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The Missing Link

blake jacobsladder363

Of Mind and Body

I’ll be perfectly honest with you: For the longest time, I really wasn’t interested in physical exercise or especially curious about being aware of my own body, preferring intellectual endeavours. Starting with primary school, I really couldn’t be bothered with competitive sports such as soccer which I merely saw as people chasing a ball bumping into each other… While I sometimes played outside, I soon preferred video games to taking long walks in nature, which usually rather bored me. Long-distance running was (and still is) simply exhausting, as I never reached the endorphine-induced peak experience many athletes are fond of. It was only in combination with music that I would become enthusiastic about exercising my bodily potential. As a teenager, it would at first also be tied to an arcade-game setting such as the fabulous Pump It Up, while I later actively sought out to learn established ways of dancing, such as Hip Hop and African styles. During the time my aunt became a Yoga instructor, I also started to be more interested in the relationship between the body and the mind, now doing yoga on a regular basis. [ 1] Through further study in a range of topics and my personal experiences, I now come to understand the importance of the connection between mind and body. In Western society today, it is indeed The Missing Link.


 

Consciousness Embodied

First off, I should emphasise that I see the body to be born out of consciousness, rather than consciousness emerging out of matter. Still, it is clear that without a connection between these elements, this particular experience we call human life in the material sphere wouldn’t be possible. Our bodies are nothing less than the most perfect sensory vehicle to experience this world. Furthermore, I believe they serve as an effigy of our individual state of mind. Whether through facial expressions, posture or the condition of our skin, the body always accurately reflects the individuated fractal of consciousness it embodies. Left to its own devices, it depicts a congruency rarely observed in our usual social interactions: For once, representation really equals content.

The quality of the connection between body and mind can be thought of as a continuum. On one end we find expansion, joy and relaxation. On the polar opposite there is contraction, depression and paralysis. As exemplified by the pulsing of our heart and the breathing through our lungs, both contraction and expansion are necessary for us to be alive. As beautifully described by the sufi mystic Rumi: “Your grief for what you’ve lost lifts a mirror up to where you are bravely working. Expecting the worst, you look, and instead, here’s the joyful face you’ve been wanting to see. Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as birdwings.“ Our continued ability to flow between contraction and expansion as well as the baseline of relaxation we maintain throughout our lives is in direct relation to the integration of mind and body.

 

The Necrophilic Society

body-death363On an individual level, many have allowed this most vital of connections between flesh and spirit to deteriorate. Emphasising rationality in the wake of progress is resulting in a merger of man and machine through cars, artificial joints and microchip implants. At the same time, human bodies are easily dismissed as weak, fragile and inefficient. [ 2] Neglecting our bodily nature, we don’t celebrate and enjoy our body any more, but merely want to maintain it so our intellect can keep working. We readily abandon our health and physical centredness for seemingly rational reasons such as financial gain. Not wanting to deal with the often difficult sensations our bodies present us with – feelings incited by thoughts, emotions and the external world – we are looking to disconnect from it, rather distracting ourselves with the newest technological gadgets. Any body which isn’t nurtured by consciousness, anything of which we are not aware, is certain to decay. [ 3] Being the pinnacle of decay, it is hidden in plain sight that we have built a necrophilic society centring on the worship of death and destruction.

Television serves as the epitome of this type of machine consciousness divorced from any embodied feeling. Not just prime-time programming such as blockbuster action movies or your regular newscast on war and massacre, but even whole channels are devoted to the worship and awe of death – crime scene investigations, autopsy reports, war history. [ 4] Others deal with the dead fiction of positive law, the psychology of serial killers, the horrors of mental abuse or deadly gladiatorial fights. Series about zombies such as The Walking Dead are enjoyed by many, but few realise what an accurate allegory such stories are to the state of consciousness – potentially even their own! [ 5] Of course, the TV programmes are merely one highly visible symptom of this fundamental disruption we experience in the connection to our own bodies.


Traumatization and Paralysis

Having been acculturated to the experience of fear, death and destruction, many become used to it. Fear should be seen as a warning signal, indicating the possibility for change. Instead, many find an intense, though short-lived excitement in these experiences and thus adapt a fearful attitude as their personal reality. [ 6] This is how it becomes understandable why many continually submit to the current state of affairs, willingly re-traumatizing themselves through their own anxieties and the fear-promoting culture they surround themselves with. This aggravates the disconnection from the sense of aliveness we are supposed to experience through our bodies. To a certain extent, we are all exposed to negative influences which disrupt our sense of bodily awareness, disconnecting us from the actual reality of existence. After all, the body is our main gate to the material world and most within industrialised countries are free from physical hardship. As the sun rises to warm our skin every day, we can choose to have an indeed heart-warming bodily experience. [ 7] Yet in a traumatized individual with a fearful attitude, the mind continually frightens itself. If we choose, we can spend our days imagining or remembering undesirable experiences. Maintaining this cycle, the mind becomes locked into a fearful state which negatively reflects upon the body. To a certain extent – whether through a stiff neck, a sore shoulder, or an aching belly – most of us are affected by the results of traumatization.

edvard munch - the scream363Peter Levine aptly explains the pattern of these disruptions using animals as an example. [ 8] If a mouse is facing a real threat such as a predatory cat, the distress will usually cause the well-known fight-or-flight response. The mouse will either flee, or – if no escape route is available – ferociously attack the predator in a last-ditch attempt to fight the deadly threat. However, if the mouse is being hit by the cat’s paws or held within its mouth, the overwhelming sense of danger and the inability to effectively flee or fight back will engage the last, most basic survival response available: An almost complete shut-down of bodily functions effectively freezes the mouse – so-called paralysis or tonic immobility. This can serve to decrease the pain felt should death actually occur, but it can also cause the cat to simply lose interest in the mouse. [ 9] Assuming the threat is gone for example because the cat finds something more interesting to play with, the mouse will remain paralysed for a few more seconds. It will then violently shake for a brief moment, immediately restarting its full bodily potential, and be on its way. [ 10]

In humans, the prerequisites for paralysis are the same: Fear for one’s life and the inability to fight back or escape. The key distinction between animals and humans is our ability to create most complex mental representations of the world, which serve as the basis for modern culture and society at large. In a deadly situation, paralysis causes an altered state of consciousness. The mind dissociates itself from the body in order to make the horrendous bearable. Thus, we experience the horrible event as if we weren’t even inside our own bodies! [ 11] While there are actual cases of being in mortal danger and strapped to a chair, the average person luckily never has to make such an experience. But how often do we think, or rather – feel  – as if our lives are in danger and we are trapped and helpless? Feeling stuck in a horrible job without seeing alternatives to support ourselves, feeling trapped in an unhealthy relationship with seemingly no escape, feeling helpless in the wake of mounting debt, feeling impotent being confronted with the political leviathan or an unfair court, feeling confused in the face of disease… So we find that our capacity for complex mental processing and imagination is a gift, but it is something which we can also allow to work against our higher good. While neither in immediate mortal danger nor being physically restrained, we can still feel and imagine as if it were the case. This type of worrying about an imagined threat – even in the absence of any actual, real danger – can also lead to traumatization, causing the immobility response to varying degrees.

We thus need to understand that the effects of trauma – numbness, stiffness, depression, chronic disease, impotence – often diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, are actually a survival response which never played out and thus got stuck inside the body. The key to resolving trauma lies in uncoupling the sense of fear from the naturally time-limited immobility response. Re-establishing the link between the formerly dissociated mind and the body allows us to feel the uncomfortable bodily sensations in the absence of fear. The key is to become mindful of one’s own body, actually feeling oneself again and developing body-awareness. As the tension is observed in a safe situation, the fear is uncoupled and starts to dissipate. This may result in violent shaking similar to what animals exhibit, effectively restoring the mind-body link and re-establish the individual sense of aliveness. This process requires courage, as pent-up rage or sadness may emerge. One can work on containing such emotions which had been locked away in the body, eventually integrating them and becoming better at coping with difficult situations [ 12] We should be aware that our amazing body is always striving to be whole and healthy. As soon as it is given the ability by the mind to re-connect, it will seize the opportunity and work towards a quick resolve through natural, self-paced termination of the survival response. It is helpful to work with various body techniques, gradually uncoupling fear and immobility to restore the sense of goodness and arriving in the present as embodied consciousness.

Given this rough outline about the disruption and restoration of the mind-body connection, I would like to show further sources of traumatization and illustrate the aspects we encounter in our everyday lives. Offering my experiences and insights, I’d like to inspire alternative viewpoints leading towards expansion and relaxation. I don’t expect you to agree with any of the arguments, but I invite you to investigate and validate these ideas for yourself and allow the underlying pattern of contrasts to become visible: A bi-polarity of intense peaks and depressive troughs as opposed to a more moderate, continuously positive experience.


Health and Stress

diagram2-hamer363Although being shunned by the medical establishment, Gerd Hamer proposes an interesting theory of health based on five fundamental biological laws. Within this theory, it is proposed that health is the natural, balanced state of the human body. Disease, instead of being blamed on seemingly foreign agents such as viruses or bacteria, is thought to be caused by stress. [ 13] This may be transmitted through low-quality food, air pollution, environmental toxins as well as psychological distress caused by dysfunctional social relations, economic difficulties or depressing media reports. Furthermore, disease isn’t seen as a bodily malfunction, but rather as the body’s attempt to restore internal balance. It should therefore be allowed to proceed uninterrupted by aggressive medical or surgical intervention. While I won’t go into the details of this framework, one parallel to the mouse example above is particularly striking. As the mouse is under duress by fleeing, fighting or being paralysed, an extensive amount of stress builds up through activation of the autonomic nervous system – blood is pumped faster, the lungs expand to supply more oxygen and so on. Within a natural setting such as the cat and mouse situation, this state has to be maintained for mere seconds, usually well below a minute. By that time, the mouse will either be dead or it will have escaped. It can then rest in a safe place, its bodily tissues and nervous system restoring themselves to optimal operation. The process of recovery during which the mouse should be undisturbed might be a few minutes or hours. It will remember the location of the cat’s turf, but it won’t unnecessarily worry about it, instead simply focusing on finding new food sources.

