition from one reality to a deeper reality. I must take into consideration that I likely chose my life path, which means that I chose to be born into a fundamentalist Christian family in 1946 for a specific reason, and for a specific expansion of consciousness having a material and corporeal experience of learning. I should perhaps relate the nuance of the family I was born into. My mother, and my older sisters were fundamentalist Baptists all the way, however, my father was raised catholic but did not really attend any church regularly, and a childhood memory I have had all these years, is when my mother would go off on a tangent like, the Roman Catholics weren’t really saved, my dad would say. “Iva, I think you’ll be surprised when you get to heaven who’s there. I guess that I sensed that he did not take the fear of hell all that seriously, and that likely rubbed off on me.  You can find a more in-depth explanation of my interesting transition from fundamentalist to agnostic, to mystic, back to evangelical, and finally back to an eclectic and syncretistic spiritual mystic that is probably more accurately a panpsychist. I will post a link to it at the bottom of this article.

So, why wasn’t my foray into evangelicalism a waste of time? That is the question that is the main point of this post. While I understand that orthodox Christianity and especially evangelical orthodoxy is very toxic, there is a fairly important mystical message within the Jesus Narrative. It has nothing to do with sin and salvation, and for those who have suffered spiritual abuse, and spiritual trauma by this concept, they are unlikely to be comforted by this realization, at least for a long period of healing, but I will state it none the less.

If one sees some type of spirituality as important, then this realization is best found in a part of the Jesus story. Whether one believes that Jesus was an actual historical person or not, (I believe he was), this message or realization is important either way. I will readily admit that myth is an important part of all religions and spiritual traditions. Some are beneficial and some are not, but myth has proven to be important throughout millennia in the upward spiral of humanity. So, without further ado let me get to the two concepts. They are what has been called the KENOSIS, and the resurrection.

I do not want to minimize the good teaching about ethics and love found in the sermon on the mount or various other parts of the New and Old Testaments, but the two elements that are missing, at least explicitly in other spiritual traditions is the KENOSIS and the RESURRECTION. I base this on the idea that panpsychism is correct, and therefore, it is most likely that an eclectic, syncretistic spirituality is the best way to proceed. This requires that one uses intuition, the presence of spirit within, to discern what is beneficial from a wide variety of spiritual and religious traditions.

Let’s first examine the concept of KENOSIS. This is an idea that Paul mentions in his epistle to the Philippians. I will quote it from the NRSV. Php 2:5-8  “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,  (6)  who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,  (7)  but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,  (8)  he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” Orthodoxy has limited this to Jesus, but that does not acknowledge what the verse actually says. Paul emphatically states, “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”  To literally take Paul at his word would require that we have the same view about our deity as Jesus did. Let that sink in. According to Paul in this passage, we as humans, should think the same way about ourselves as Jesus thought about himself. What did he think? He thought that he was the incarnation of the Logos, the conscious, creative word of God. He thought that he was the son of God, and that God was his father. This means that he thought that he was the offspring of the creative energy source.

He also thought that he was the anointing (Christ) of the Logos, and so if we have the same mind, then we would think that we as well are the anointing (Christ) of the Logos. You may ask was Jesus unique in this regard? I would say that his uniqueness is in the fact that he was the firstborn of a new humanity. He was the first one to recognize that we are the anointing of the Logos. The writer of John’s first epistle expressed it this way, “as Christ is in the world, so are we!” It seems very clear that Paul’s meaning was a lot more profound than orthodoxy had expressed. In fact, in a lot of ways, orthodoxy has been a real detriment to the mystical understanding that the Jesus Narrative provides to all. I am advocating for using the mystical messages of Christianity to benefit people who are far more eclectic in their spirituality. These two understandings of Jesus are a benefit for everyone. You don’t have to embrace Jesus as the savior from sin to realize that woven within the message is Jesus the mystical master that can improve ones understanding of spiritual awakening.

Now let me bring this concept’s implications to the one who accepts eclectic spirituality as a valid path. I mean, the one who draws from a variety of spiritual traditions to inform their view of reality, and most especially their place in spirituality. Many of the reincarnation beliefs teach that we forget our past experiences upon arrival into the earth plane at birth. That is a perfect description of Kenosis. In these traditions it is the goal to remember past experience and knowledge little by little with expansion in mind. Kenosis in the Greek is an emptying. Emptying and forgetting are the same thing when it comes to past knowledge and experience. Further, if as some cognitive scientists believe, we are conscious agents, or as Dr. Bernardo Kastrup believes we are dissociative personalities of the one universal conscious, while we are equal with creative consciousness, we empty that knowledge. The Jesus story provides an explanation of how we forget former lives and former information when we incarnate. It is via KENOSIS.

