..:: Science ::..

By

Alan Schneider

              In the preceding three chapters, a fairly complete presentation to the Seeker of the human condition as a conscious spiritual phenomenon has been made. Certainly, some reference to the terms and concepts of modern mathematically founded and experimentally supported theory in terms of the physics of both the microcosm and the macrocosm has been employed in this presentation, where such scientific evidence supports the traditional spiritual concepts of the Truth of Life. But most advanced spiritual thought is quite esoteric and unfamiliar, even to many Seekers today, not to mention the lay individuals who may be interested in this information – certainly more unfamiliar than the sciences of physics and perceptual psychology are. This fourth chapter is written in response to the challenge to completely transpose the terms and concepts of spiritualism into those of science, thus providing the most concrete explanation possible of the Physics of God. Once again, we will begin with the Triad of the Creation Diagram – our manifest human state.  (1)

            One cannot address the question of scientific validation of human experience in any sense other than the area of perceptual psychology. This is the only method of discovery that seriously considers the role of the experimenter’s awareness in the experimental observation, and attempts to use that awareness to observe itself. Furthermore, with accumulated practice this introspective self observation can become a significantly objective technique which yields an enormous amount of insight and information regarding the role and nature of the perceiver of experience. Although it can be argued that this information is qualitative and difficult to subject to measurement, the effective of predictable changes in this qualitative internal state of the observer on sufficiently sensitive quantum measurement environments can be quantified with repeatability. The example of successfully replicated optical inference pattern experiments can be mentioned here as a case in point. This approach constitutes at least an indirect indicator of amounts and types of mental influence acting in situations as experimental variables. I am sure that more data of this kind will emerge and be correlated with other sources, such as EEG and other brain state measurement techniques, as the sensitivity and sophistication of quantum field measurement equipment continues to improve. For the purposes of this discussion, I am going to begin the translation process with some comments regarding the two most influential schools of perceptual psychology: Freudian and Jungian theory.  (2)

            In spiritual conceptualism, the consciousness and awareness of the individual are explained in terms of the “consciousness” of supernatural influences at work in, “behind”, and beyond the world of the senses. The consciousness of the individual is generally seen as at least partially continuous with these supernatural mentalities, and is potentially or literally interactive with them for that reason. When the individual learns to turn his or her personal awareness toward this interactive environment of conscious influences, the content of these interactions is presumed to be knowable and observable to a greater or lesser extent. The fidelity of the information received is additionally presumed to depend upon the individual’s level of involvement, or sensitivity, regarding various levels of consciousness which are encountered during the interactions which take place. And sensitivity is linked to the ability to screen out the background effects of the physical senses well enough and long enough to make effective contact with the extra personal consciousness encountered. It is noteworthy here that the distinction between internal and external states is frequently discounted in this arena, and the assumption is made that there is, again, a supernatural link between the material which is obtained on the internal perceptual level, and qualitatively similar events in the world of the senses.  (3)

            In the scientific view of perceptual events, the theoretical possibility of correspondences between the internal mental events of the observer and external sensory events of similar content is for the most part, treated more cautiously. Rather than presume that the supernatural or extrasensory links between these levels of experience do exist, and that mutual causal relationships (magic, in a word) do exist, the tendency is to regard such connections as indeterminate or, at most, certainly not causal but coincident in nature. If a given observer staunchly adheres to the causal idea, the tendency in psychology is still not to evaluate whether this is factual, but whether this level of belief in the observer is productive or, more probably, pathological. In the words of a wise saying in this matter, “The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims!” Let us proceed, bearing these words in mind...  (4)

            The Freudian theory of the personality structure has come under various degrees of criticism at times from groups with conflicting perceptions of the consciousness phenomenon over the years, and not without some degree of justification on certain occasions. Notwithstanding this, the fundamental basis of this system has proven its value and accuracy well enough to be considered reliable, and has some very significant features regarding the consciousness process which are in agreement with much material regarding heightened (spiritual) states of perception from various cultural traditions throughout history, notably Greco/Roman mythology.  (5)