However, as humans, we are faced with the same dilemma as mentioned above in association with traumatization. Our mental capacity to frighten ourselves and remain anxious can maintain the stressed state over hours, days and even years. This framework proposes that diseases largely associated with modern civilization, such as cancer and chronic illness, actually represent a process of recovery from an extensive amount of stress. Notwithstanding individual acceptance of this controversial theory, its core message should be carefully considered. Disease seen as the body’s attempt to restore internal balance forces us to look at our lifestyle and consider which stressful factors we expose ourselves to – and where our own responsibility lies. It also points towards the idea that it is only our intellect, directly controlled by our waking consciousness, but never the body is actually showing a dysfunction. Uneasiness and disease are part of our body’s language, indicating that we may be heading down the wrong path. So instead of trying to fight this bodily sign with aggressive medical intervention or simply ignoring it, it could be healthy to become mindful of the actual condition. As with Levine’s findings on trauma, the capacity of the body to self-regulate is being emphasised. Disease thus doesn’t mean that the body is broken, but rather that it attempts to heal itself from the ordeals we subjected it to. By forcing us to slow down – through a headache or a cold – it is already indicating what we should pay more attention to! Being consciousness, it indicates what part of ourselves – the physical merely representing the mental and spiritual aspects – we should direct ourselves to by actively becoming aware of it. Extensive research and interpretation on the relationship of bodily disease with psychological and spiritual causes has been conducted. [ 14] Of course, admitting that we are solely responsible for our own health is a difficult step, but one which liberates us from outside dependence for restoring our inner equilibrium. Instead of riding the roller-coaster of intense stress and disease – unhealthy contraction and the resulting need for prolonged relaxation – we can choose to be mindful and continually remain in a more balanced state.

 

Sexuality through Self-Respect

creativity363What is a positive attitude towards sexuality? What is a healthy expression of one’s sex drive? Having developed a ground-breaking theory based on his clinical experience, Jack Morin offers many important insights. [ 15] As we can readily observe within most social interactions, the topics of eroticism and sex are usually suppressed or discussed in either a clinically disinfected or deviously distorted manner. Erotic feelings are difficult to deal with, so we often prefer to ignore or suppress them, effectively disconnecting sexual desires and any associated body parts from the totality of our experience. Sexuality, ultimately associated with affection and reproduction, might be one of the largest looming shadows individuals in industrialised societies are unable to cope with.

Without a natural, gentle approach to this most natural of desires: How can anyone be expected to develop a healthy sexuality? Discussion often treated as taboo, sexual education far removed from the reality of social life and overexposure to myriad forms of pornography often only reinforce feelings of confusion, inadequacy, undesirability, performance anxiety as well as worries about birth control. Society’s projection of an ever-looming threat of sexually transmitted disease, whether real or imagined, only serves to make people even more terrified of sexual contact, naturally meant to be the most intimate, loving and relaxing experience. In my evaluation, the HIV-AIDS theory is the most controversial, abhorrent and fiendish of these projected scenarios. [ 16]

It is possible to integrate sexuality within one’s personality by actively looking at, understanding and thus dissolving this most intimate shadow of peculiarities, secret fantasies and potentially unmet desires. This involves understanding how one is most often sexually driven by traumatic experiences of the past. Our bodies and our sex drive aren’t working against us or even betraying us. Rather, we have an in-built desire to re-create troubling scenarios in an effort to resolve them so we may move on with our lives. We are often attracted by those people and situations which represent our deepest psychological and emotional injuries. I contend that this ensures that all fractals of consciousness, including you and me, are driven towards greater integration and unity within themselves and thus with the world as a whole. It is only if we allow ourselves to become trapped in the negative, although often immensely exciting emotions such as shame, sadness and anger, that these so-called erotic patterns turn against our best interest. It is only by reaching an inner consensus – understanding that a negative, destructive pattern no longer serves us – that we may break the vicious cycle for good. This is the manifested desire to have a positive, joyful experience. Self-respect is the key.

The short-lived peaks and severe depressions of an ultimately destructive erotic pattern may be transformed into a potentially less exciting, but more intense and continually positive experience. Sexuality, as the most primal generative force within this world, may then fully blossom, bringing joy and liveliness beyond what one could have dreamed of.


The Ultimate Relaxation – Orgasm

man-god363Speaking of dreams – the following elaborations may seem like a fairy tale, but through my own research and experiments I can guarantee that they are worthy of consideration, otherwise I wouldn’t bother to direct your awareness to these lines, my dear reader! As the joke goes – men have been blessed with the ability to urinate while standing – while women have the ability to have multiple, continual orgasms. While a special type of urinal has been designed for women, few know of men’s natural ability to have multiple orgasms.

What is an orgasm, actually? Luckily, the experiences, practices and insights of the millenia-old Taoist traditions are now becoming more widely available. Their definition of what an orgasm actually is clearly illustrates their profound wisdom. An orgasm is simply deep relaxation brought about by the pulsing of any part of the body, such as muscles or organs. [ 17] So we understand the reason why a delicious piece of cake may cause us to moan in pleasure, the best part of our favourite song to have us shuddering with excitement, an intense workout to bring us towards an orgasmic state. [ 18] These are all essentially relaxations of different body parts in varying degrees. In a well-balanced individual a full-body orgasm may also be experienced, usually through sexual arousal. For men, the secret lies in uncoupling the emergence of orgasm from the ejaculatory reflex, which the Taoists see as a quite mundane, involuntary(!) muscle spasm. The energy contained within the semen may then effectively be re-cycled through the body with the help of specifically designed Taoistic practices which have been fine-tuned over the ages. Instead of effectively squandering this pure life-force energy – it is designed to be the seed of the next generation of mankind – it may be withheld and refined within the body to increase physical, mental and spiritual energy. Although women are usually loosing less energy during sexual activity than men, they may apply very similar techniques. Men, instead of experiencing the short-lived pleasure and resulting drowsiness associated with ejaculation, may instead enter a multi-orgasmic state of intense sensations and heightened energy levels – whether alone or with a partner. [ 19] Sex was never meant to deplete one’s reserves, but rather to have a blissful experience of sacred union with one’s partner and generate energy for living! If we become mindful of it, the body proves itself not to be an annoying appendix of our intellect, but rather as a most powerful material embodiment. Again, peaks and troughs – in this case of sexual excitement – may be transformed into a lasting, joyful erotic experience and even bring about greater health.

Spiritual experiences have been known to occur in orgasmic states – such as feeling one with the sexual partner. I contend that this type of intense, full-body orgasm which may be reached by different means such as Taoist practice actually causes an altered state of individuated consciousness through profound relaxation. As the body is overwhelmed with pleasurable sensations, the overworked intellect is disarmed and the arrival in the present moment is achieved. This is the experience of being consciousness fully embodied within this particular time-space, yet simultaneously realizing the unity with the whole of material creation and whatever may lie beyond. This deep relaxation, as opposed to our normal stiff and contracted condition, effectively causes an expansion of consciousness. I think the capacity of transforming sexual energy within one’s own body is what causes saints and enlightened masters to renounce the carnal aspect of sexuality. Instead of being dependent on a partner for temporary relief, through their spiritual refinement, they are able to live in a state of continued, deep relaxation. Just as the heart pulsates with life, love and compassion – they may well be able to live in an eternal state of orgasmic bliss. This represents the marriage of spirituality and sexuality on which I will elaborate further below.


Food for Thought

arcimboldo-vertemnus363While sexuality is only discussed, let alone practised behind closed doors, the consumption of food is a glorified and often public act. Culinary culture has become an unquestioned given and so few are aware of the stress they put their bodies under through unhealthy food consumption habits. While most are aware that a diet based on Chinese fast-food take-out or double-chocolate cake might not be the most wholesome choice – meat, milk and white bread are not that closely examined.

Coming back to the concept of the necrophilic society, modern food production and consumption patterns closely reflect this idea. Large-scale livestock farming with the application of hormones to artificially speed-up growth, a tiny and threatening environment to save space as well as an appalling disrespect for animal life clearly demonstrates our disconnectedness from the inherent vitality of existence. It could be said that we treat our own bodies just as we treat these animals – merely maintaining them, hoping they won’t get in the way. As Waltner-Toews states, food is to the human in relation with nature like sex is to the relationship between two humans – you can hardly get any more intimate than that. Yet, just as sex has been industrialised, food is currently an industry as well – and just as void of empathy and compassion. [ 20] Death, rather than life, lies at the centre of industrialised food production. As we focus on the production of dead matter, it logically follows that we also mostly eat dead matter. While the absorption of stress hormones and drugs through eating the meat of animals which were subjected to anxiety and medication sounds quite reasonable, the negative side-effects of consuming bread and milk are less well understood. Both bread and milk release opiates within the brain, which effectively causes addiction. Furthermore, the fast conversion of carbohydrates into sugar causes a sudden surge in blood sugar levels, which may also result in compulsive eating and a craving for sweet food. While I won’t get into the intricacies of different dieting choices, often considered a highly personal and emotional matter, I will leave you with this simple example: A meatball and an apple are put into the earth. The dead meatball will rot – but out of the living apple, a tree may grow! [ 21]

Again, we may find the correlation with the underlying pattern of peaks and troughs – stress and relaxation. A traditional Western diet delivers peak eating experiences, releasing hormones and raising blood sugar levels for a brief moment. However, this goes at the expense of the digestive tract – a main component of our immune system – and the hunger is soon to return. A diet focused on living matter such as fresh plants and seeds doesn’t produce such cravings since it only slowly and moderately increases blood sugar. It is easier to digest and also better suited to meet nutritional needs, ultimately promoting our health and well-being. Furthermore, I think it is highly beneficial to uncover the reasons why we eat. Peanut butter can only suppress the emotion of love-sickness for so long – a closer look at our motivations for eating might thus be in order. [ 22] If we choose to become aware of our taste, digestion and energy levels, our body naturally tells us what type of food is best for us. A clear mind and a more vibrant sense of aliveness are among the benefits of taking time to listen to ourselves.

 

Degrees of Freedom – Music and Movement

davinci-vitruvian363As a last example of everyday interactions between mind and body, I would like to mention the wonderful aspects of music and movement. In the beginning was the word… and being vibration, it may indeed what constructs this reality at its root. [ 23] As you can easily prove to yourself, different types of vibration, like in its cultural form as music, can have a great impact on the mood – promoting emotions such as joy, anxiety, rage or depression. Recognizing this relationship, I have always been mindful of the type of music I subject myself to. The popular music society presents us with is often monotonous, boring and repetitive. It is instilling a machine-like, piece-rate worker mindset of permanent stress and agitation. This is a far cry from the variation and orgasmic excitement such as conveyed in classical or ethnic music, which allows us to relax more easily. [ 24] A parallel can be drawn to our bodily movements. What are the stiff and jerky movements of the stressed individual compared to the flowing grace of a yogi or a dancer? I see all movement as an expression of potentiality. The ideas and concepts from the higher realms are translated into the material plane through concrete, physical movement of bodies. We can choose to follow certain accepted patterns of movements – gestures, walk, dancing style and travel behaviour – or we may choose to express what we find within us. Practicing yoga and just dancing to one’s heart’s content can help us explore ourselves and increase the degree of potentiality we can manifest. Accordingly, it also helps to relieve tension and restore a relaxed state of mind and body. [ 25]

Limiting ourselves to the expected pattern of behaviour in music, movement and thus behaviour – being stiff during work and going crazy on the weekend – is another type of contraction-relaxation roller-coaster. Unfortunately, the heightened need for relaxation is rarely met through the traditional forms – neither binge-drinking in pubs nor ultimately stressful holidays in remote countries. However, breaking out of the accepted norms and adopting a generally more open, relaxed and natural stance might make the desire for relief during our spare time vanish altogether. A more stable and satisfying way of movement can emerge if every day is met with a gently flowing, flexible and relaxed posture – represented by both the body and the mind.