Now let's look at the resurrection. It also is an important part from the Jesus narrative. The only way that we can be sure that we are eternal is if we are resurrected. That is exactly what is claimed that Jesus did or had done to him. There are no other religions the claim to have the resurrection phenomenon. This is yet another place where parts of the Jesus narrative can inform all religions and it isn't necessary to accept the orthodox position of sin and salvation. Rather, one who is accepting of eclectic and syncretistic spirituality can glean truths from various traditions and amalgamate them in the one view of spirituality. So for instance, 1 can include kenosis and the resurrection with reincarnation and form a better picture of spiritual reality.

It's possible that when Jesus spoke of being born again he was referencing reincarnation. He was speaking in spiritual terms. Therefore, being born again, could allow one to realize that they will have the opportunity to experience many lives on the earth plane and forget the past lives only to rediscover the important truths that carry over into the growth of the individual spiritually. This adds additional experiential information and knowledge to the whole and is likely the reason for our incarnating in the first place. This idea allows Jesus to actually be revealing additional truth to what was already present in other spiritual traditions. This could be true even of Judaism if one realizes that the Kabbalah accepts many of the characteristics eastern spiritual traditions.

While it is absolutely not necessary that one embraces the Jesus narrative or for that matter studies it at all it is still true that understanding kenosis and resurrection are important concepts in eclectic and syncretistic spirituality. It seems a shame to me that orthodoxy and Christianity in general has developed a dogma so toxic as to make it impossible for those who have been traumatized by it to adopt certain revelations into their spiritual view.

Here is the link I promised to my story:

 

God Beyond Religion: A Spiritual Download

It was either 1974 or 1975. It was a warm Michigan summer evening. The windows in my pickup were down because in Michigan there is little need for air conditioning in vehicles. I was driving on highway U.S. 127 coming from Mid-Michigan Community College where I had finished teaching a painting and drawing class. It was close to sunset. There is a fairly long hill by Michigan standards coming south from the campus. It begins in a pine forest and ends at fields of new mown hay. As I got close to the bottom of the grade, the trees gave way to two fairly large fields on either side, both left and right. There it was. The moon was rising about fifteen degrees above the horizon to my left, and the sun was setting about fifteen degrees above the horizon to my right.

Instantaneously I could feel a tremendous amount of energy passing through my head, and I began to chant. It was as if I had the awareness of everything all at once as I chanted on. I was truly one with universal consciousness. It was as though I knew everything known, and it was there all at once. This went on for about twenty minutes of a thirty-minute drive to my home in Rosebush Michigan. During the twenty minutes I did not recall driving and my avatar was on automatic pilot. My I-AM was engaged in a knowledge download. The chant was melodious. I was singing rather than simply speaking. I know that I was fully engulfed in an amazing peace that really defies explanation. The only thing I remember from the experience was the last line of the chant and I said, “and to the lion, killing isn’t wrong.” That’s where it ended. The thing that I remember most during this experience; I was filled with an amazing peace, but I can absolutely not remember any of the chant except the last line.

I do believe however, that in that dump of spiritual info, I received all of the words of knowledge and all of the spiritual insight that I have given over the years. I have a strong intuition and there are times when I know things about people that I really have no way of knowing, and when I have the courage to share it… it always proves to be right on and just what the individual needed to hear at the time. Since that time I have been driven to understand the nature of reality and the purpose to which this material world exists.

I believe as Nikola Tesla did that, we are receivers from the mind at large. I think I prefer that term “mind at large: though little known and only by those who have read Aldous Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception.” It is interesting to me how synchronicity works because a couple of years before that experience, while taking a graduate painting course at Central Michigan University, my instructor assigned us to read that book as part of painting class. At roughly the same time I was introduced to Fritjof Capra’s “The Tao of Physics” and another friend suggested I read Carlos Castaneda’s novels. I began with “A Separate Reality,” moved on with “Journey to Ixtlan” and kept on from there. I also began to have people with clairvoyant abilities come into my life. I understood that the world that I was in was definitely shaped by consciousness or what one could call spirit. It was easy for me to accept the reality that somehow spirit, or consciousness was underlying reality.