            Freud noticed a series of correlations in his early work with mental patients between the nature of the mental images they described in therapy and the many fantastic images of classical religious mythology. He also noticed that there were consistent transitions in the character of these mental images that occurred with the deepening levels of disturbance in psychotic patients of different inflections, and that these also had correlations with not only ancient, but some modern spiritual and religious themes and symbols. Rather than conclude that the spiritual influence was causative, Freud realized that a hierarchy of the mental structure was being revealed in his patients, and that many of the problems he was treating had their origin in hidden developmental regions which were active during their childhood experiences. Many, many observations of healthy and impaired children and adults were eventually correlated with extensive research into mythological allegories as Freud continued his work, finally resulting in a foundation model of human consciousness which is still in use as an effective tool today. A very brief description of this system follows in the next passages.  (6)

            Freud concluded that at least one premise of religion was valid: the consciousness of human beings does not simply exist as is on the surface of awareness, but that this awareness is the uppermost level of consciousness, and rests on several additional layers which are developmental in character, and hidden from sensory observation. The “aware” portion of the mind is the well known ego, the portion of my consciousness which I know and recognize as “me” during my waking daily activities, and constitutes awareness. The ego has the task of mediating the influences of three primary additional regions of consciousness: the superego, the senses, and the id. The superego amounts to a body of learned cultural standards of (moral) conduct, the “dos” and “do nots” of society. The senses are the content of ongoing physical stimuli, including the emotions, and occurring in the here and now, which we must address for survival and gratification, and the id is a far reaching and complex region of both instinctual and repressed material which is only partially noted in the ego, and then usually in relationship to sensory drives. Not all of the content of the superego is necessarily available to the ego, either. In fact, the ego is the only directly conscious or aware portion of the mind. The great bulk of the material of consciousness is located in first the unconscious mind, and then the subconscious mind. There is furthermore a constant conflict present in both the aware and unaware regions of the mind between the restrictions of the superego and the instinctual tendencies of the id, which the ego must also mediate, and resolve with the senses.  (7)

            Working as he did in the incredibly authoritarian and repressive mid-Victorian period of European history, Freud frequently encountered violent or otherwise traumatic childhood sexual conditioning, which prevented the successful adult expression of sexuality demanded by the id, to be the underlying cause of many of his patients complaints. This led him to the conclusion that the fundamental force at the most basic level of consciousness was a sexually oriented “life force”, or drive to existence, which he termed libido. This force emerges as the first formative event in human consciousness, and every additional layer is developmentally constructed thereon. Libido may even exist at the prenatal stage of development, but there is still great controversy regarding this question. Freud felt that the process was certainly well underway shortly after birth, and was linked to the feeding sensations in what he termed the oral stage of (sexual) gratification. The feeling here was that any region of the senses which was associated with gratification or survival was active in the  undifferentiated infantile libido of the baby, and that the gratification loop actually accounted for the progressive differentiation and development of libido as maturity progressed, hopefully in a healthy manner, but frequently not. A well known series of anatomically driven libido differentiations takes place throughout childhood in a more or less age predictable sequence.  (8)

            With the onset of puberty, the awakened activity of the genital organs and the accompanied introduction into the body of estrogen and testosterone, the expression of libido becomes sexually differentiated and geared toward expression in sexual activity. Depending on the amount and character of the repressed childhood material present in the id, this transition to adult genital sexuality will be more or less comfortable and “successful”, that is, result in consummated copulation and orgasm with a partner. A sufficient extent of repressed traumatic content in any unconscious or subconscious region of the mind will cause enough interference with the expression of genital sexuality to produce a range of dysfunctional conditions from less incapacitating – neuroses – to very incapacitating – psychoses. Frustrated libido always tends to emerge in an unhealthy context. This is a thumbnail description of basic Freudian theory.  We will now move on to the consideration of the additional work of Carl Jung, one of Freud's contemporaries. (9)