 

Spiritual Vibrations and Formless Bliss

adamfergurson-thechariot363Connecting the various dots, a nexus emerges at the heart of spirituality and consciousness. The release of a pent-up survival response, the emergence of suppressed feelings, the sense of aliveness attained through orgasm and dancing – these are all the result of reinforcing the link between the mind and the body. Essentially, this process characterises itself through a form of violent shaking and intense vibration of the body. Students of the sacred arts have long been aware of the most intimate connection between spirituality and sexuality. The most refined but hidden sephira in the Quabbalistic Tree of Life – Daath, representing awakened knowledge – is located in exact correlation with Yesod, representing the sexual-unconscious power-self. The generative force thus flows from the highest spiritual realm through our intellect, manifested as creativity, down to our sexuality, manifested as desire. The ways of releasing stress and contraction through vibration allows us to open this channel, enabling spiritual realisation, creative insight and increased sexual energy – ultimately fuelling our life-force. I contend that they allow us to take a step back from this most dense, concrete material plane into the higher realms of spirit. These vibrations thus enable us to re-connect with our true nature. The deeper the relaxation, the more information there is to transmit, the more dramatic this process may be. It is essentially a synchronisation with the inner core of our being. The expansion of ourselves as consciousness allow us to move from the ego-driven, tense and defined state into a spiritually awakened, more relaxed and formless state. At its pinnacle stands the ultimate, paradoxical realisation of ourselves as creator-consciousness, our unity and immortality with the all-one of creation. If you understand yourself to be everything there is – every other person, every tree and every stone – what is there to be stressed out about? This realization is indeed a state of formless bliss. In such a profoundly relaxed state, we can act in accordance with ourselves, both as embodied consciousness and reflection within the whole of creation – and maybe even with whatever may lie beyond! [ 26]

 

The Body as Temple – An Expansion of Consciousness

cherry-temple363If our body is the temple, then our will and intellect is the priest, our nature as consciousness being the god. The priest, in his ignorance, has ignored and sometimes even wilfully devastated the temple. Therefore, it comes to no surprise that the god, while always being there, has more difficulty to properly manifest himself unless the priest does a major clean-up. With each dusted shelf and every chalice put back into its place, the glory of the god will shine brighter within the temple – to the priest’s pleasure and delight. It might take great will and courage to get up and re-establish order in such a messy place. We intuitively know that it will be well worth the ordeal in order to reap the ultimate reward: The eternal celebration of god in his temple by the priest – really, the celebration of life through body-awareness. This is the timeless state of the individual will to live in the present as fully embodied consciousness.

As everything within the material world, the body can only be sustained by consciousness. If we are continually distracted and neglect our own body, it will certainly decay. An ignored body is a doomed body, as a temple without god has no reason to exist. However, if we choose to become conscious of our most magnificent effigy within this material world, this awareness and our resulting actions will support it in becoming wholesome. And there’s a reason why wholly is just a few letters away from holy… [ 27] Re-establishing the missing link between the mind and the body through the actions of our will can lead us to discover its wonders and enjoy its incredible capacities. [ 28] We may then feel complete and integrated within ourselves, more grounded and at peace within this world. Enthusiasm and a sense of liveliness are allowed to emerge.

I hope I could give you a sense of the underlying pattern of contraction and expansion – stress and relaxation – which is found in such diverse areas as trauma, health, eroticism, sexuality and even mundane activities such as moving about and eating. A bi-polar ride between excitation and depression can be transformed into a loving, joyful and steady life-experience. While the first step is certainly the most difficult decision, we are readily supported by the universal life-force. The drive towards unity-consciousness is deeply ingrained within our bodies, no matter how ignorant our intellect has become. All of the body’s actions and signals point towards healing and greater integration – ultimately acceptance and self-love, for we as consciousness are contained within everything. The body’s incredible capacity for healing through self-regulation should serve us as a role model for society at large. Left to its own devices, uninterrupted by a controlling intellect, the body reveals his tremendous ability to restore and maintain order. Left to their own devices, undisrupted by the desire to control others, autonomous individuals reveal their capacity to build self-regulating systems of economic and social interaction. So it seems that everything starts with yourself, the decision being made within your own body as microcosmic representation of the whole universe. As the Sufi proverb goes: “The body is the sore of the ocean of being.” [ 29]

Re-establishing the missing link, connecting with our lower, material embodiment may indeed represent the change from below so many are hoping for. Have you realised that this revolution – choosing fear over love – may actually have to be manifested within yourself emotionally, intellectually and spiritually first, before any outside change can take place? Body-awareness brings the incredible power of creation surging through us so we may be fully embodied consciousness within the gift of the present moment. The manifestation of Love and Life shall blossom. As every so often, I agree with M.P. Hall: “God was the Word and that the Word was made flesh. Man’s task now is to make flesh reflect the glory of that Word, which is within the soul of himself.”

 

 

Notes

[ 1] My aunt Jutta Kaun offers a combination of yoga exercises and free movement meditation. Through accessing the body, trauma may be treated and chronic illness relieved. [back]

[ 2] Note the German word “Leib”, which describes the body as being alive, rather than just being a bunch of matter. I deal with the broader issue and insufficiency of the materialist worldview in The Definition of the Material World. [back]

[ 3] I explore the relationship between consciousness and matter in A Conscious Decision. The referenced rice hado experiment by Emoto is especially revealing. [back]

[ 4] The word “programming” in relation to humans reveals a mechanistic view of humans and the world. A computer can be programmed, a distracted mind may be misled and manipulated. Vigilant Citizen details this process in Mind Control Theories and Techniques used by Mass Medias. [back]

[ 5] While disciples of the occult seem to reside in Hollywood, I was still surprised to detect this quite obvious message (“Wake Up“) during an episode of The Walking Dead. In a sense, we live in a world full of people which function, but don’t really live out their lives. Aan analogy and a stretch of imagination, but actually not that far removed from the horrible situation depicted in the series. Unless you wake up to the dream – you may never even know what it means to live. I write about this process in Awakening to Creator-Consciousness. [back]

[ 6] Roman Christian Hafner, gifted with a special sense of perception, describes this idea in this German interview. In a spiritual sense, love is the only reality. If fear is recognised as the illusion it is, then we may stop generating it. According to Hafner, the excessive amount of fear generated today might also have the purpose to allow more people to see through this play. [back]

[ 7] And even if the sun doesn’t shine, many meditation techniques teach the rising of an inner, spiritual sun which is absolutely independent of outside circumstances. Examples include Israel Regardie’s The Middle Pillar exercise or the Taoist’s Inner Smile. [back]

[ 8] In his book In An Unspoken Voice, Psychologist Peter Levine confirms the theory of a triune brain with a combined reptilian, mammalian and human component. David Icke has long been ridiculed for seeing the world’s power elite as reptiles – but the fearful, controlling and self-serving manner in which they act are characteristic of the reptilian brain functions, working solely to ensure individual survival. [back]

[ 9] It seems that becoming completely inert – playing possum – serves to distract the predator. As it is advised for humans coming in contact with wild animals, remaining calm may be better than running away so as not to incite further agitation. The immobility response is described in detail in Levine’s book (p.49). [back]

[ 10] If further traumatizing events occur within a short period of time, especially fear combined with restraint, the paralysis lasts longer as the rebooting time increases (p.54). [back]

[ 11] Paralysation is also the reason why many victims are unable to defend themselves. The experience of being outside of one’s body is shared by many who lived through traumatic events. While there is a psychological basis for these perceptions, I think it very possible that the individual as consciousness actually leaves the body, causing a perception from a different angle such as described in Bruce’s Astral Dynamics. Dissociation is also employed as a mind control technique. If the person’s actual consciousness is completely disconnected from the body, it can effectively become a vessel to serve another’s will. The process of effectively creating split personalities for economic exploitation and power is detailed in Origins and Techniques of Monarch Mind Control by the Vigilant Citizen. The societal dimension is explored by Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine. [back]

[ 12] Levine quotes Sigmund Freud: “The mind has forgotten but the body has not-thankfully.” Negative, unresolved experiences are indeed stored in the body, which is the reason Levine proposes to re-name post-traumatic stress disorder into post-traumatic injury. It points to the fact that it isn’t a chronic condition which can never be resolved, but should rather be likened to an injury which can be remedied given appropriate treatment! [back]

[ 13] These five fundamental biological laws are explained within this documentary. I think the time invested is well spent in understanding an alternative way of looking at health and disease. It includes interesting ideas such as raised by Dr. Herbert Shelton: Just like the medieval fight against demons possessing the sick body, the contemporary war against viruses might actually be a crusade against an imagined enemy. Rather than externalizing the cause, this framework encourages us to look for the reason of disease within ourselves. [back]

[ 14] See Rüdiger Dahlke’s Krankheit als Symptom and his related books. [back]

[ 15] I highly recommend Jack Morin’s The Erotic Mind. This book encourages you to discover your own so-called core erotic theme in order to advance within your personal life and develop a more positive attitude towards sexuality in general, promoting respect and acceptance. [back]

[ 16] The huge amounts of money spent on medical research which ultimately still leads to the afflicted leading a troubled life has always baffled me. Therefore, I conducted my own research and came across the most enlightening book by Nancy Turner Banks M.D. Entitled AIDS, Opium, Diamonds and Empire, it clearly illustrates the the economic interest and historical background of the mainstream HIV/AIDS thesis. Furthermore, it shows its insufficiency and proposes a more comprehensive explanation: The symptoms known as AIDS being caused by the various stressors we put our bodies under, rather than an unlucky instance of unprotected sexual contact. I recommend the extensive research on these biological relationships by my dear friend, biologist Christl Meyer. [back]

[ 17] Most interestingly, Hamer’s theory mentioned above also includes the idea that disease is represented by the equivalent brain area being pressurised as observed through a non-contrast brain scan. [back]

[ 18] Directing awareness towards different body parts such as muscles, skin or organs, it is quite easy to feel some type of sensation. Depending on whether the area is associated with previous traumatization, the feeling might be uncomfortable at first – but the underlying goodness is certain to be discovered through gentle persistence. Directing and circulating one’s life-force, any part of the body can relax and eventually experience the pulsation of orgasm. The Taoist’s Six Healing Sounds are a great starting point to become aware of previously neglected inner world of one’s body. Please note that all such exercises are essentially a method of directing yourself as consciousness towards your body as your material effigy in order to support its existence. Without a continued influx of nurturing energy from consciousness, nothing in the material world can persist in a healthy state. For a humorous artistic elaboration on exercise-induced orgasm see The Pump. [back]

