Coherence

cygnus-books.co.uk

Did you know that atoms are 99.9% empty space? According to an article in the Elephant Journal, if you took away all the empty space between atoms and pressed them together, the whole human race would fit inside a sugar cube. This ties in with what I watched in an episode of The Universe in History Channel, where one scientist said that if all the atoms of the Empire State Building were stripped of their empty space, the building would only be the size of a grain of sand or something close to it (it would still weigh 370,000 tons though, so that grain of sand would still crush your hand instantly).

One would then ask that if everything was mostly empty space, why don't we pass through stuff? This is because of the electrostatic field caused by the electrons of different atoms pushing against each other.

On a deeper level, what makes all these atoms what they are? Why do certain atoms bind themselves the way they do? What makes them keep the form they were shaped into? Something keeps them together, otherwise a tea cup would just dissolve into its constituent elements instead of retaining the form that it was shaped into. Even beyond electrostatic forces, something gives coherence to these atoms.

In Franz Bardon's system of hermetics (composed of ten steps), there is a mental exercise on the fifth step where one is supposed to imagine one's consciousness to be as small as an atom and place that consciousness into the "depth point" of any chosen object. The smaller one's consciousness becomes, the larger and larger the constituent parts of the object also become. Molecules start to become as big as houses, and space expands further and further until one can imagine oneself surrounded by pure atoms, each atom like a small solar system with revolving electrons and protons with a nucleus for the star, and in between, endless empty space. One can imagine that one is in the center of a vast universe.

However, despite the seemingly infinite size of this imaginary universe, one remains aware of the overall form that these giant (to one's miniscule point of view) atoms conform themselves to. So one begins to wonder, what is the force that keeps them together in that form, and not in another?

So one tries to go even deeper, until one imagines that one has penetrated into the quantum realm of quarks and other things that are smaller than atoms. According to quantum theory, consciousness has an effect on the behavior of quantum particles. Ah. Then a little nudge here and a little nudge there and theoretically, one can influence how certain atoms behave toward each other.

At the very depths of this infinite space, the power of thought seems to provide the underlying mold or design that keeps these atoms to a certain form in relation to each other (e.g. the form of a tea cup). And so, ancient maxims start to make more sense, because it is said that everything starts from a thought. Even the grandest building starts as an idea in the mind of the architect and everything that follows afterward until the building is constructed is held together by the force of this singular idea.

However, not all thought is created equal. Otherwise, we could all create things out of thin air, by sheer thought power alone. So it seems to me that there is an even greater force of thought, call it a Divine Thought, that keeps things the way they are. The formation of atoms that make up granite is held together by the thought design of granite. Same thing with the formation of atoms that make up gold, and so on. Sorts of boggles the mind, doesn't it? It seems to be such a complicated template tree, if you bother to think about it.

But again, it's really amazing how everything remains so coherent throughout it all. Everything is held in place, for all intents and purposes by a powerful Thought, so it seems to support the statements that the universe is one big mind. Hindu sacred texts do say that when Brahma goes to sleep, the whole universe dissolves into Nothingness, presumably because the conscious thought that holds everything together is withdrawn.

The Bardon exercise is a really interesting (if taxing) meditation that really helps give insight on a couple of Hermetic maxims. Other points for meditation would be, if one can imagine any object as a big universe when seen from the point of view of the atom while still being aware of the overall coherent form, what form does our own universe conform to, if any? Going by scale, our Sun would be like a nucleus and the planets as the protons and electrons. If we shrink our consciousness further, would we find small beings living in these "planetary" electrons of each atom, just as we live on this Earth?

I may as well end this here before I give people migraines with all the infinite possibilities such thoughts can bring us to. But it does show that we are truly specks in this big, big place and all the knowledge in the world does not even begin to encompass the enormity of what is out there (or "in here").

Being In Tune

en.wikipedia.org

I'm sure we've all heard a skilled musician play. The melody coming out of the instrument, whether it be a violin, piano, saxophone or guitar can evoke everything from the deepest emotions to long-forgotten memories. A well-tuned instrument played by a skilled musician is truly food for the soul.

If any part of the instrument were misaligned or otherwise out of tune, only discordant tones would come out, a vibration that will set anyone's teeth on edge if played long enough. Every aspect of the instrument has to be in harmony, every string at just the right tension, every part aligned just so, in order to accurately express the message in melody that the musician wants to bring out.

Unfortunately, there can be times when people fail to appreciate good music when they hear it. For instance, in 2007 the Washington Post ran an article about how world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell was for the most part ignored when he played in a subway station in front of a rush-hour crowd. And to think, a few days before Bell did this experiment, he played his US$3.5 million violin (the same violin he used in the subway) in Boston's Symphony Hall where the good seat prices started at US$100. What does this say about how people prioritize their lives?