            Jung is frequently considered to be one Freud’s most brilliant students. Jung took the fundamental work which Freud achieved to another stage of expression with the development of the Jungian theory of collective consciousness and his subsequent treatment model. Jung carried on the cross-cultural religious and ethic symbol and myth research of Freud and expanded this work into a much more extensive library of imagery from virtually every culture in history which left any record of any belief systems whatsoever. He also correlated this information and compared this to the material he encountered in working with patients experiencing various levels and types of dysfunctional behavior in his practice. Jung discovered that the material emerging in reported dreams and hallucinations, delusions, etc. of his patients, particularly those suffering from psychosis, was very consistent with certain trends in religious mythology which he had noted as existing in almost all cultures, regardless of their attitudes toward sexual activity, child rearing, and the other key Freudian concepts. He concluded from this evidence that there was at least one substantial intermediate layer of consciousness between the libido and the ego which was also exerting pressure on the ego in the form of naturally occurring unconscious forces, which he termed the collective unconscious. Jung eventually identified hundreds of symbolic elemental forces in the collective unconscious which he referred to as archetypes. Although the archetypes have no exact nature, they tend to express as recognizable cultural and social symbols in the individual and society. The priest or shaman figure is an example of an archetype in manifestation, as is the demon or destroyer image, and the list goes on and on. By now, the number of cataloged archetypes has reached the thousands, and is still growing.  (10)

            Like Freud, Jung also dealt with the concept of dysfunction caused by repression, in this case, by repressed content associated with one or more archetypical images related to developmental trauma in the individual, with the distinction that this type of neurosis was not characterized in all cases by sexual content. In fact, there was frequently no content of this type evident, but rather of existential content. This implies that a crisis of meaning in the individual’s consciousness can be as problematic as a crisis of gratification in the Freudian arena. Freud and Jung had many conflicts regarding the relative interaction of their two approaches to the personality, but many modern therapists (and theologians) have used an integrated model of the mind that comfortably incorporates both systems to great advantage. The diagram of the human consciousness at the beginning of this chapter depicts this model, and it is very satisfactory as a basic tool of understanding. We will refer to this diagram shortly as a means of contrasting the enlightened perception of consciousness of my revelation with currently accepted psychological standards.  (11)

            The Jungian collective unconscious is of tremendous importance in understanding the process and implications of both individual and social religious experience. To fully treat this subject with the respect that it deserves would require thousands of pages of commentary – an obvious impossibility here – and, in any case, these pages have already been written by others far more qualified to do so than myself. I will provide only the specific information here that has a bearing on the Creation Diagram, and the Seeker’s quest for peace and unity with God.  (12)

            It has been said that “Man is the Measure of All Things”. While this is a somewhat sexist statement, and may be a little exaggerated, there is still much truth in the observation. Human beings are the known pinnacle of terrestrial evolution, and as such, they mirror the environmental factors on every level which placed them in that position. In the archetypes of the collective unconscious, sometimes also called racial memory, there is what amounts to a preprogrammed social and existential symbol system of both breadth and complexity which is instinctual in character. This means that a given group of feral human beings from different racial strains could be placed into an environment which is unfamiliar to any of them, without social or language skills, and they would independently generate a survival oriented social structure based on the unconscious symbolic language of the archetypes within each one of their personal collective memories as the differentiating force! As individuals, they would sense their own most effective roles, and would also recognize the emerging roles of the others around them. Within perhaps two generations, a social order much like any social order would establish itself in their colony. And the differentiation process would continue to evolve along lines of great predictability as successive generations emerged from the gene pool. Social psychologists have studied the evolution of social orders of all types, and their findings support the Jungian theoretical structure very well.  (13)