[ 19] For men, the core part of the equation is the prostate. Being located a few centimetres in and below the navel, it may be stimulated through gentle pressure from the pelvic area. More direct methods include the contraction of the sphincter, pubococcygeus and associated muscles, which are also involuntarily activated during penile stimulation and without which high levels of arousal are hardly possible. Mantak Chia has written books for both men and women on attaining a multi-orgasmic state. I personally recommend Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy by Chia-trained Taoist Master Eric Yudelove. For those who would like a material anchor to potentially speed up the process, I can recommend the tools developed by Aneros and as well as their insightful formus and wiki. [back]

[ 20] In Manu Coeman’s documentary (German version) on large-scale livestock production, epidemiologist Waltner-Toews explains this analogy. Including consciousness within the analysis, not only chemicals and hormones within the animal’s body might be harmful for us: The information encoded through treating animals in a derogatory and unworthy manner isn’t something I would recommend consuming, as individually verifiable through Masaru Emoto’s rice hado experiment. [back]

[ 21] Within the last year, I gradually went from omnivore to eating mostly vegetarian, experimenting with eating mostly raw vegan and now most likely arriving at gourmet omnivorism. I find the concepts of Attentive Eating and Sequential Eating (similar to Ayurvedic Food Combining) by Stanley Bass worthy of consideration. Although I didn’t suffer from any particular disease, I chose to change my diet in order to increase my energy levels. Voluntarily leaving bread aside and only eating meat, fish and dairy products of high quality leaves me with easier digestible and nutritionally dense meals. Aside from simply eating raw vegetables and fruits, I can make my own seed-based crackers, plant-based smoothies, spreads and variations of raw vegan chocolate. Once you are brave enough to explore and try different types of food for yourself, you will naturally be drawn to the healthiest choices. Then, it will be about what your body really craves: Nutritious, delicious and wholesome food.  [back]

[ 22] For an introduction to this topic, I can highly recommend the documentary Hungry for Change. It seems that a main reason for obesity and bad health is simply pollution of the body. This includes environmental toxins such as bad food as well as internally-produced hormones caused by psychological stress such as cortisol. The theory espoused by Hamer above proposes that a continually anxious state causes the body to enter an emergency mode, deliberately storing all available nutrients within the body, thus increasing body fat. A theory based on the relation of acidic and alkaline nutrition proposes that we should mostly eat alkaline, anti-oxidant foods to stay healthy. However, the prevalence of acidic foods in many diets requires the body to isolate and store their toxic elements within fat since they can’t be processed and expelled fast enough. A change towards a mostly plant-based, naturally alkaline diet avoiding empty carbohydrates and industrial sugar allows the accumulated toxins to be flushed out and excess weight is lost naturally. Anyone interested in learning about a more radical step, living solely off the universal life force, should check out the Austrian documentary Am Anfang war das Licht. [back]

[ 23] Experiments in cymatics by scientist Hans Jenny show how vibrations directly influence matter. This extensive documentary on Ancient Knowledge also explains how the universe is built on frequencies. [back]

[ 24] My love for the joy of dancing and high quality music also stems from the fact that it allows for relaxation and inspiration. In a relaxed state, it’s much easier to zoom out, allowing the bigger picture to come together. Plenty of reasons for me to DJ and make my own musical blends as General Unique. [back]

[ 25] Every posture and every position you can represent with your body is essentially a concept of its own. The more extensive your physical degree of freedom, the more varied your movements and thus your ability to represent myriad thoughts through your physical embodiment. The intimate relationship between mind and body postulates that being physically flexible, exploring different dancing styles and expressing your personal patterns of motion increases not just your physical, but also your mental and spiritual freedom. Allow your energy to circulate between these realms. Don’t mind who’s looking as you express yourself: I was even dancing in the subway in Vienna and some people were delighted. Freedom of movement is freedom of thought. In times of universal paralysis, dancing in public is a revolutionary act! [back]

[ 26] I contend that spirituality is essentially eroticism and also tightly connected to creativity. Great insight and creativity – Eureka moments – mostly occur in a relaxed state, when the connecting channels of spirit, intellect and body are open. Magic rituals often work with erotic polarities. If you truly follow your erotic desire as described in the book by Morin mentioned above, then you are always driven towards your own completion and self-realisation – which is of course a spiritual journey. In turn, a spiritual journey towards self-completion is also always an exploration of your innermost desires.

Those experiencing full-body orgasms speak of a wave of pleasure and relaxation expanding from below the navel and flushing over the whole body. This is the centre of consciousness, quoting D.H. Lawrence in Psychoanalysis and the Unconscious: “The first seat of our primal consciousness is the solar plexus, the great nerve-centre situated behind the stomach. From this centre we are first dynamically conscious.” Those who attained multiple orgasms report that the first few result in a more violent shaking than the latter ones. I would say that the first burst of information in the synchronisation with oneself simply causes a stronger vibration. The first wave of vibration, being the content of the communication, contains more data than the following waves which occur after a stronger connection has been established. A parallel would be the trance states in Shamanism, which are also often accompanied by dancing and violent shaking. Within this synchronisation with oneself as both creator and the whole of creation, the illusion of separation is destroyed. In the state of formlessness, all desires – material, sexual, emotional, intellectual, spiritual – are fulfilled without any precondition or valuation. This is manifested awareness of the individual’s profound-paradoxical connection with everything. In this synchronisation with your higher state of consciousness – god – you can be at peace with yourself, being the world. Orgasm is thus relaxation in the consciousness of formlessness – the boundaries of body and thought being relinquished, awareness of being extended towards infinity. Even if relaxation is only achieved to a lower extent, feelings of fear and anxiety may easily be shed.

Occultist Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki explains how Daath can be mapped to Yesod, talks about the state of non-being and offers many other interesting insights in this interview: “There is in some people, such a desire for knowledge, such a desire for understanding, that they will go into a state of non-being to look for it. You do, you get whirled into this point, where the point is you, and you are also everything outside the point. That brings on an enormous sorrow, because you’re everything and you’re nothing. You want to get back, and yet you don’t want to leave, and you go into a state of total acceptance. You give up yourself. Then you move into Hockmah.” I write about form in The Definition of the Material World and the realization of paradoxical all-unity in Awakening to Creator-Consciousness. [back]

[ 27] Please note that the word “whole” is similar to “holy”. A holy person is one who is whole within himself. Although the equivalent words in other languages might not share the orthographic similarity, e.g. the Hungarian “egészség” for “health” also means “wholeness”. [back]

[ 28] Did you know that you have kinaesthetic, proprioceptive, vestibular and visceral receptors within your body? They allow you to know the state of tension of your muscles, the position of your joints, your position in respect to gravity and velocity and also give you access to your gut instinct. Of how many of these senses do you become consciously aware on a daily basis? We should be thankful for the proper functioning of our bodies, for we would be lost without its senses, our interface to the material world. See the aforementioned book by Levine (p.140). Antonio Damasio in The Feeling of What Happens: “We use our minds not to discover facts but to hide them. One of the things the screen hides most effectively is the body, our own body, by which I mean, the ins and outs of it, its interiors. Like a veil thrown over the skin to secure its modesty, the screen partially removes from the mind the inner states of the body, those that constitute the flow of life as it wanders in the journey of each day.” [back]

[ 29] Your body being the perfect representation of the macrocosm, it is possible to experience and recognise everything within. However, due to the lack of body-awareness, we have focused more and more on the outside to fulfil our desires. We use the outside world to serve as our reflection in order to attain self-recognition. Levine (p.275) talking about this development: “By the so-called age of reason, in the mid-seventeenth century, the importance of rationality ascended to new heights. Disembodiment, in the alleged service of this rationality, had become the norm. Instincts and the immediacy of physical drives (such as sex) had become an embarassment or worse. The subjugating power of the church reinforced this deepening split between mind and body. Finally, the supremacy of rationality congealed in Descartes’ “I think; therefore I am,” an iconic statement for modernity.” Trying to integrate our shadows, often hidden away within our bodies, really means integrating ourselves. As Alan Watts talks on Selfishness – loving self is really loving the universe.

I had previously used this quote by Nikola Tesla, but it also fits in well at this position: “From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing in disguise for it has taught me to appreciate the inestimable value of introspection in the preservation of life, as well as a means of achievement. The pressure of occupation and the incessant stream of impressions pouring into our consciousness through all the gateways of knowledge make modern existence hazardous in many ways. Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves. The premature death of millions is primarily traceable to this cause. Even among those who exercise care, it is a common mistake to avoid imaginary, and ignore the real dangers. And what is true of an individual also applies, more or less, to a people as a whole.” [back]

Image credits (as available)

Jacob’s Ladder by William Blake

The Scream by Edvard Munch

Vertemus by Guiseppe Arcimboldo

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci

The Chariot by Adam Fergurson

The Definition of the Material World

Deliverance through Technology

Until recently, I have been involved with the Earth Organisation for Sustainability, an association with technocratic roots. While the organisational concept was significantly improved in comparison with it’s ideological grandfather, Technocracy Inc., the basic technocratic premise of solving problems through material technology still remains. [ 1] In fact, this is the rationale most of the Western countries officially identify themselves with: Progress through Technology. Of course, the question of where this is going and whether this is the kind of progress we actually need can seldom be heard. The assumption is that the development of new technologies allows for the production of new goods and services, which in turn help to create employment and further economic growth. My argument here is not over the uselessness of economic figures such as gross domestic income in order to gauge the well-being of people or the now-obvious shortcomings of economic growth. Rather, it is about refuting the idea that so-called modern technology builds us the golden bridge to deliverance. I would like to inspire an alternative route.