While I had never heard the word panpsychism nor was familiar with any of the philosophers that held that view of reality, it was definitely my view even if I did not know the term. It would be many years before I would come to study Hermetics or read the Tao, but the foundation was laid in this experience. It was also in this time period, later that winter, that I would experience other phenomena on that drive. I began to see bright lights in the sky above my home as I was driving. This would be during this thirty-minute drive. It was like they were parked right over my house. I would see them in the direction of where I lived and as I got closer and closer to home it was obvious that they were there, in the sky. I remember one evening in particular. I saw the light there, and when I got home, my wife’s aunt was babysitting our children. I ran in the house to have her come out and look at it. When she came out, I swear it turned into a plane with a blinking light and moved on. She must have thought I was crazy. I swear, before I went in the house it was just a bright light, white in color and hovering up in the sky and it actually blew my mind that it turned into an ordinary plane.

I remember another evening in the cold Michigan winter. It was a crisp evening with a full moon shining down on the shivering cold. I looked up at it and I had a sense come over me that I was not from here. I was in reality from somewhere out there. It was an overpowering awareness and then it passed. So yes, most definitely I am a believer in paranormal anomalies. For good reason. I am an experiencer of many paranormal circumstances over the years. So numerous that it would take a book to retell them all. Do I realize that we need to stay grounded and accomplish things in the material world for our benefit? Yes, of course. But, I likewise realize that there is much more to reality than simply meets the eye, and I believe that consciousness is on an upward spiral trajectory with a purpose of enlightenment as one goal.

God Beyond Religion: Ufology and Paranormal Activity It’s All Connected

I recently watched the Netflix Series “Manifest.” The phrase “it’s all connected” was used over and over in the show. It was a drama about the divine consciousness and while it exaggerated the action and suspense to make it appealing to a large audience, it covered basic principles that would be important in a panpsychist view of reality. I have written previous posts about the fact that it is all one thing. If you haven’t read any of my previous posts, you may be asking what’s all one thing? The answer is ufo’s/uap’s, portals, interdimensional phenomena, cryptids, poltergeists, etc. 

There is a controversy on UFO Twitter with respect to the veracity of Lue Elizondo, Christopher Mellon, Sean Cahill, Dr. Garry Nolan, Ross Coulthart, George Knapp, Dr. Travis Taylor, Dr. Eric Davis, Jeremy Corbell, et.al. When I look at it with historical retrospect, I see that the critics are very likely wrong. The reason?  they do not take an overall historical look at the phenomenon. I am including in the critics Steven Greenstreet, Mick West, John Greenwald, and most recently Lu Angeles. So what are they missing? They overlook years of a preponderance of evidence that begins with the Air Force acknowledgment of a crash in Roswell New Mexico in 1947 with a questionable at best quick retraction. That alone should be all the evidence anyone needs but fortunately, that was but one event of a plethora of events, and the recent advocates are just a few of the historical many that believed the phenomena was real.

 

I am old enough to have been in my late twenty’s early thirties in the 1970’s. I was privileged to attend a lecture by J. Allen Hynek at Central Michigan at that time. His presentation was very convincing. He told of many encounters and was convinced that the subjects of his many year’s investigation were telling the truth. I am sure that the ilk of Greenstreet and West would find a way to show Hynek as a misguided believer, but that is the only thing they can do. They just sling mud! In large part they do that by believing the DOD and that in itself is a joke and should show what they are.

 

Here is an excerpt from and Article that J. Allen Hynek wrote for the Journal of the Optical Society of America in April 1953. It is entitled “Unusual Ariel Phenomenon” and it is in vol 43. Here is the quote:

 

“Radar observations as well as visual observations are involved in this problem. Early last month shortly before dawn colored lights were observed in the sky southeast of the radar station. At the same time and the same azimuth, unidentified targets appeared on the scope. Only a very slight temperature inversion was present, 1° at 25,000 feet. No more than two lights appeared at one time. They were observed to be moving in a rather erratic pattern and changing colors occasionally. The last thirty minutes of observation revealed the lights remaining yellow prior to that they were red, green, and blue. They moved in no apparent formation but mostly appeared in one area and disappeared in another, when either the light went out or the objects dived behind clouds. They were starlike objects and appeared to develop long, white vapor trails, when they dived. They were motionless at times and moved rapidly at other times. This corresponded to similar movements observed on the radar scope.”