            The recognition of religious and spiritual entities and conditions is also present as a subset of the images in the archetypes. In the case of the Taoist symbols, we are looking at a relatively “pure” expression of the archetypes involved, that is, we are seeing a very symbolic depiction of a very symbolic mental state or force. The Chakras are also very symbolic, but are slightly more image specific in terms of the spiritual archetypes they pertain to. The image of the Hanged Man in the tarot deck is far more literal, by comparison, and less psychologically powerful for that reason. The Blood of the Lamb of God, as another example, is an image of ultimate potency because it evokes both Freudian and Jungian imagery in the unconscious and links them to the most ancient and significant rite of the sensory dense physical plane on Earth – bloodshed, and the prey/predator relationship. Remember the Arthropod Mind of chapter two? This is the level of consciousness that the behavioral trigger of blood recognition originates in. Evolution over billions of years has culminated in the supremacy of our species, and each one of us is literally a micro-Earth and solar system with a built in record of the entire process, ready to function as an assurance that we will retain our advantaged position indefinitely. Or until God changes the rules...  (14)

            So we have instincts to feed, and instincts to copulate, and instincts to organize, and to seek meaning and interrelated purpose in the environment and each other, and when these are thwarted, or otherwise cannot be balanced or reconciled to each other, we become more or less frustrated and dysfunctional. This is the short version of awareness and consciousness in Freudian and Jungian terms of understanding. What remains to be looked at for the purposes of this chapter is the psychological techniques of investigation of the mind.  (15)

            Both Freud and Jung, and many other therapists over the years, used hypnosis as a method of relaxing the censorship and interference of the conscious aware mind to enable access to the repressed content in the various unconscious states. They both also used the reported dream imagery of their patients as sources of unconscious psychological symbols which further revealed the nature of their repressed neurotic tendencies. And external observation and reportage of waking conscious states and life episodes was another effective method in their approaches, coupled with the aforementioned extensive intercultural research both conducted. Here, we can begin to bridge the gap between science and spiritualism. The successful Seeker also gains access to and utilizes all of these techniques in the enlightenment process, and for much the same reasons, to understand what is concealed within the mind that either impedes or augments that Enlightenment.  (16)

            Meditation of any inflection is no more nor less than a technique of self hypnosis, practiced to a variety of levels to relax and quiet the conscious awareness, thereby gaining awareness of the inner consciousness and the experience to be known there. The events of dreams are well known to the spiritualist to be just as much the royal road to the unconscious as they are to the therapist. Study of the symbols of religious experience is standard practice in any spiritual tradition of all kinds, and so is the belief in observing the daily events of one’s life for the additional insights which are to be gained there for the work of the spiritual planes. Jung himself was far more insightful than Freud in this last area, and realized that the same level of organizing influence demonstrated in the collective unconscious was also present in the external world, and that the physical environment was continuously spontaneously producing literal images in the patient’s life which were related to his or her mental state. He coined the term “synchronicity” for these events, which he defined simply as “meaningful coincidences”, and this became the great point of departure from psychology to religion and spirituality.  (17)

            In many ways, the major distinction in thought between the therapist and the theologian comes down to levels of interpretation. The perceptual psychologist holds forth that the individual consciousness must create and, with others, agree upon order in a fundamentally chaotic world, while the transcendentalist says that we must learn to identify the primary order underlying and creating the world and ourselves. Is the universe well ordered, as Einstein believed it to be, and began his development of the Unified Field theory in an attempt to prove? We must return to the fascinating concept of the synchronicity in the attempt to answer this question. (18)

            The argument can and has been set forth that the observation of “meaningful coincidences” by the individual is being directed by additional unconscious trends that create a tendency to search for, or a heightened awareness of, events in the external environment that pertain to the inner state of consciousness. In this theory, the synchronicity is no more or less significant or meaningful than the rest of the chaotic events in the world around the individual: he or she simply has evolved a partially conscious propensity to notice specific types of material as they randomly occur. The conclusion of this train of thought is that the supposed external chain of meaning of the synchronicity is just another case of the individual imposing psychological order on the chaotic environment, and that the process is still occurring from the inside out, in this case on an exclusively personal level apart from the observations of others, who may or may not confirm the phenomenon. This last statement is generally interpreted as evidence that the synchronicity chain is only personal, and all the more suspect for that reason, particularly from the perspective of social norms.  (19)