The Singularity was Near

I was introduced to typing at the computer keyboard at the age of 4 by my father. Over a decade later, in 2006, I was completely into technology, especially new developments in computing – and of course PC games as well. Almost every day after school, I came home to read up on my RSS feeds (digital newspaper), downloading the newest trends in the IT industry, news about technological breakthroughs and new games. Shortly after futurologist Ray Kurzweil’s book “The Singularity is Near”  came out, I read it in order to give a presentation to my class. I had recently come across the concepts of Technocracy and was active on a forum, finally having found a seemingly sound, rational alternative to the system of control and distribution we currently have. Being somewhat of a geek, brought up in Vienna within the sphere of techno-scientifically focused Western countries, it should come to no surprise that I was amazed by the ideas presented by Kurzweil. I can still recall the most amazing developments outlined in the book – robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology – I could already envision the exciting future which was outlined before me. I almost couldn’t wait for these amazing new technologies to become available so I could enjoy them. They would include Head-Up Displays, essentially computerized glasses which would display information about the surroundings and enable internet communication. Such HUD’s had been predicted in the book to be in widespread usage by 2008 – development fell short of this goal, but it seems that in 2013 this situation could appear in the near future.
The prospects described by Kurzweil showed an even greater promise, perhaps the greatest of all: Unity and Immortality. These desires should be brought about by the eventual development of so-called strong artificial intelligence, which could learn to improve upon itself without the need for human intervention. [ 2] In order to keep up, humans would artificially augment their own intellect through bio- and nano-technological implants. The culmination point would be the Technological Singularity: An explosion of intellectual capacities within which it would also become possible to upload your brain into the computer network in order to live in eternal unity with the artifical intelligence and the rest of mankind. Physical bodies would be left behind as nano-robots could instantly create any body for you to inhabit at any point in space. According to Kurzweil, this would happen in 2045, and I was amazed that I would most likely still be around to experience all of that. [ 3] Life within this technological utopia – what could be more amazing? I believed this argument to be plausible enough and the scenario to be desirable. Mind you, I was 16. [ 4]

Limitation as the Hallmark of Creation

It is perfectly understandable that anyone accustomed to the capitalist, urban type of society would come to think that material technology does indeed hold all the answers. After all, the conditioning includes the assumption that the material world is all there is and that your whole being is dependent on nothing but matter. A spiritual mindset with a self-understanding of yourself and the world as being consciousness allows for a more inclusive viewpoint. [ 5]
It is most interesting to note that some of the greatest scientific minds of the past century – including Einstein, Planck and Tesla – have all transcended a purely materialist mindset and spoke on the importance of consciousness. [ 6] Tesla reportedly had vivid visions of various technologies he invented. These visions were so exact that he could build a machine exactly as he had seen it, then having it work perfectly within the material world. But even ignoring such exceptional abilities, we can easily understand the process by which new technology – and any act of creation – is being brought about. In the age of information and start-up companies, it is known that great ideas are among the most important assets. While it often takes a lot of time and energy until an idea can be realised so it is objectively manifested within the material world – without the idea, there would be nothing to manifest. No advanced production facility, no IT-startup, no obscure ice cream flavour. Even mundane tasks such as shopping for groceries, walking down the street and drinking a glass of water are ideas and decisions before they can manifest themselves as actions. This sentence was an idea and a decision before it could be written. So it seems every single thing we can perceive within the material world is originating from the realm beyond – the sphere of through and spirit. Previously, I had thought that atheist researchers who later developed an interest in spiritual concepts were becoming fearful of death and lacked willpower. Now I agree with the basic premise of Planck’s statement about the necessity of spirituality: ”Both Religion and science require a belief in God. For believers, God is in the beginning, and for physicists He is at the end of all considerations… To the former He is the foundation, to the latter, the crown of the edifice of every generalized world view.“

While many are accustomed to honouring the researchers of the natural sciences, we rarely acknowledge those who have worked to transmit spiritual knowledge. The model of  the creation of the world (cosmogeny) in Quabbalah lore gives a concept of how the realm beyond the material can be understood: The beginning of all creation is brought about by AIN SOPH, The Most Ancient of All the Ancients. This is the eternal state of BE’ing, the unconditioned state of all things  – without substance, essence or intelligence. [ 7] Manly Palmer Hall explains it best: “The nature of AIN SOPH they symbolize by a circle, itself emblematic of eternity. This hypothetical circle encloses a dimensionless area of incomprehensible life, and the circular boundary of this life is abstract and measureless infinity. According to this concept, God is not only a Center but also Area. Centralization is the first step towards limitation. [ 8] Therefore, centers which form in the substances of AIN SOPH are finite because they are predestined to dissolution back into the Cause of themselves, while AIN SOPH Itself is infinite because It is the ultimate condition of all things. ” Within Quabbalistic theory, the cosmos is composed of 40 concentric spheres of which we perceive the 40th, most dense sphere, to be the material world. As everything springs from an inconceivable source of limitless potential, what is the way in which its myriad manifestations differentiate themselves from it? It is through limitation – the hallmark of creation. Thus it is logical that the material world of the densest sphere is the most limited and concrete of all which are imaginable. [ 9] We can easily test this assumption of different spheres by thinking about a pink elephant! Why? Because the fact that you envision some variant of a pink elephant in front of your mind’s eye proves that you are able to operate within a higher, less dense and less limited sphere as well: the astral realm of ideas. Luckily, merely thinking of it doesn’t make the pink elephant appear in your room and break through your roof, since the material sphere is bound to time and space – but in your mind the elephant might well be jumping around or discussing with the philosopher Husserl about his subjective experience of piloting a spacecraft…

 

The Externalization of Magic

Recognizing this phenomenon, it becomes clear why the world can’t be understood through this most limited, material sphere alone. If the “core of the matter” is inherently inconceivable, how should it be defined? The shortcomings of materialist science are made obvious in that while cells may be cloned, it is entirely impossible to create a cell – create life – by putting its constituent parts together. So it seems the sum is indeed more than its parts and the organising principle – consciousness – originates from beyond the material realm.

Those who choose to ignore everything outside the materialist paradigm often find themselves unconsciously sublimating or externalizing the limitless potential of consciousness. For myself, it was within games and stories that presented a world where different things were possible. Those very much interested in technology often find themselves equally fascinated by science fiction movies or fantasy role playing games. The unseen force or magic of consciousness is externalized to these fictitious realms in a distorted fashion so their actual realization in real life is always seen as impossible. [ 10] While I’m not proposing that we should train ourselves to throw fireballs at each other, this materialist way of thinking deprives you of many powers of consciousness everyone does naturally possess. However, it takes time and awareness to recognise and develop these powers, starting with the most banal practices such as learning to breathe properly in order to calm one’s nerves. [ 11]
This materialist mindset is the reason why many now attempt to attain apparently superhuman abilities through technologies which mimic the potential powers of consciousness. Modern transportation is an approximation of teleportation just like communication technologies are an approximation of telepathy. The idea of quantified self – constantly measuring one’s bio-signals, sleeping patterns, exercise regimen and movements through space with a smartphone – are an approximation of a well-developed memory and sense of awareness. It is logical that those who deny their nature as consciousness attempt to take the bull by the horns and realise these abilities – the eventual goal being unity and immortality – through technological means. However, as I have shown above, the material as the mere shadow of the higher realms of consciousness can only be an imperfect effigy at best. Why not take the direct route and become mindful of your natural abilities – some of which you might not even have discovered yet? It is your conscious choice alone whether you choose to accept reports of prolonged physical stasis, multiplication of vital energy, remote viewing and telepathy. Even though some well documented and scientifically validated occurrences of these abilities exist, most would only believe them to be attainable through technological means rather than their inherently limitless abilities of being conscious(ness).

 

Wake up, Neo. The Matrix has you.

Many enjoyed the Matrix movie released in 1999, in which human are depicted as living within a virtual reality created by machines. Most saw an action-packed story with astounding slow-motion effects, some saw a complex psychological drama, and just a few saw spiritual realities adapted into a science fiction setting only so it could be readily received by mainstream culture. In case no-one told you yet: Welcome to the Matrix! Within the movie, it is hoped that the main protagonist, Neo, would be able to see through the Matrix in order to escape from it and liberate the rest of humanity. Please note that I’m not implying we live in a reality created by machines. Rather, we live in a reality created by ourselves as consciousness. [ 12]
Have you ever noticed the ongoing obsession with consuming and creating reality frames? All stories create an alternate reality frame, whether through movies, comics, religions, books, video games, the virtual reality of the internet – the format and delivery method is just only different to be adapted to the current culture. Many technologically-minded people dream about an increase in possibilities up to the point of creating a Matrix within which they could live the life of their dreams. In case you didn’t notice it the first time, I gladly repeat my greeting: Welcome to the Matrix – time to wake up!
Just imagine you would be able to create a video game to be the perfect experience – with  the best combination of immersion, difficulty, complexity and joy. The best part of it is that, while you are playing you are game, you can choose to identify so much with your character that you forget you are just playing a game! [ 13] The more I understand the spiritual side of reality, the more I believe that this is a fitting allegory to what’s actually happening.
We need to realise that it isn’t our task to create a new reality frame within which we can fulfil our desires and explore new possibilities. The inherent definition of the material world mandates that such a new reality frame created through material means will always be more strictly defined and thus less complex. [ 14] As such it will be perceived to be smaller and ultimately less satisfying than the one we currently experience through our minds with our physical bodies. Thus I see it as our task to completely understand the nature of the current reality frame and learn how to manipulate it so we can have the most wonderful and pleasureable experience. We are all players in the matrix already – the question is whether we choose to become active, conscious and responsible players. I contend that the best method to do this is to foster our spiritual powers inherent in our being as consciousness. Both traditional and new schools of thought and religion offer myriad ways of accessing these abilities. [ 15]

 

Logging Out

Of course, it is difficult to fully grasp the nature of the Matrix unless you have had an experience of logging out. This is the experience which makes your realize without thinking that you are not your physical body but that you originate from a realm beyond. I am certain that anyone truly willing can have such an experience. Although the path can only be of your unique choosing, there are several techniques designed to expedite the process, ranging from Enlightenment Intensive seminars to Vipassana meditation or the use of substances such as Ayahuasca. [ 16] Once this is achieved, you can more easily remember your natural state and effectively break out of this reality frame, at least to a certain degree. This equivalent of logging out of the matrix allows you to put your whole life in context and realise that material ambition is really quite meaningless – it is really about the type of experience you want to have. From this point on it is possible to explore many different reality frames as well. [ 17] The larger framing also makes it easier to realise advanced abilities within the limitation of your individual incarnation in human form. Instead of losing ourselves within the smaller constructions built within this reality frame, we can make this frame ever more explicit and understand its rules. We can understand life as the dream it actually is and devote ourselves to having the most amazing experiences and inspiring others to do the same. If we would see this life as a game, then I would propose the first goal to become aware of the fact that it is indeed a construct of our own making continually evolving with the free-will choices we make as players. It is our decision whether we subordinate ourselves to the will of others or become active and responsible ourselves. Once we have fully realised this and understood the game’s rules, we have the maximum amount of options at our disposal to enjoy life to the fullest and accept the challenges we chose to encounter. We can choose to manifest our limitlessness as consciousness within the definition of the material world and recognise ourselves as the whole of creation. [ 18]

 