Like a musical instrument, the human body (including the subtle bodies) is like a finely tuned instrument, ready to shine with the soul's inner light, our soul song, except that one's personality can make one "tone deaf" to this inner melody. One spiritual teacher recently said that our physical body is already optimized for good health, with antibodies ready to defend it from any infection. The same goes for our astral and mental bodies, that also have inherent "antibodies" to naturally protect us from malignant influences.

However, people get sick precisely because they sabotage their own bodies and fail to listen to inner signals of disharmony and chaos. What is true for the physical body is also true with our subtle bodies. Harboring anger, jealousy, greed, pride and other negative traits and emotions overpower our natural tendencies to be in equilibrium and harmony. More often than not, going on the spiritual path is simply one's effort to get back into the spirit's natural state of harmony, the same way that eating healthy combined with proper physical activity will allow the physical body to pretty much heal itself.

Ancient philosophy speaks of a "music of the spheres" that refers to the underlying harmony between celestial bodies. While our understanding of the Universe may not be as deep, we do have to ask ourselves if we are in tune with the signals that the Universe is giving us.

People usually learn the value of something only when they lose it. But one who is tuned in is better prepared to handle whatever changes that life can bring. Does our lifestyle make us the person who would ignore a Joshua Bell subway performance? Would we fail to notice a thing if its value does not reside in its price? The answer is well worth considering.

How Do You Worship?

deebrestin.com

In the midst of an esoteric lecture that I recently attended, the topic of worship was briefly touched upon. The most common conception of worship is a visit to church or doing some other form of ritualized prayer. These views are correct to a certain degree but they only describe certain forms of worship. However, worship is not confined to ritual alone.

Worship comes from the Old English word worthscipe which means, to give worth to something. This definition is consistent with why most people go to religious celebrations and festivals. These are events that devotees feel are worthy of their time and effort, and so they participate.

A religious ritual represents one's act of connecting with the Divine, therefore on a deeper level, to "worship" means one acknowledges the importance of this Divine connection. It's easy to get weighed down by everyday concerns, especially if one is living life in the fast lane. We always need to remind ourselves that we are more than just our job, our social position or our bank account. This is the purpose of religious rituals, but the ritual is not the end in itself. The purpose of the ritual is to bring the worshiper to a state of reverence towards the object of worship, in this case the Divine.

If one is unable or unwilling to retain this state of reverence outside the confines of the ritual, then the purpose of the ritual is defeated. It's even worse if, during the course of the ritual, the state of reverence is not attained due to distractions (e.g. texting or taking calls during the Mass or religious service). In such a case, it would be better not to perform the ritual at all. In serious occult workings, such as evocations, such lack of concentration can lead to disaster.

Esoteric spiritual treatises often state that God is everywhere, and everyone carries a spark of the Divine. If worship is a recognition of the importance of our Divine connection, then if one would truly worship God, one would always recognize the Divine in others. So to treat an employee fairly is worship. To love other people is worship. To deal honestly with others is worship. To act responsibly towards the environment is worship. There is no better way to recognize God than to acknowledge the presence of God in every aspect of creation. The Hindus encapsulate all this in the greeting, "Namaste!" ("I salute the divinity in you!"). In this case, true worship is a celebration of life itself. It is not something that can be confined to four walls alone.

But just as there is an exoteric aspect to our worship (the part where we deal with the manifested Divine), there is also the esoteric aspect of worship. The clues may be found in two passages in the Bible:

"But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:6, NKJV)

and

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:23-24, NKJV)

To worship in Spirit and Truth. Our very essence is that of spirit, the Divine. And as I mentioned in one of my articles, truth is experiential. And the way that one experiences the truth (realization of God) as spirit is through meditation.

This is why in Matthew 6:6 one is advised to "go into your room and shut the door." Many meditative techniques involve stilling the mind and directing one's attention inward, and to shut out the senses (shut the door) to the outside world. The "Father in the secret place" is a reference to the blue pearl, gateway to the Higher Soul and the inner realms. The physical correspondence of the blue pearl is the pineal gland.

As we can see, worship is not something that is isolated from how we live our life. Worship is an unbroken strand from spirit to manifested reality. Meditation allows one to worship in Spirit, and experience one's Divinity. When one expresses that Divinity by living out the teachings in daily life, then one's worship becomes a worship in Truth.

We may not always live up to those lofty ideals, if at all. But if the prerequisite to spiritual awakening was perfection, then no one would be able to start at all. Everyone was a beginner once, even the saints. The tools of one's unfoldment are not found in musty old tomes or in isolated temples. We can find those tools within ourselves when we commune with God, and are reflected to us in our own surroundings and how we interact with the ones around us. By giving worth to these things then we start to worship God in the truest sense of the word.