            There are reported cases of group synchronicity events which have taken place over the millennia, frequently (but not always) in religious context, including some more recent occurrences that have credible documentation and other viewable evidence to substantiate them. The tendency of the type of questioning view outlined above is to suppose that there is a species of group delusion or hallucination taking place that is, once again, conditioned and created by the shared internal state of the individuals who are experiencing the events, no matter how far separated they may have been culturally or literally at the time or times of observation. And there is no question that social patterning does create or condition massive aligned group behavior and perception, creating a preconceived collective attitude which selects the evidence from the environment to support itself. History is filled with cases of this type dating back to distant antiquity. The variety of archetypes that tend to select and support deceivers and betrayers of all kinds never seem to be delayed in emerging from the collective unconscious into the external world, where they always seem to find legions or neighborhoods of enthusiastic followers...  (20)

            The mystic learns the practice of a different approach to the synchronicity phenomenon, in answer to the above skeptic’s arguments, and the other cautions set forth. How are we to gage the level of authenticity and implication of the symbolic external event – the meaningful coincidence? At what point has a chain of such events so far surpassed the limits of probable occurrence that a deeper meaning should be acknowledged and investigated? The attempt to generate a system of response to the synchronicity question always provokes controversy, and I have no doubt that the system which I have evolved, and am about to describe now, will also do so. I can only say that this method has been the vehicle of much demonstrated positive, healing change in my life and in my awareness over the years, and I trust it for that reason, no matter what the actual process may eventually be determined to be by scientific investigation. No one knows this with certainty, and the possibility is that we never will.   (21)

            We begin with the combined process of coupled internal self observation and external environmental observation. There is absolute certainty that any ignorance on will generate the part of the observer of the hidden aspects of the internal unconscious states deception. I have stressed this in chapter two regarding the meditation process, and I stress it again now. This is another reason why acting in isolation, particularly in the early stages of enlightenment, is dangerous. The feedback of a group of Seekers working with an experienced, objective guide is invaluable. The following list of guidelines is intended to be used with such group support:  (22)

      Internal Patterning:   What are my attitudes, growth edges, limitations NOW?   What am I consciously searching for in my life? Am I really being honest with myself about these things?   Am I following my head or my Heart? These states  will have a profound effect on my perception. 

         Meditation:   Have I been disconnecting from the ego motivated senses  as often as I can? With regularity? With difficulty? This  process is necessary to relax the mind and reduce the effect of personal patterning on experience.                                   

         Frequency: How often has the synchronicity manifested, and where? In my dreams? This is always questionable. Dreams manifest an amazing variety of implications in consciousness, many of them as reflections of simple ego wish fulfillment.  Multiple occurrence in meditation or daily life is the real key here. 

                                      Fidelity:  How genuinely similar are the events? Only seventy  percent of identical content is questionable. Am I beginning to look for a trend of events, or am I objectively observing. Know that conscious motivation, like unconscious patterning, will cause a biased perception.

                                          Implication:   If there really does seem to be frequent and valid external manifestation taking place, what does the character of the  trend imply in my life? Should I respond in some way?

            Implication is crucial. If something keeps coming up in my external life again and again, there is absolutely a theme present. The question regards what theme, and is there an intended course of action implied? The range of symbolic imagery present in consciousness is truly remarkable. There are literally tens of thousands of symbols identified and recorded, and the interpretations of many of them vary incredibly with the perspective or school of thought applied. How do I proceed in the face of this fact? The answer is: VERY carefully! Many destructive things have occurred to Seekers and Adepts throughout history as they have followed the Path, up to and including the Crucified Christ. Whatever the ultimate mechanism of manifestation of spiritual consciousness is, there can be no doubt that the elements (or symbols) of religious experience are the most ancient, occult, and powerful ones in existence. These principals have constructed the mind and the universe, whatever the connection between the two might be, and can emerge with limitless destructive power in entire cultures if not approached with great respect and sincerity.   (23)