 

The article itself is an interesting read and can be found at ufo - UFOs at close sight: J. Allen Hynek paper in the Journal of the Optical Society of America, 1953 (patrickgross.org). When you add this to the multiple testimonies of military and law enforcement individuals, and the documentary films by James Fox such as “Moment of Contact” and “The Phenomenon” the preponderance of the evidence is overwhelming. For anyone to believe the government over Lue Elizondo, Christopher Mellon, Sean Cahill, Garry Nolan et. al. defies logic and demonstrates that those skeptics have ulterior motives. When you add to that the high strangeness of the Uintah Basin via the show “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” it simply adds another layer to the preponderance!

God Beyond Religion: A Christ, Taoist, Idealist, Panpsychist Ontology

The lyrics of John Lennon’s “Imagine” is something to consider and even move toward. A siblinghood of humanity that is inclusive and not exclusive. This could be achieved without sacrificing various kinds of spirituality as long as the exclusive nature of them is eliminated. Whether it is religion, philosophy, or national division and divisiveness it is unnecessary with the simple addition of tolerance. Tolerance and acceptance should be at the heart of any ontology. Beating swords into plowshares is a noble goal. It is in this vane that I would suggest the above title. It is not designed to start another divisive religion, but rather to provide a way in which people can honor their traditions, by embracing the best and eliminating the worst of belief systems. Letting go of terms like dogma, orthodox, and heterodox, and further letting go of the ideas that exist behind the terms is the first necessary step.

Still, there is nothing wrong with holding onto spiritual explanations of the nature of reality. For example, the Christ concept is a reasonable one when considering that it is the Christ of the Logos, or in other words, the anointing of creative consciousness. Christ as Richard Rohr has so eloquently stated is not Jesus of Nazareth’s last name. It is important to realize what the terms meant within their original language and too their original audience. Christos was an anointing, a rubbing on of an ointment as done for anointing kings. Logos was a word but in the Greek philosophical sense it was creative consciousness. So, the universal or cosmic Christ is a description of the anointing or the presence of the Logos. Jesus taught that it was the natural state of humanity. While he acknowledged his Christ, he also saw it as being for everyone. He did not think it was unique to him but available to all. This is one of the main themes of John’s gospel.

A concept that fits well with the Christ of the Logos is the Tao. Simply stated, the Tao, pronounced Dao is the creative conscious source of the universe and is similar in nature to the Hermetic concept of “the-all.” It should be noted here that most all civilizations had in one way or another the concept of the universal creative source. Many of the indigenous tribes, especially of the Americas called it the great spirit. While it is easy in retrospect to romanticize the concept of the great spirit. The indigenous tribes certainly had their share of wars, violence, and inhumane practices it is interesting that the concept was essentially similar to the concept of pneuma or qi (chi.) The life force and breath have been ubiquitous in cultures over millennia in describing the prime source of life and energy.

For an ontology to be plausible it needs to have consistency in agreement across multiple areas. It must at the very least take account for previous spiritual traditions and recognize the truth that is embedded with all of them to one degree or the other. It must also take into consideration scientific thought, theories, and established data. However, it is important to be able to recognize that science too has dogma, and dogmatic factions that make it difficult for the non-scientist to easily filter out the dogmatic from the exploratory and theoretical. When one recognizes that within the scientific community, especially within quantum and astro-physics, that there is a wide variety of disagreement. Likewise, when it comes to the nature of consciousness there is equally a wide range of theories. While there is currently an effort to advance those aspects of science, consciousness itself is a difficult topic to study with mathematical precision. Some are trying, especially Dr. Donald Hoffman, but it is in the infancy stage, and most are locked into the dogma of physicalism and believe that consciousness is an evolutionary product of the brain. However, in so doing they simply bypass the hard problem of consciousness.

This in my view devalues the purview of logic and epistemology. There are things that can be knowable that are not mathematically provable or modeled. It is especially in this area that panpsychist idealism offers a more plausible explanation of reality than the materialist, physicalist explanation that stops short of explaining the why of existence. In a nutshell, the Panpsychism Idealist view sees consciousness as the foundational basis for reality. It is not completely out of the question given the nature of the quantum field of waves that collapse into particles based on observation.

Further, it explains the many paranormal and supernatural occurrences that are common over millennia that have been reported ubiquitously across cultures, eras, and among a plethora of reliable people. If you name the anomaly, Panpsychist Idealism explains it.