Spiritual Technology

This viewpoint is the reason why I don’t see technology as bringing fundamental progress to the spiritual evolution of humanity. If anything, it may serve as a training ground – becoming used to the effects of our natural spiritual abilities so we aren’t too surprised about telepathy and remote viewing once these powers comes into more widespread use. An experience which previously might have only been away a single thought in the astral realm, in a time when people were more aware of their abilities, is now instead a mouse-click away on the internet. [ 19] Personally, I now prefer to build my skills in thought-forming and conscious intent (which could as well be called prayer or meditation) in order to attract specific situations rather than becoming excited about a virtual world within which other experiences might be simulated. [ 20] There is simply no point in creating a materially limited simulator within an expansive simulation in terms of gaining access to new experiences. Especially once you understand that you can learn to effectively hack your experience within the already running simulation.
Therefore, instead of looking forward to Head-Up Displays in the likes of Google Glass, I am rather refining my own awareness in order to be able to extend the range of perceptions I can access. This doesn’t need to be about seeing auras and talking to gnomes – it can be simple things such as reading emotional cues or becoming aware of the subtle symbolism surrounding us in everyday life. Instead of downloading the newest App to plan my training schedule, I train my memory as well as my knowledge of yoga by planning and remembering it myself. Rather than using external tools to quantify myself, I re-discover my natural abilities to have a qualified feeling of my body within this world. So for every specific task a technologically-minded person would install the latest smartphone application, I rather train my mind so I can achieve the same functionality without dependence on anything external of myself. There is a reason why Facebook’s slogan is “stay connected” – because it feels just as if you were intertwined with the conscious field of your online friends when you read their status updates. This is just another weak substitute of our dormant conscious powers. I would therefore propose to rather become more aware of the eternally persistent spiritual connection we have with each other, the planet and even the whole universe. There is no subscription fee or forced advertisement getting in the way when accessing this connection – you only need to become aware that it has always been there, no matter how hard you tried to ignore it. This inner guidance is the only connection we truly need – and although the process might at times be difficult, life will definitely start changing for the better once you start clearing out the channel and listen closely. Of course, this is the part of the Matrix which is still concealed for most of us – for this represents its in-build feature to forget that we are even playing this game. However, a single decision by the power of your free will can immediately start turning this scenario around in your favour – instead of being played you become a player yourself.

 

Turn off your Smartphone and start to Meditate!

I’m not even suggesting to throw away your smartphone (but they mostly seem to be mis-used as distractive time-wasters anyhow) or stop using Facebook – but you can eliminate all distractions for an hour a day in order to engage in simple self-reflection, contemplation and meditation. Obviously, I still use a computer and the internet in order to access the field of consciousness through this material method. And yes, I am still fascinated by technological breakthroughs and truly innovative video games. However, I am suggesting to become mindful of the interrelationship between the material and the underlying spiritual realm of consciousness. Understanding more about the origin of the universe and the reality frame we inhabit, the prospect of the technological singularity indeed becomes pointless. Instead of developing technological tools in order to advance our abilities, we can simply choose to start fostering our inherent powers as consciousness. Instead of becoming a pro at using the newest gadgets, we can just start to meditate and access deeper realms. Many science nerds are intrigued by the concept of the type I civilization, which has advanced to make the best possible use of the resources of a planet. [ 21] I believe the actual graduation into a type I civilization is marked by the emergence of creator-consciousness – every one of us becoming active creators and taking full responsibility for our actions. The rest will be a piece of cake.

Notes

[ 1] The Earth Organisation for Sustainability has developed the top-down hierarchical modes of organisation proposed by Technocracy, Inc. into a model based on the self-organisation of holons, independent units embedded within a network structure. It has been a haven for rational deliberation and discussion both before and amidst the rise of The Zeitgeist Movement (I recommend their movie Zeitgeist Addendum), which was inspired by Jacque Fresco’s Venus Project of a sustainable society based on the intelligent use of advanced technologies. This type of technocracy has little to do with the so-called technocratic management found within EU institutions. [back]

[ 2] Strong artificial intelligence would be more advanced that human intelligence and automatically enter a virtuous cycle of self-improvement. This idea is dealt with in many science fiction scenarios such as developed by Isaac Asimov in I, Robot. [back]

[ 3] Following the current trends would also make a dystopia of perception such as in the short film Sight possible. We seldom notice how much our feelings and experience have already been invaded by those who wish to control us, such as the movie Branded brilliantly exposes. And for those who might not be able to survive until then through normal means, cryonics such as provided by Alcor already allows the body to be conserved. The materialist assumption is that sufficiently advanced nano-technology could revive the body at a future point. [back]

[ 4] I admit that it took some time until I got a clearer view on these issues. In 2009, I applied to Singularity University since I thought their inter-disciplinary approach and focus on technology to be intriguing. In 2010, I developed Starfish, a vision of a fully distributed user-controlled network as an improvement upon the heavily centralized internet infrastructure we have today. This marked my last attempt to develop an idea for societal improvement based on technological, material means. At this point, I could already see that the real problems are to be located at a deeper level, within societal structures collectively projected by individual psychology of the people. [back]

[ 5] I discuss the subjective and scientific viability of a spiritual perspective in my essay on A Conscious Decision. [back]

[ 6] Quotes sampled via Wikiquote:
Albert Einstein: “A human being is a part of the whole, called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest — a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”
Max Planck: “As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter.”
Nikola Tesla: “From childhood I was compelled to concentrate attention upon myself. This caused me much suffering, but to my present view, it was a blessing in disguise for it has taught me to appreciate the inestimable value of introspection in the preservation of life, as well as a means of achievement. The pressure of occupation and the incessant stream of impressions pouring into our consciousness through all the gateways of knowledge make modern existence hazardous in many ways. Most persons are so absorbed in the contemplation of the outside world that they are wholly oblivious to what is passing on within themselves. The premature death of millions is primarily traceable to this cause. Even among those who exercise care, it is a common mistake to avoid imaginary, and ignore the real dangers. And what is true of an individual also applies, more or less, to a people as a whole.” [back]

[ 7] The One People’s Public Trust proclaims to have legally foreclosed on the old system of ownership (or rather, slavery) through a series of filings with the Uniform Commercial Code registry. Interestingly, this was done using spiritual arguments – rightfully claiming that there can be nothing between creator and creation. If anyone would choose to object these filings, they would need to expose themselves as thinking of human beings as property, which effectively has been the mindset until now. I wrote a summary on these developments on the P2P Foundation Wiki. The idea that nothing can stand between you as consciousness and the ultimate source of your being is supported by many spiritual concepts including the achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva I explore within my essay on Awakening to Creator-Consciousness. [back]

[ 8] In a limitless void of infinite potential, nothing is defined, so centralization indeed is a necessary step to bring about any creation. However, I believe that in society we have taken the idea of centralization too far when people give up responsibility for their own lives over to others and stop to think independently. Features and mechanisms of centralization are described in my essay on The Hierarchical Principle. [back]

[ 9] I find it interesting that one of the most ineffective and yet (or rather, thus) economically profitable construction materials is called concrete. As Italian comedian Beppe Grillo observes – if you take away the concrete, politicians don’t know what to do any more. However, his so-called movement might well be a false flag operation itself. [back]

[ 10] The most successful science fiction scenario of Star Wars also integrates the spiritual side through the field of the force which is said to permeate everything. The blessing “May the Force be with you” has attained cult status. The spiritual nature of this statement and usage of its variants by occult scholars such as the Thule Society should be understood. Indeed many successful video games, whether World of Warcraft, Heroes of Newerth or Guild Wars include magic powers and occult symbolism. Popular books and movies such as the Harry Potter series follow suit. Within the logic of the particular story’s setting, these phenomena are an essential part and rarely questioned. They exert such an attraction precisely because the practice of the powers of consciousness – also called magic – has been suppressed in so-called real life. Since we subconsciously relegate them into the realm of games and fantasy, the potential to realise these powers within ourselves is automatically labelled as unattainable fiction. [back]

[ 11] Within a game setting, the ability to stay calm in a turbulent situation might well be called “nerves of steel” and be seen as a desirable trait. But rather than helping us to realise this ability in our lives, most games rather serve to distract us from ourselves and put us into an excited and often uncomfortable, anxious state. [back]

[ 12] Roman Christian Hafner provides an alternative account on the creation of the world and the purpose of existence on Earth in the German book “Die Reise als Schöpfer auf unserer Erde”. The content is derived from his ability I would call astral sight, but it also mentions recorded spiritual insights from Quabbalistic and Vedic lore. He proposes that we are essentially all eternal creators choosing to participate in the current scenario playing out on Earth. It is about gaining experience – so it is our personal decision whether we choose the experience of actively participating in the process or merely be passively observing and going along with the changes. To those interested in the first truly profound analysis of the Matrix trilogy I encountered, please check out The Matrix Trilogy Decoded by Mark Passio. [back]

[ 13] As Manly Palmer Hall describes, this is “…the mythological fall of man, at which time the human spirit descended into the realms of Hades by being immersed in the illusion of terrestrial existence. ” Basically, the spirit of man (you) chose to get so distracted by god’s (or his own) creation of the body and the material world that he forgot his true nature. Without remembering that you are just the player behind the arcade machine rather than pac-man on the screen eating dots and fleeing from ghosts, how can you be able to see the framing of existence? An interesting elaboration on the control mechanisms in place to keep you from remembering is provided by Sonia Barret’s presentation on The Holographic Game. [back]

[ 14] I think Ross Ashby’s Law of Requisite Variety is in agreement with this theory. [back]

[ 15] These abilities are also described in many modern books, often along with instructions on how to develop them through dedicated self-study. While occult powers are not a goal in themselves and shouldn’t be used for power games, they can help you to live the life of your dreams and bring your limitless potential within this most concrete of worlds. Examples of relevant books include The Art of True Healing by Israel Regardie, Magical Use of Thought Forms by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy by Eric Yudelove, Astral Dynamics by Robert Bruce, Experiments in Mental Suggestion by L.L. Vasiliev. [back]

[ 16] I describe some of my personal experiences in Awakening to Creator-Consciousness. [back]

[ 17] This exploration of reality frames through consciousness is studied by the Monroe Institute. [back]

[ 18] Considering the aforementioned book by Hafner and the achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva, the next step within our evolution could indeed be the realization of ourselves as effectively being the whole of creation while experiencing the material world through our limited material bodies. [back]

[ 19] According to Armin Risi, in the golden age of satya-yuga, empathy was so well developed that any lie would immediately be detected. In combination with the descriptions in the aforementioned books by Hafner and Ashcroft-Nowicki, the manifestation of thought within material realm might become possible for all of us. [back]

[ 20] A very simple meditation technique is described by Israel Regardie as The Middle Pillar Exercise. This is essentially a conscious, directed form of prayer in order to manifest specific desires. This is magic – and it can be learned and applied by everyone. An online search should easily reveal the associated PDF and sources to acquire the printed book. [back]

[ 21] The Kardashev scale was initially proposed by the Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kardashev. [back]

 

Image credits (as available)

Fabricius Fludd – Natura

Athanasius Kirchner – Systema Sephiroticum / The Quabbalistic Tree of Life

Albrecht Dürer – The Dragon with Seven Heads

Screenshot from movie The Matrix (1999)

 

Awakening to Creator-Consciousness

Experiences

Have you had experiences you would call extraordinary or strange? Perceptions during which you maybe weren’t exactly sure what was happening? Which you found difficult to explain to yourself, but you still observed the experience and just went with the flow? Allowing yourself to remember these events is an achievement in itself. Many tend to block out any perceptions which might threaten their world-view and pose an imminent danger to their self-understanding. Obviously, everything we can’t quite grasp with our current understanding can put our internal concept of existence in disarray. Yet it also provides an opportunity to go beyond of what we thought of the world and ourselves until that moment. I would like to share some of the experiences I had in this regard with you.

