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..:: Energy ::..
By
Alan Schneider
Energy
in some form or other is the necessary
and causative agent responsible for all transition in the universe,
including the “universe” of consciousness within humanity. The vast
array of observable internal and external events do not simply happen –
they are driven into manifestation by energetic first principles. In
the external, physical sense, these are the fundamental forces of
physics – gravity, electromagnetism, and the nuclear forces. In the
realm of psychology and consciousness, these are the basic physiological
instincts, autonomic responses, wakeful mental processes, and the
archetypes of the collective unconsciousness. Regardless of whether we
perceive the external world known through the physical senses as the
most real one, or the observable world as experienced in those
senses, there is no such thing as a causeless effect anywhere.
The situation of dualistic
perception mentioned immediately above is customarily referred to as
Psycho-Physical Dualism, or The Mind/Body Problem, and is
well illustrated by Descartes’ classical example of the evident
circumstance that, on one hand, we seem to have externally observable
brains, and on the other, this observation is itself presumably
occurring in the unperceived brain of the observer. Is the brain
or the observation more primary? Logic would seem to dictate that both
cannot simultaneously be true, but this is actually an indication of the
need for a more expansive dialectic that represents the synthesis of
these apparently conflicting viewpoints. Presumably, from a sufficiently
expanded observational perspective, this matter is resolvable. What
might this perspective be?
Western science (indeed,
science anywhere) demonstrates many such quandaries, including
Heisenberg’s famous Uncertainty Principal, wherein it is not
simultaneously possible to know or measure a particles position and
velocity, and the well known wave-particle nature of light,
in which light behaves like a wave largely until it is observed, at
which point it assumes the characteristics of a particle, and there are
many others. All of these apparent conflicts are resolved when one
underlying process is finally noticed and itself subjected to scrutiny –
the focus of conscious thought – the ego.
With the examination of this
subtly elusive background state present in the mind, an often extended
series of subsequent revelations can occur, including the fact that its
existence is primarily a social, acculturated phenomenon – without the
ongoing reinforcement of social events (frequently with the added
adjunct of alternative awareness techniques) it eventually disappears
from consciousness. Once “I” realize that “I” do not really exist in
any literal sense, the gateway is opened for the consideration of what,
if anything, does. And, in fact, a great number of things “do”
intrinsically exist within the field of consciousness, in an ascending
order of presence and spiritual importance, culminating with the Self,
mentioned so often in these essays. Now, there are many “names” for
this fundamental Presence – God, the Soul, the Atman, the Jivatman,
Yahweh, the Buddha Mind, Jehovah, Allah, Ahura Mazda, the “I AM”
Presence, the Godhead, the Brahman, the Great Spirit, Kether, the
Supernal Triangle, the Tao, and many more – but the most scientifically
“valid” term is simply the Self, in deference to C. G. Jung, its
progenitor. This in no way diminishes its potency or importance as the
supreme spiritual concept – if anything, it affirms and increases it by
rendering this identity of identities in terms that can be
subject to rational, cross-cultural, and scientific discourse.
In postulating only
the presence of the archetypes and archetypal symbols within the
collective unconscious (and, although it most certainly is much more
than simply there, the Self is just such a symbol), Jung honored
“Occams Razor” – the principal that, given a number of theories
concerning something, the simplest one that explains the data is
the most preferable. The Self enjoys special status among the
archetypes, however, because it is the theoretical source of them all,
indeed, of all consciousness whatsoever, hence its location at the
center of the Sphere of the Psyche.
It is most
important to note here that my experience of the Self is not the only one
possible, nor has the perception described been the only one of the Self
that I have had over the years. The Self is above all a supremely
mutable phenomenon, ever changing and yet fixed at the center of the
Psyche – if Jung was correct, as I believe he was, then some
version of this Presence exists at the core of every individual
consciousness, the collective human group consciousness, and the
Universal Mind (Psyche) as well. It is the function that is most
significant here, not the symbolic form, which remains subject to
cultural interpretation, even at this ultimate level.
The Self represents, and
consists of, primal psychic energy – it is this energy that
drives human consciousness into perceptual manifestation. In my case,
the energy was experienced as pure white Light and unconditional
cosmic Love, but this may also have been the result of residual
acculturated influences driven deep into my mind by rigorous
conditioning. One can only say that the Seers of history have often
used similar terminology to describe the ultimate human experience of
the Divine and Sublime – this much seems to be somewhat consistent
across cultures and throughout history.
I have often referred to the
Self through the lens of Chaos Theory, portraying it as the
ultimate strange attractor, generating all subsequent experience
from beyond the boundary of observation. This may very well apply to
both internal and external states, since no person can claim to be
completely free of cultural influences. These influences are very
pervasive, and include our essential perceptions of the physicality
of the body, the senses, the world, and universe, hence, we cannot say
with certainty what is “out there” in existence, or even what is “in
here” either. The only conclusion that I have found to be personally
satisfying is the one that views all of existence, whether
internal or external, as a continuum of conscious expression – even
rocks and other supposedly inert “objects” present in Creation assume a
new dimension of insight when viewed as conscious constructs.
In this sense, the physical
world may also be viewed as a complex expression of consciousness. I
prefer the term “Karma” as the descriptor of this condition of physical
“intelligence”, and have concluded that it amounts a Divine “mirror” in
which our personal consciousness is reflected. If we have done much
spiritual work, then the pure light of the Self (or Soul, or Atman, if
you prefer – Jung did not specify this distinction) can shine through in
the mirror. If not, then the spiritual identity which one does
possess is reflected with equal fidelity, regardless of its personal
content. The ultimate achievement within this system is the perceptual
realization of the Self as the final expression of all conscious
identity, from the personal to the collective.
In considering the Self as an
amalgam of primal psychic energy, we are following Jung’s example of
conceptual conservancy. Even though this energy may express in the
differential forms of archetypes, archetypal symbols, and so forth, it
remains concealed from primary observation as a strange attractor
phenomenon. All that can be said of it with certainty (if we even
accept it as a real observation) is that it acts on global awareness by
apparently creating that awareness en toto. There may well be a
universal continuum of energy that will eventually be understood as
something like Theodore Reich’s Orgone energy – a root creative
energy much like the Freudian libido or the Yogic Kundalini energy.
Certainly, the conception of a continuum of consciousness acting
everywhere in creation is a step in this direction, although this does
not explain the physical forces of nature already mentioned in this
essay (e.g. gravity). Perhaps these forces can be best understood as
the results of the will of the Self acting on unexpressed existence to
create enough order out of its own primordial chaos to sustain Karma and
the universe, and both then subsequently observable by humanity – a kind
of cosmic gift to the Soul from the Soul. Even the cycle
of birth and death is explainable in this rubric – the drive for as many
human observational “expressions” as possible across time would
necessitate this turnover to continue the process at optimal efficiency,
and manifest the Self under conditions of optimal potency and Presence.
Of course, this all remains conjecture, but today’s dream is tomorrow’s
reality!
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
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