God Beyond Religion: Does Spiral Dynamics point toward a benevolent creator of the universe? Spiral Dynamics and Theodicy

Spiral Dynamics and Theodicy

There was a song written in 1995 that asked this question. “What if god was one of us?” It went on to ask, “a slob like one of us, a stranger on a bus?” There is a way in which that song rings far more true than at first hearing. In fact, it is plausible that it could indeed be true. Let’s assume that the creator of the universe is collective consciousness. That the reason for calling it collective is it is made up of individual conscious agents in a collective that are jointly and severally divine. I will show later on in this article that this idea is indeed the most likely of all possible scenarios. Further, I will show that heretofore all of the mystics that religions were built upon were simply misunderstood, and that their message was coopted. It is my view that the orthodox Christian view of the creator is the least likely scenario with respect to reasonable plausibility. That view makes theodicy impossible.

Here is the description of the model of deity that I believe to be the most plausible and reasonable of all possibilities and likewise, I will explain why the scenario, of not having a conscious creative source, is probably the worst of all possibilities. Eternal consciousness exists and has always existed and is dark energy that produces dark matter. This is the first and only miracle needed. The materialist view also needs a first and only miracle and that is the existence of hydrogen atoms. So, in this both theories begin with a miracle or at least an unknowable circumstance. Dark energy contemplates all the dimensions and dark matter is continuously expanding and sustaining material creation. It is by conscious energy that the waves of potentiality are collapsed into particles. We then, jointly (the collective) and severally (individual conscious agents) collapse the waves of potentiality into the particulate matter of the corporeal world.

We create these modalities of existence to expand consciousness. Further, we are divine and eternal being a part of the collective. This eliminates completely the concept of an all wise and potent creator apart from us and creates us as divine agents experiencing the expansion of consciousness. All of the various religions have created metaphors to explain the collective. The metaphors are father and mother, and the individual conscious agents are the offspring or the children. It is in this realm that free will exists. It is likewise in this realm that eternity exists and therefore, being eternal, no actual lasting harm can come to any. While suffering is real in some realms of existence it is not eternal and all experience it. Likewise, what one could call fortunate, pleasurable, and beneficial, though not eternal is experienced equally by all from time to time as expanding consciousness dictates. This is not meant to minimize the suffering or the contentment, but rather places each in perspective of the eternal purpose of expanding consciousness. It makes conscious agents masters of their own fate with free will. This alone provides complete theodicy.

So where does spiral dynamics enter the picture? It is evident in the upward spiral of humanity over the millennia.  Individually and collectively, we are creating a better, more loving, more equitable world. Further, consciousness is expanding toward a more widespread and eventually enlightened reality. Examples are everywhere. Medicine and quality of life is expanding, equity of opportunity is expanding. Statistics bear this out. The amount of people living in extreme poverty has dropped from 2 billion in 1981 to 1.2 billion in 2011 according to the World Bank Poverty: the past, present and future | World Economic Forum (weforum.org). We have progressed from the archaic, through the tribal, the authoritarian, ethno-nationalistic, democratic, and are heading toward the democratic social stage. I realize that there are remnants of many of the stages still present or coinciding with the highest achievement, but that is the way spiral dynamics works. In addition to this, there are more and more people headed to the tier two aspects of spiral dynamics, with the ultimate being enlightenment.

Here is an image that shows the stages of spiral dynamics.

So then, of the three explanations of reality, the emperor god, atheism, or panpsychism, the latter is by far the best choice, and it completely eliminates theodicy. One can equate monotheism with the emperor god and of course atheistic physicalism speaks for itself, there is no god and no purpose just accidental evolution, and with the panpsychism explained in this article there is a purpose and a reasonable explanation of good and evil, and more specifically the existence of evil. Both moral evil and natural evil (earthquakes, disease etc.) are a natural result of the material corporeal experiment but conscious agents being eternally divine experience an "evening out" of suffering and comfort.

The reason that the panpsychist view is superior is that it ultimately produces hope and a reason to love. While the emperor god view promotes trauma, guilt, and shame, the atheistic physicalistic view is ok for those who are encountering even a modicum of comfort but, it is devastating to those who were born into poverty and harshness. In those cases, atheism can lead naturally to one becoming a murderous outlaw. It increases crimes against people and property. Without eternal hope and understanding, deep suffering can produce a complete disregard for life.