One ordinary afternoon, I was pondering. I believe I was about 15 years old – so you might also call it a lazy afternoon. Unlike some of my classmates, I made sure to finish my homework quickly and never to have too many afternoon activities, since I thoroughly enjoyed playing computer games and doing the things teenagers do. Maybe distinct to a degree, I also enjoyed pondering about whatever came to my mind. I can’t remember what initially fuelled the engine of this train of thought, but I was concerned with the idea of willpower and achievement. Although I don’t talk to myself (that) often, I started to articulate my thoughts with my voice in order to help their development. I can’t recall the content of these thoughts anymore, but I believe I went on like this for about half an hour until I finally reached a satisfying conclusion: “In order to achieve anything, I must will it. If I will it, I can achieve it.” For me, this is a cornerstone of subsequent realizations, but this particular experience was most likely only the iceberg’s visible tip of a process already going on for much longer. In retrospect, I am also aware of the many so-called limiting beliefs I held back then which prevented an even fuller realization of effectiveness through willpower.


In autumn of 2007 I had the opportunity to visit Japan with a friend of mine. During the travel, I really enjoyed the contrast of modern technology and lush temple gardens. I also loved to sample the different flavours of green tea which are usually available free of charge in restaurants and hotels. [1] While staying in Kyoto, I had a room to myself in a centrally located ryokan. I had been walking around the city alone and was very relaxed when I came back to the hotel. After showering, I sat down on the tatami mat and served myself a cup of genmai-tea. I heard the quiet noise of the street-traffic and took a sip of my tea. Then – the world stopped. I felt an incredible sense of calm and security, a profound connection with everything. For the blink of an eye, the boundaries of my being became permeable. Since then, the smell of genmai-cha reminds me of this transcendental experience of tranquillity.

Who hasn’t come in contact with mind-altering substances before? While alcohol is socially venerated and marijuana publicly demonized, few consider the effects coffee, milk or hormone-laden meat can have on their state of consciousness and sense of well-being. [2] Funnily enough, the first time I really came into contact with marijuana was in the summer of 2011 in Santa Cruz, California. Over a year later, I had some more regular encounters with it. Having concluded that considered, conscious consumption wouldn’t do me much harm – and is certainly an alternative far superior to alcohol – I simply enjoyed it. So it happened that one evening I smoked with friends at a party without knowing that the following experience would drastically change my perception of the world for good. The temporary effects were even more intense. For the lack of a better term which could be understood, I went around and repeated to my friends something along the lines of “I see the matrix. It’s true!”. Of course, this experience was only the singular event which made years of research and conscious deliberation on topics such as perception, communication, world-views and self-understanding explicit. The realization literally flew in my face and there was no more way of denying it. I won’t elaborate on this experience and the complex issue of marijuana here, but it shall be known that my actions have been profoundly inspired by this shift in perception. Inspiring hours of talking to friends as well as strangers, directed research, meticulous note-taking and overcoming psychological barriers led me to more consequently access my creative potential, result of which you can see within these lines.

The Primal Assumption

We have all been conditioned to assume – to accept claims without independently verifiable proof and explanation. In such a condition, it comes naturally to suppose the medical doctor can restore your health, the policeman can keep order and the scientist can bring progress. Even if we find the prescribed drug to be detrimental to our well-being, we often continue taking it as we assume the doctor to have superior insight. The conditioning brings us to believe that what is best for us is unknown by oneself but known by others – and so we readily and willingly put ourselves under their authority. While this particular assumption can turn out to be misled and very dangerous – for it may bring about the demise of the body – it is still a far cry from the importance of what I consider to be the most basic assumption. Any and all thoughts and actions – any experience we may have – is profoundly influenced by this primal assumption: The nature of existence.

In most discussions about historical events, biology or even evolutionary theory, the originator of all inquiry is never made explicit: Who is it, discussing about Neanderthals over coffee? Who is asking the question? Who are you? What is your answer to this question? What is the nature of the being reading this line? Indeed, what are you? It is of utmost importance to understand that the answer you give yourself to this question forms the basis of all your experience! Just like your self-understanding itself is contained within this answer, your self-understanding contains all experience you may have in life, all possibilities you can fathom.

Imagine you, as a human, would have been growing up with a wolf pack. [3] You would think of yourself as a wolf and live the life of a wolf, hunting and howling. After all, your whole experience is framed through your self-understanding as a wolf. Anything contradicting it would have likely been blocked out in order to protect this very self-understanding. A severe crisis might call your world-view into question: Unable to run away from a mudflow, without consciously being aware of what you are doing, you might find yourself climbing up a tree. While this would be impossible for a wolf, it is easy for you given your body’s ability to stand and having hands to grab onto branches. Suddenly, sitting on top of the tree, you gain a new perspective on the world. Although maybe not yet knowing exactly how you ended up there, your self-perception drastically changes as you realize your ability to climb trees. Understanding your newly found powers, uncountable treetops and new vistas open themselves up to you. As you can now see the world from above, you gain a new way of making sense of your surroundings: You see your fellow pack members from a new angle, you can easily spot prey from far away and indeed have a vantage point formerly unbeknownst to your kind. After such an experience, you could return to the ground and pretend as if nothing had ever happened – living as man among wolves. However, after glimpsing your powers, could you ignore your true nature?

Of Flesh and Spirit

Growing up in a society worshipping materialism and mostly ignoring the existence of spiritual experience aside from dogma-ridden religion, it comes to no surprise that we are told to be no more than human flesh. Obvious issues and inconsistencies within evolutionary theory aside: What are the practical consequences of believing that one’s existence is limited to the physical human body? [4] First of all, this belief creates the primal fear: The fear of death. Although I know it to be impossible to logically explain, materialists claim that the phenomenon of consciousness emerges out of the nerve cells’ complex interactions within the human brain. [5] With the demise of the body as the generator of consciousness, your existence would be ended. Physicists would argue that the energy in the universe remains constant and your matter is being absorbed by micro-organisms and insects – but the tragic situation remains. In contrast, researchers of consciousness liken the physical body to a TV-set and consciousness to the signal. As you know – even if a TV is broken, the station keeps broadcasting to all those who may receive and process the signal. [6] A spiritual mindset would also consider the all-oneness which I will elaborate on below, so the question of whether the ego or individuated consciousness is lost becomes less dramatic.

Strange as it may sound, even more important than the question of what happens at the passing of the physical body – is the question of what you can do while it still functions. Within the materialist view, you are limited in your perceptions and effects to the direct physical influence you can exert with your body. This includes moving about the world (as far as you can travel), touching objects, caressing or hurting other living beings. Intellectually minded people would highlight the ability to share ideas as well as attain power over oneself or others through intelligence. Still, you would require to communicate by means of a physical representation such as voice or writing – potentially amplified through radio, printing press or the internet. From a spiritual perspective, these are very limited powers indeed. You are not your body, but you as consciousness merely concentrate yourself within this point in space and time so as to create the illusion of ego and material existence. Realizing yourself to be a fractal of consciousness, constantly co-creating the world through thought and observation, opens up a quite different vista of possibilities. [7] It makes you understand that your thoughts and observations matter, for they not only change your inner psychological state, but actually have profound consequences – both material and spiritual – far beyond the reach of your physical body. This represents the view from the tree-top I mentioned above. This realization of tremendous self-efficacy also dismantles any attempt to control you – for your infinite power as consciousness can only be contained if you choose to keep yourself distracted and bind yourself to beliefs which limit your own might. [8] I invite you to make the time – and ‘assume’ for just an instant – that you actually are creator-consciousness. No outside circumstance can stand in the slipstream of your directed willpower – turning from the feeble stroke of the blunt, splintering chopstick into the mighty blow of the greatsword’s hardened, cutting edge. You become a man among wolves. You realize your true nature as creator-consciousness among the unfortunate, ignorant pack of mankind who would rather think of themselves as victimized ape-men so they may continue to blame others for their misery. Having gained this insight – which I believe is intuitively known by us all for it is our nature – at least I find it impossible, indeed shameful and insulting, to pretend as if I had never climbed the tree to see myself in the world with new eyes. Just imagine Neo, after being freed by Morpheus, would simply log back into the Matrix and pretend as if nothing ever happened! The prospects are too great and the stakes too high as to not inform others of what I have come to understand and to invite them – invite you – to do the same. For you may live the life of your dreams – your life as a dream!

A Vision of the Paradox

In late 2012, I was introduced to achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva through a book by philosopher Armin Risi. This principle concerns itself with the nature of god and creation. It postulates the inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and distinctiveness of god (creator) and god’s energies (creation). This means that we, as beings of creation, are both united with and separated from the source of creation at any given moment. This is perfectly analogous to quantum theory’s wave-particle dualism, whereas light is both a concrete particle and a probability wave at the same time. [9] It means the human condition is both a concrete, individual experience but also an infinite possibility in unity with everything. On one hand, there is the individualised ego-consciousness with a distinct body, mind and soul. On the other hand, there is boundless potential in unity with the whole of creation. The idea of god as creator and (moral) consciousness is merely the externalization of our individualised power and responsibility as creator-consciousness. The realization of achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva is the birth of creator-consciousness within you, understanding yourself as transcendent consciousness and creator with limitless creativity.

Communicating about this reality with a dear friend of mine, we shared a vision of this paradox. The image is of a pulsating sun in an empty space surrounded by an invisible sphere. The sun represents the source of creation, the purest effigy of the creative agency. The sphere represents the most distant creation, the most dense vibrations of the material realm. The empty space in-between represents the many unseen layers of creation, the spiritual and astral realms. The sun is sending out myriad rays and flares against the sphere, simultaneously perceiving and creating throughout all the layers they pass through. Where several of these flares converge on the sphere, individuated consciousness and free will is born. The flares eternally continue their dance, as awareness is constantly being focused and shifted within the endless space of creation. Interestingly, this vision is quite similar to the Quabbalistic view on the genesis of the world. [10] Continually refining the understanding of this principle, it becomes possible to assume the same paradoxical state of simultaneous individuality and unity. Being the convergence point of individuated ego-consciousness as well as being both creator and all creation at the same time – or freely choosing between the different viewpoints.