            I advise that interpretations be tested with experimental action, and that this action be planned and executed slowly, one step at a time, and the impact of the results on the Seeker’s life and awareness be evaluated thoroughly before the next step is taken, if any. There is a very effective force at work in consciousness which tests the Seeker for sincerity and benevolent intent continuously. To fail the test is to be allowed to follow the course of self deception into eventual chaos. The meaning of spiritual work is Healing and Enlightenment, not the ego based amassing of personal power. Do not be seduced: if any disruption is required, you will not be compelled to perform this action. If the trend in your synchronicity experience seems to be suggesting\ personal sacrifice (the subject of the next chapter) ponder this very completely, and, if the decision is made to proceed, make the most positive, constructive version of the sacrifice possible, and, again, carefully observe the outcome.  (24)

            In conclusion, does God exist, and does God speak to us in our human condition? Who or What is the Logos? It should be obvious to any reader of this work by now that my personal conclusion is the certainty that the universe is fundamentally organized, and, if it is not “intelligent” of itself, then the organizing influence definitely is. Any objective and persistent investigator will eventually identify the same set of operations present in any phenomenon found anywhere: the entire universe is a synchronicity! Ponder this as we come to the last portion of this chapter, which correlates the consciousness diagram presented at it’s beginning to the Creation Diagram.  (25)

            The consciousness diagram is to be seen as a sphere of consciousness. As noted, the bright spot floating on the surface of the sphere represents the Freudian conscious mind or ego. This is referred to in my document as the sensory ego, influenced as it is at all times by the physical senses. This bright spot is surrounded by a ring that is becoming grey, and represents the personal unconscious region. I have referred to this area as being in the “basement” of consciousness, and it is the Freudian Id (the contents of repressed personal events in the form of memories). To the extent that the events of the superego are repressed for some reason, they also are in this region. It tends to be a place of great turmoil. This is why we usually have to “clean out the basement” to experience higher consciousness. The great bulk of the sphere is seen as we enter the internal region of darker grey color: this is the enormous collective unconscious. As I have mentioned, there is very definitely much structure and hierarchy in this region, determined by the archetypes and other levels of more concentrated presence, but these are not shown on the diagram because they are undifferentiated. These things take form as appropriate for the observer as they are encountered by the ego kernel.  (26)

             Many of the more common spiritual forms have already been described at length in the preceding chapters. These include the Tao and the Chakras. The dense black ball at the center of the sphere is the Jungian Primal Self. This is the undifferentiated infantile libido of Freudian theory, the basic life force which creates consciousness. I like to call this baby libido. This is also the region of the Logos in spiritualism. This Center is fundamentally collective in nature, known as the Brahman in Hindu religion, however, it also differentiates into the personal expression of the individual Soul, or Atman, in the process of incarnation. The Atman is focused in the Heart Chakra. The Brahman, which is God, is continually calling to the ego kernel through the Atman, through synchronicity, and in many other ways as well.  (27)

            The ego kernel is the remnant of the baby libido, or Brahman, or collective Soul, which survives in the Freudian ego, and sustains emerging spiritual awareness at any age. It is sometimes called the Jungian personal psyche. There is a life long process of assimilating consciousness into awareness that Jung referred to as individuation which determines the state of the ego kernel’s self awareness by the time adulthood is reached. If the individuation process has seen much incorporation of the impulse transmitted by the Brahman through the layers of the collective unconscious, and the Atman, then the sense of spiritual presence will be very strong in the awareness of the individual, and the distinction between the sensory ego function and the kernel function will be clear. Much of this outcome depends on another process which specifically concerns the archetypes, and is called realization. In realization, the “basement” is either kept clean along the way as an expression of relatively benevolent karma, or is cleaned up later in therapy and/or enlightenment. The process involves the entry into the unconscious region by the ego kernel, which then performs the “cleaning” activity. It is necessary to first cross the threshold of the personal unconscious to reach the exposed areas of the collective unconscious, where the unrealized archetypes specific to the individual’s karma are to be found, usually in negative states. The most influential of these is called the Shadow, and represents the sum total of all the things we have disowned in our sensory ego awareness for any reason. This is a good subject to use to explain the realization activity to the Seeker.  (28)