Let’s examine the three positions in terms of what they provide most individuals that have ever lived. The emperor god cannot be absolved of creating suffering no matter how one looks at it. It is a view that makes the divine creator arbitrary and capricious and no, giving human’s free will and choice does not eliminate culpability. So many people have been born into poverty and suffering, or just vary hard living conditions that overall life was not that great a gift. They would have been better off not existing.

The same thing rings true for the atheistic view. If there is no purpose and life evolved for no reason, then this view is the most toxic of all. It leaves everything in life to chance. If one was born into wealth and comfort, great but if not, they simply lose. Further, when you consider the numbers of people who were born prior to the last two centuries it was really an unfair plight to have been born.

Finally, the panpsychist view, that all is consciousness and is created by consciousness is a view that offers eternal equilibrium and justice. If we are in fact all divine and individual conscious agents that participate in developing the material corporeal experience, and also have a multitude of other dimensions, worlds, circumstances that cannot even be imagined, we then have a narrative that will allow all to feel that over time and development all will experience the expansion of consciousness by participating in each creative experiment available to conscious agents that is ever expanding in an upward spiral. Further having each dimensional experience adding to the whole in the same way that humanity has developed as viewed by spiral dynamics and seeing that the potential for growth is well beyond imagination. In my view this is the best possible scenario, and it resonates well with me.

It is my belief that all of the mystics and masters of the past were actually trying to communicate this idea but were misunderstood. Sometimes it was from real misunderstanding and in some cases, it was purposefully misrepresented to favor those who were passing on and writing down the message. Those who wrote their own like Lao Tzu and Rumi had a clearer more pure message, and of course, Jesus who had all of his teachings passed on by second hand and third hand messengers was likely the least clear. However, with our intuition and the divine spirit that indwells each and every one of us, even there the real message can be discerned.

God Beyond Religion: Kenosis misunderstood and a Fresh Look

Php 2:5-8  “Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,  (6)  who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.  (7)  Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man,  (8)  he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” ~CSB Version

If you can remove all of the toxic connotation that tends to pop up from toxic evangelical dogma and look at what Paul realized in this particular passage of his writing. He is saying this. YOU have the same mind that Jesus did. Realize, that in coming to this earth plane you emptied yourself of your divinity, that is you have forgotten it for a time, you have lost track of your true identity. When you begin to gain it back by mystical revelation, don’t exploit it with hubris, love and serve your fellow human, not at the expense of yourself necessarily, but do not use it for prides sake.

So, what would that mean for us? First off it could mean that the story of the fall in Genesis chapter’s two and three is an inept metaphor for the condition here in material reality that provides fertile ground for death and pathological behavior. The so-called fall could as easily and in my view more correctly be explained as the kenosis or emptying oneself of one’s divinity. The garden analogy could be a metaphor for our oneness in the ALL or the creative source. We as a unified part of the whole is the state where non-duality is experienced. Paul’s mention of the cross is in the general scheme of things beside the point. Jesus, in emptying himself of his divine status and incarnating in the earthly plane demanded that he experience death. Whether at age 33 on a Roman Cross, or at age 70 as the result of natural atrophy, death was inevitable, and I for one am glad because eternity in this plane would be taxing, tiring, and ultimately exasperating.

However, stints within material reality can be challenging and rewarding and can increase our body of knowledge. The only way it could be challenging is if we emptied ourselves of our divine knowing. If we limited our view of the eternal, put a big question mark at the end of what’s next, and allow our challenges and life plan experiences to move us toward our recovery of divinity. It appears from spiral dynamics, and the evolution of culture types that it is a slow but ongoing process. The first challenges are to overcome the natural consequences of material reality such as predators, poisonous plants, earthquakes, violent weather, feeding ourselves, finding shelter etc. As we develop technology to accomplish these basic survival tasks, we make room for contemplating deeper questions.

It must be noted that during each of these advancing spiral stages we are sent mystics from the creative source to awaken our knowledge of who we are. Most of the time, this effort is stagnated by making a religion out of the mystics’ revelation.  And yet, over time we are able to remember more and more of who we are. Thus, the mystical revelation leads to greater and greater awareness of who and what we are. Eventually we grow weary of exploring challenges and we simply rest only to find a new challenge that will ignite our quest for self-knowledge.

This makes sense from the mystical revelation we have already received. The concept of as below so above and as above so below, stated differently on earth as it is in heaven, leads us to accept the fact that cycles are natural occurrences both in the natural material world and in the spiritual world of ultimate creative consciousness.