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..:: The Universal
Mind ::..
By
Alan Schneider
The universe can and should be
thought of as an orderly, intelligent, and conscious state of being, an
Awareness, of which each individual human awareness is a part. In
this sense, the physical universe becomes a Universal Mind or
Consciousness, engaged in what the Hindu religion calls the Cosmic
Dance, an eternal manifestation of deep involvement occurring on every
plane everywhere. The Universal Mind is the ultimate source of all
knowing and all being, including our human knowing and being. Although
the physical universe appears to be a chaotic, random mechanical
creation from the perspective of the casual observer, it conceals the
vast root Intelligence of the Universal Mind, hidden behind the apparent
mechanical chaos of its superficial physical manifestation. This
Intelligence is certainly subtle in the extreme, but remains the
architect of Creation nonetheless. Its presence is revealed to human
beings in many ways – synchronicities, meditative (and other) spiritual
visions, epiphanies, occasional direct revelations of deep meaning
(causing apparently random events), and extra-sensory observation and
perception. Locally, on planet Earth, the Intelligence has created human
sentient self-awareness through the process of evolution, as a mirror of
The Universal Mind and Intellect. The creation mirrors the Creator – we
could not demonstrate our consciousness, even at its current primitive
level, without the Presence of the Universal Mind existing at the
largely subconscious foundation of that level.
At this subconscious location, the Universal Mind
demonstrates a structure having a significant element of collective
manifestation. This manifestation is expressed on the level of
archetypes and archetypal symbols. The well known Major Arcana of
the Tarot system are also archetypal symbols of the various estates and
stages of life, as are the Runic glyphs, Hebrew letters, Egyptian
hieroglyphics, and Sanskrit characters, to name but a few of the many
archetypal symbol systems. That which is collective is shared
among us at the deepest level of expression. So it is that we all
participate either knowingly or unconsciously in the process of the
foundation consciousness of the Universal Mind. The archetypes
themselves are buried in chaos, both within the physical tissue matrix
of the apparent body, and, beyond that, in the intergalactic matrix of
the apparent physical universe. They emerge in the form of the
culturally determined symbol systems just mentioned, among many others
cataloged in history and prehistory. The archetypes themselves are
driven into symbolic manifestation by another hidden, chaotic process.
We have referred to this process in this essay as the Universal Mind.
Every creative thought or impulse that we have originates
from this place. If the process of creativity is studied carefully
enough, we discover that we cannot know the point of origin of new ideas
and conceptual processes, even if we knew their pre-existing
constituents, because that point is located beyond the threshold of
perception, somewhere in the background chaos of the mind. I have myself
stood before this absolute chaos that forms the curtain concealing the
Universal Mind, and experienced many new insights, ideas, and processes
simply emerging through that curtain into my conscious
perception! Can I then say that these were my creations, because
they emerged into my personal consciousness? I think not – all
creation always has and always will originate within the Universal Mind
of the Logos.
Meditation is one of the most effective ways to begin
accessing the Universal Mind and Consciousness, because it results from
a voluntary, conscious mechanism of willful personal decision, as
opposed to the many other Universal manifestation processes that tend to
be more inadvertent. We customarily chose when, where, and how to
meditate. And meditation is also the psychological “royal road” to
relaxation, health, and enhanced self awareness. This single area of
activity, when practiced with regularity for even a few minutes a day,
will eventually correct virtually every imbalance in ones personal
existence. This is achieved by establishing a sensory disconnect with
the frequently self defeating daily mental and physical routines
practiced in our lives, while simultaneously turning attention inward
toward the hidden conscious states that determine the awareness of every
human mind, and of the Universal Mind, which contains all knowing
and being.
The most frequently used posture for meditating is the cross
legged Lotus position seen in many Eastern religious systems, This is a
very effective physical position, but the full application, in which the
legs are interlocked at the ankles with both feet facing upward, can be
very difficult to attain, particularly for beginning students. The HaIf-Lotus,
in which only one leg is interlocked with the respective foot directed
upward, is also effective, as is the traditional non-interlocked cross
legged "Native American" style seated position. In fact, the most
important condition of the Lotus Posture is the requirement that the
spine be held straight and erect. If this cannot be done for several
minutes, then another position which will permit sufficient detachment
to focus on the meditation technique used should be chosen. This can
include sitting upright in a chair, or even lying on the floor. The
spinal column is the physical and evolutionary foundation of the body,
and contains within its subtle structure the Primary Chakras. These are
more-or-less physical areas of focused awareness that approximately
correspond to a sequence of glands and meta-processes occurring both
in the body and in the mind. This is one of, if not the,
Great Bridge from the physical universal to the perceptual universe, and
then on to the Universal Mind.
At the base of the physical spinal column, the First Chakra,
Muladhara, is found. Although this consciousness center is
nominally concerned with rote physical survival activities (e.g.
working, eating, sleeping, breathing, eliminating), it also contains a
“packet” of a very important psychic agent – the Kundalini Energy. This
energy is normally latent in most individuals, but can be “initialized”
by the practices of postural Yoga (e.g. the Lotus Posture) and
meditation. Once thus activated, the Kundalini Energy begins to slowly
rise up through the following Chakras along the spinal column,
activating successively more subtle and sensitive modes of conscious
perception as it does so. This process of activating heightened
awareness is referred to Ascension in Yoga and Meditative practice, and
is considered to be the ultimate goal and meaning of life in the
physical form here on the Physical Plane of Manifestation. It is through
the Ascension process that we even can know that material life is
occurring on what is only the first Plane of Manifestation – one
that is followed by several others in succession as consciousness is
expanded beyond mere physical perception.
The attainment of the meditative state becomes a matter of
great ease with practice. Simple steady, relaxed breathing is one of the
most effective ways to enter the meditative state – is in fact the
key to entering this state – and subsequently begin accessing the
Universal Mind. One need only find a relatively quiet space, attain the
posture of choice, close one’s eyes, and begin breathing in the manner
just described. Even the first practice will begin to relax the matrix
of social conditioning and anxiety that prevents the perception of the
Universal Consciousness in the personal mind, or ego, as this
mental form is frequently referred to in spiritual discourse. As this
practice is continued, the Presence of the Universal Mind is
increasingly sensed on all perceptual levels as the ultimate source of
manifestation behind the apparently distinct forms and processes
experienced in daily living.
Because the totality of knowing and being includes free
will, we can choose to see ourselves from the cosmic, Universal
perspective, or from the simple material perspective, or any other, but
the repeated practice of spirituality always tends to reveal the subtle
and majestic order which underlies all superficial events. Universal
Consciousness occurs as we move in the direction of the totality of
existence, and become more and more aware of who and what we are in this
infinite, eternal expression. Although the meaning of existence at the
physical level of perception is, as Carl Jung has said, that it is “a
battle”, and we must come to terms with this level of expression for the
sake of our physical survival, this is only the first stage of
meaning. Once the minimal conditions for existence are determined and
attained, we can move on to the extended purpose of living, which is the
liberation from the bonds of physical perception called Enlightenment
in almost all of world’s spiritual traditions. This is why we are
here.
All of life’s difficulties are caused by living in
spiritual impoverishment, and cured by developing spiritual awareness.
This form of living is far more powerful and effective than even the
most intricate human mental design. I encourage the investigation of the
Universal Mind and Consciousness as the most direct route to this
enhanced spiritual awareness, and the Truth at its foundation!
- With Love, Alan -
(CR2008, Alan Schneider)
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