The amount and profundity of philosophical conclusions which can be drawn from the achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva is quite astounding. It explains the recommendation of the oracle of delphi – know thyself. For you are one, yet everything – knowing yourself actually results in knowing the world which merely appears separated from your being. Furthermore, the saying that god sees everything can be logically explained – for god as consciousness is contained within the whole of creation, therefore experiencing and potentially recording everything which happens. The psychological idea that the people you spend the most time with are your most accurate reflections makes it easier to recognise yourself as always being intimately connected to your environment. It is said that god only helps those who help themselves. If you realise yourself as creator-consciousness, the connection to god as creator is being established, then the impossible can be achieved since you, as the universe, conspire in your favour. I believe this tattva also gives us reason to congratulate ourselves. The Christian church would have us think of ourselves as sinners for being expelled from garden Eden, having taken a bite from the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. [11] I propose another view: We, as individuated consciousness, are actually among the most brave fractals of unity-consciousness since we chose to enter the material realm of polarity. Within this potentially most dense of all spheres of creation, pain and suffering exist – unthinkable, probably indeed non-existent within the higher-up realms where ideas and spirits reside. [12] After all, we probably came here to learn about Good and Evil, an opposition which couldn’t exist within perfect unity of oneness. We might just be the front-line gladiators, exploring the outskirts of creation, bravely facing our fears and eternally continuing the struggle. Once we adopt this view every difficult task becomes an inspiring challenge.

Lucid within the Dream

The first experience of heightened self-reflexivity I can remember was looking at my hands and wondering about the nature of my existence – whether my body is the source of my consciousness. While I didn’t deny or forget about these instances, I didn’t really know how to go from there so they faded in the background of my consciousness. Now, after having much more profound and intense experiences, it is still my daily task to remember them. Thinking and especially feeling into these moments enables me to re-cognise what I see as spiritual truths and to further build my understanding. It helps me to surround myself with reminders in order to recall the state of serenity, connection and wholeness as often as possible. These memory points can take the form of written notes, songs and art dealing with the theme, as well as meditation and daily rituals. Due to the very nature of creator-consciousness, it can only be definitely manifested if the awareness is directed on its realisation. One needs to focus on being creator-consciousness, indeed on being oneself. Repetition isn’t redundant and boring, but rather essential and exalting in approaching a more permanent state of creator-consciousness through time and space. The often incessant babbling of the intellect can make it more difficult for it always develops defined thought forms which distract from the void of all-oneness. However, the intellect also helps us to strengthen the bridge from the spiritual down to the material if we are patient in taming and directing it. I perceive that after each successive step of moving closer to this realisation, indeed like approaching infinity, and being able to hold it in my every-day waking state, the perfect pattern of creation revealing this very truth becomes more and more obvious. I believe that every single experience, no matter how disconnected and removed it may seem, holds within it the key to realize the all-oneness of the achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva. [13] It is as if there always is an invisible door floating in front of you – and opening it is just a single push of your directed consciousness away. The more you become aware of it – the more you see it reflected in both the inner and the outer world. It is everywhere, for it is everything – for you are everything! The process is just like continually reminding yourself that you are actually living a dream. The more lucid you become of your nature, the more you see the immense creative potential you have to change yourself in the world. The blade of your will becomes ever sharper and easily cuts through obstacles previously impregnable – and everything is possible. [14]

Piercing through the Veil – The Realization of Unity

The realisation of simultaneously being united and different from the whole of creation also has very practical consequences in showing clear guidelines for behaviour. It seems natural that the more powerful you become, the more responsibility you should bear. If you realise the other to be you – how would you treat him? According to achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva you are a distinctive being, yet one with everything – every tree, every animal, every human, every drop of water and even every plastic cup. From this viewpoint, the Golden Rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” becomes more than just an ethical aspiration. [15] If we are all one single being constantly re-imagining itself, how nonsensical would it be to inflict pain upon ourself? Whatever we reflect upon in the world within the illusion of separation is actually part of ourselves. The acts towards healing and unity are thus (self-)acknowledgement, (self-)acceptance, (self-)forgiveness, (self-)compassion – essentially unconditional (self-)love, for we are contained within the other. Only through re-thinking ourselves, re-cognising ourself, can we bring about a new state.

The realization of achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva means piercing through the veil of material existence into the deeper spiritual background to the source of creation itself in order to become consciously aware of the eternal link within ourselves. However, I believe it is usually a gradual process in which the perfect understanding of the tattva can be approximated. The material and the spiritual can be conceptualised as having a one-way mirror in-between them. The spiritual recognises the material, but the material always only sees itself. Personally, I have held a materialist’s holistic viewpoint before, which also acknowledges the interconnection of everything but remains ignorant of the spiritual realm. Continually building on my knowledge through research and deliberation has allowed me to permanently revise my own world-view, approaching this realization without really knowing that it existed. I was only introduced to it in an intellectually concise sense after having had several first-hand experiences of its various aspects as mentioned above. I am certain that anyone truly willing to attain a higher understanding of himself in this world can realize even the greatest spiritual truths. At least one can continue to approximate his conception, which is what I strive to do – for this process may also very well not be finished within one lifetime.

The First Frame – A New Reference

The importance of the primal assumption of your nature cannot be underestimated. Every perception, every experience, every action flows from this understanding. You can see all possibilities of your life as a picture with all experiences being drawn within its frame. The primal assumption is this first frame, so it should be most wisely chosen and always be reflected upon. Indeed, it is necessary to step out of the frame you call your life in order to explicitly see and change this frame. From my perspective, the materialist frame is quite small and bleak. A self-understanding as creator-consciousness through the achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva represents a much larger frame, encompassing and embellishing the materialist’s view, while greatly extending the vista of the possible experiences and the confidence to be able to fulfil one’s innermost desires. We know about the requirement to see the big picture in order to create a vision of the world we want to live in. A truly great picture needs the appropriate frame to go by!

I contend that the seeming absurdity of existence within the modern world provides the imperative of critically reflecting upon one’s own nature. Existential questions must be answered – at the very least in parallel to the busy every-day life. The denial of the spiritual dimension comes with the loss of the internal moral compass. Where are we going if we don’t even know what direction we’re headed? If we don’t know the point of it all – how can we act properly? What we re-cognise ourselves to be determines the options we can choose from. Asking about the nature of our being is thus the most important, essential act. The answer might be absolute, for everything else flows from it. As it provides the most, potentially all options, I see the realisation of creator-consciousness to be the vantage point from which human experience should be seen and further research be conducted.

Within and Without – Practicalities

The more I understand the achntya-bheda-abheda-tattva – the inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and distinctiveness of creator and creation – the more opportunities I find for applying this very understanding. Appreciating another person, I wonder what aspect he represents which I like or find lacking in myself as individuated consciousness. In conflicts with the world, I wonder what I am opposing or disliking within myself. As the tattva is realised, peace and tranquillity is restored both within and without. There is no point in fighting with yourself. As the correspondence is found within, I also find a gradual cessation of material desire – which can eventually result in a dramatic shift of priorities in society as well. Instead of a life of suffering caused by wilful distraction from oneself in material illusion: A life of boundless creativity in exalted consciousness. Even if me and all those before who have reported similar experiences and espoused variations of this theory are wrong: Approximating such a condition can only bring about a more enjoyable life. Free will, as you will to believe in it, ensures that everyone can live in their very own constructions of what they regard as true. [16] I will to experience the nature of the absolute reality, the light which shines independently for itself. Awakening to creator-consciousness might just be both the first and last step on this timeless journey. In the words of Kula Shaker: „If this was never ending – what more can you say?“ [17]

Notes

I transformed this process into a musical blend: Waking Up to My Mental-Prison Break.

[1] I was positively surprised by Japanese hospitality and its effects on gastronomical culture. A warm, damp towel is served before ordering food. A type of green tea is often free of charge – a welcome change from common gastronomical practice in Europe.

[2] Graham Hancock talks explains in this War on Consciousness TEDxWhitechapel talk how modern society has a strong bias towards the high-alter, active state of consciousness. This goes at the expense of the relaxed, creative state of mind. This favours a “work hard, play hard” type of mentality rather than encouraging deeply reflective practice and free thinking. The officially condoned substances nicotine and alcohol further the “working bee” mentality. Interestingly, it seems there is conflict over whether this controversial talk will be censored by TED – further proving the point. The written version of his argument is available on his website.

[3] It appears there are many cases of feral children in both mythology and reality.

[4] The German researcher Hans-Joachim Zillmer deals with the issues of evolutionary theory on his website. The philosopher Armin Risi proposes his theory of involution, whereas biological evolution occurred as the result of transformations in consciousness.]

[5] Benjamin Libet’s Conscious Mental Field theory shows the practical impossibility of logically and consistently explaining consciousness through matter alone.

[6] I heard of this analogy from an interview with biochemist Rupert Sheldrake.

[7] I introduce this topic in my essay A Conscious Decision. For those who understand German I can highly recommend this intruiging interview with Roman Christian Hafner on Schöpfung und Schöpfer whose appearance interestingly co-incided with the creation of this text.

[8] I explain this process in the last section of my essay on The Hierarchical Principle.

[9] I read of achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva in Armin Risi’s book “Licht wirft keinen Schatten”. He explains the multi-dimensional nature of man in this presentation held in German. In the Krishna’s story, Yashoda finds that the entire universe is contained within him as he opens his mouth.

[10] The occultist Manly Palmer Hall gives a concise account on the Fundamentals of Quabbalistic Cosmogeny in his magnum opus The Secret Teachings of All Ages which luckily is available online in its entirety.

[11] This issue is also dealt with by Hall in the chapter Quabbalistic Keys to the Creation of Man: “Through ignorance man falls; through wisdom he redeems himself. […] He who is aware, IS! Behold!” Those who realize themselves to be creator-consciousness are ready to truly be conscious and create their world to their liking.

[12] There is the theory that free will actually only exists within the lowest spheres of creation. Beings of higher spheres such as cherubim and seraphim are supposed to always act in perfect unison with the will of the creator.

[13] This observation is made in Aldous Huxley’s first hand account The Doors of Perception: “The whole is disorganized. But each individual fragment is in order, is a representative of a Higher Order. The Highest Order prevails even in the disintegration. The totality is present even in the broken pieces. More clearly present, perhaps, than in a completely coherent work.”

[14] Richard Holton likens the development of willpower to the training of a muscle in his paper: How Is Stength of Will Possible?

[15] The golden rule can be found in many variations across cultures and religions.

[16] As put by cybernetician Vickers: „This world of represented context is effectively the world in which we live. It is our supreme mental achievement.“

[17] It is surprising how much art actually concerns itself with spiritual realities including the achintya-bheda-abheda-tattva. The truth shall be revealed to those who have eyes to see. Kula Shaker doesn’t leave much room for interpretation in Tattva: „At the moment that you wake from sleeping – and you know it’s all a dream!“

Frame Image by Marian Trinidad.

Image rights belong to their respective owners.