            The Realization of the Shadow is the single most important thing that we must do in order to facilitate enlightenment. As the embodiment of repression and inner darkness, the Shadow blocks access to any of the impulses from the Brahman and the other archetypes which it can: this to say that a powerful Shadow, consistent with a very repressive childhood, will block just about everything. The Shadow initially appears in the unconscious as a dense black more or less human figure (hence the term “shadow”) and invariably will lunge at the ego kernel in a screaming attack from the darkness of the id when first encountered. This is an expression of the fundamental agony of the childhood repression which created it. The Shadow is hurt, angry, and rejected, and behaves accordingly. It is the Atman’s task to support the ego kernel in confronting and establishing contact with the Shadow and all it represents. This is a profound healing experience, which takes time, and generally requires both internal and external guidance along the way. Attempts at realization are usually successful because the Shadow is seeking love and acceptance. It is very much like a disturbed child, and the same approach of patience and persistence used in child psychology also works here.  (29)

            When the Shadow has been reunited with the kernel, its character changes remarkably into the presence of a powerful friend, ally, and guide in the collective unconscious. The importance of this is crucial, and will greatly enhance the process of enlightenment. The Shadow becomes an expression of the Guardian Angle or Inner Guru, helping the Atman to guide the kernel along the path of the Chakras to the Brahman.  In Freudian theory, when the repressed sexual contents of the personal unconscious mind (which isolate the ego from the collective unconscious) have been brought to light and released in therapy, the psyche is integrated, and mental health has been achieved. Jung takes this a step further. In the realization process, which brings the contents of the collective unconscious to light in additional or concurrent therapy, the collective psyche is reintegrated into the personal psyche, culminating in awareness of the Primal Self, and total consciousness is achieved.  (30)

            Enlightenment theory describes the release of repression as the release of attachment, the realization of the Shadow as the process of Opening of the Heart in Acceptance, the contact with the Primal Self as Samadhi, and the ongoing individuation process as the Attainment of Higher Consciousness. The Freudian ego, superego, and id are all seen as the results of cultural influences manifesting in the awareness of the ego kernel through Maya. The emotions are sensory signals sent from the physical body, and are also manifesting through Maya to the awareness.  When we are fully integrated in conscious awareness, we are healed, we know God through the Heart, the Brahman and Atman are fully present in the psyche, and we are at peace. In the presence of the Brahman, all the apparent sensory separation of the physical dense universe, and the  sufferings, disappears as all karma is burned away, and the Seeker becomes One with God. This is the Truth beyond knowledge...   (31)

            We have seen the attempt in this chapter to answer the question, asked early on, “What is God?”, and this answer has been presented in the terms of at least some of the theory of modern psychological science. As was the case with the interpretations of the religious symbols and subject matter already given in this book, it must be noted that there are many additional psychological and behavioral theories of human activity and perception, far to many to attempt to list and correlate in these pages. Once again, the Seeker is encouraged to investigate this area through more study of other sources and instruction, as so inclined. Please Follow your Heart.  (32)

            The question can and must also be asked, ”Where is God?”, referenced to the perspective of the physical senses of Maya. If the Samadhi experience which I describe in Chapter One did not occur in the senses of Maya, and was therefore not caused by any occurrence of the Taoist physical universe, and yet was perceived by my awareness, where did it occur? Did my awareness simply experience itself in greater and greater detail, culminating in the experience of the dimensionless Primal Self? If so, we could say that my experience of God took place on the Inner Planes of my consciousness, or within my individual, personal mind. I have clearly communicated that a feature of that experience was the perception within the Primal Self of that entity as the Creator not only of my total consciousness and awareness, but of all consciousness and awareness – of everything. And Jungian theory supports this idea. The similarities in the reported transcendental experiences of many Adepts, Gurus, psychics, and others throughout  history who have also traveled the Inner Planes seem to point to an identical, or collective, foundation state at the base of human consciousness which drives the entire process into the manifestation of any and all awareness. The Primal Self as a perceived manifestation of God is very definitely real at the human level of consciousness.  (33)

            Does this mean that the physical universe which is detected by the senses is also aware? Are we to believe, as the Primal Self holds forth, that everything is consciousness Created by that source on every level, both internal and external? And that this Self is both manifest within and implicitly manifest without? Is God literally everywhere, as I have asserted in these pages, and as Einstein’s Unified Field Theory implies, and attempts to mathematically verify?  (34)

            The answer to these questions lies in the nature of the senses and Maya. When I experience a perception, this is taking place in my awareness, and this is a personal phenomenon. Even if other observers also report the same, or a similar, perception, they are still reporting what has taken place in their personal awareness. What is indicated here is that human consciousness demonstrates the same basic structure in any individual. This includes the sensory processes of the nervous system. To this extent, the Primal Self really is the Universal Creator of the human consciousness, and very probably any consciousness capable of supporting voluntary behavior, at any level of experience.  (35)

            The importance of a universal structure of consciousness resides in the deceptively simple observation that consciousness is not only all that I know, but is all I can ever say with any certainty that can be known. The “very linear condition” of the sensory experience in Maya is ultimately a detailed complex of related perceptions, including culture and language, which we experience as a physical universe and body, but each increase in that detail and complexity, through scientific measurement, always  forces us to redefine that experience. The inescapable truth of this is that we never really have or can know the Absolute Character of the physical universe through the senses: we can only know our impression of a condition which manifests in our awareness more or less consistently, with or without our conscious direction. And that is all we will ever know from the perspective of the senses, however detailed this may become. The famous statement of the French mathematician and philosopher, Rene Descarte,”I think, therefore I am.” can be paraphrased to,”I am what I think.” with equal validity, and this amounts to,”I am my awareness.” And this consistency of sensory experience only indicates the presence of an external indeterminate condition.  (36)

            In the light of this realization, my claim that the Primal Self is the Creator of the Totality of all Manifestation, including the universe we sense through our  experience, is completely valid, and must be accepted as is. Every new synchronicity experienced by anyone, and every new discovery of sensory science, adds to increasing body of evidence suggesting that the “unknowable” condition triggering the senses was and is structured by the same principals that construct the senses themselves, and the whole of consciousness. When the understanding of the senses as the “dense limits” of internally created consciousness is added to this, we must inevitably conclude that God Created, and exists in, everything. God is everywhere.  (37) 

            Much research has been performed in this century regarding the location of many centers of mental activity in the physical brain. These centers can be subjected to chemical, mechanical, and electrical stimulation of various types, resulting in reported perceptual changes in the awareness of experimental human subjects. And these experiments can be replicated with a high degree of correlation in experimental outcomes. There is clearly enough scientific evidence of this type to support the contention that the Freudian sensory ego is a center of perceptual activity located in the brain. That brain, however, is sensed in Maya.   This is consistent with the interpretation given thus far that the Freudian Mind is a phenomenon of sensory Maya, triggered by the sensory unknowable Karmic physical body. I am aware of no experiments of the type mentioned above that have ever addressed the existence of God as anything other than a non-experiential, abstract mental construct, generally presumed to be  affiliated  with the Superego. The Freudian Mind is known to be primarily active in the prefrontal lobe of the brain. To my knowledge, no center of religious perception has yet been identified there. This also is in agreement with the Jungian contention that the Logos originates beyond  the Freudian psyche and beyond the senses. In conclusion, we must accept the contention that the Primal Self is the Ultimate Creator, and, again, is the Truth beyond knowledge.  (38)

                                                          (Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)

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