Delaying Judgement

resaliens.com

Life is an experience, and like any experience we appreciate it through the use of various faculties working together. These faculties involve our physical senses, our emotions and our mind. Out of all the faculties, the mind plays the most important role in processing the input we receive because it is so closely tied with our consciousness.

If one is missing a few physical senses (e.g. blindness or deafness), outside events might not be experienced in its entirety but they can still be appreciated to a certain extent. However, in cases when someone is "not in his/her right mind," such as in comatose, heavily intoxicated or catatonic states, objective reality cannot be fully comprehended, if at all.

Most of the time, when confronted with an experience, one cannot help but instantly form an opinion. Whether the experience is that of a beautiful cloudless day, the antics of a politician running for re-election, the latest reviews of a cool new gadget or the loud barking of the neighbor's dog, chances are we have something to say about it, at the very least in our own minds.

These opinions are the products of conclusions we draw from our experiences combined with whatever stored information that we may not have experienced but have read or heard about and accept as believable. Instant conclusions are one way to make life easier since we don't burn the mind out by overanalyzing everything, and they can also make life more survivable.

For instance, one doesn't need to be actually run over by a 10-wheeler truck to conclude that it's dangerous, and this is (usually) enough to stop one from crossing the road when a truck is speeding by. On the other hand, calcified opinions can also hinder us, like when a manager stubbornly insists on doing a project "the good old-fashioned and proven way" in spite of evidence by his staff that another way is better.

And then there are situations that defy an easy answer. Why did it have to be him who got into an accident? Why didn't she leave him before it was too late? Why are the corrupt still enjoying life while the honest ones are full of misfortune? Because there are no easy answers, we naturally tend to feel frustrated in these situations. Everyone reacts differently. Some people may lash out, while others bury their frustrations into the deepest recesses of their subconscious, a landmine ready to explode at the slightest misstep.

To say that everything has its place would be deemed simplistic by most. We want everything to fit into the nice little box of reality that we've built for ourselves, and this box represents everything that we understand about the world around us. More often than not, in order to make sense of the things we don't understand we tend to judge others in the process. Judgement, in this case, is measuring others according to how they fit into our little box. Anything that doesn't measure up is to be ignored, ridiculed or destroyed.

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that we tend to fear what we don't understand. When we don't understand something, then we cannot manage it or bring it under control. And so we often judge, so that in our judgement we know how to react (to ignore, to ridicule or to destroy).

On the other hand, it's probably better to simply do everything up to the limit of one's understanding and control then entrust anything beyond that to a higher power. This smacks of predestination, a term that rationalists would hate. However, I see it as being humble enough to accept one's limitations without compromising one's power to act.

To clarify, when one encounters something that one doesn't understand, one of the first things one should do is to try to understand it. Sometimes we succeed, sometimes we don't. It's when we don't succeed that we can only entrust it to a higher power instead of trying to force ourselves to control a situation we know nothing about.

The fact is that though one may have the ability to understand some things more than others, no one person can understand everything. So everyone is going to reach that limit sometime, somehow. It's a very delicate balancing act and knowing when one has reached one's limits can be difficult, especially when one has a lot of preconceived notions.

It took a fantasy novel to make me look at it from a different perspective. In The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo was talking to Gandalf about Gollum. Frodo said that Gollum was a wretched creature who deserved to die. To this Gandalf replied, "Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends."

Ironically enough, it was because Gollum lived that the whole of Middle Earth was saved from further darkness. It started when Bilbo spared Gollum's life (in The Hobbit), and at the very end, when Frodo's determination failed him and he put on the One Ring, it was Gollum who inadvertently saved him when he managed to bite off Frodo's finger and regain the ring. This off-balanced Gollum who then fell into the fiery depths of Mount Doom, taking the ring with him. So Gollum did die, though not in the manner decreed by mortals, because his death had to first serve a higher purpose.

Of course, this is just a novel where all dramas can be made to fit into each other, but it does illustrate how interconnected life really is. I'm sure we've all heard stories about people who narrowly avoided getting into an accident because they got delayed by someone holding up the line or because of a busted alarm clock. You can probably list down other blessings in disguise in your own life if you looked back hard enough.

So there really is a bigger picture, it's just that we may not see it nor comprehend it. But going down to the individual level, Mother Teresa did say that if you're busy judging others, then you have no time to love them. Besides, if one believes the adage that one simply gets back what one puts out, then it would do one well not to be so quick on the draw as far as judging others is concerned. Just like anything that involves character building, it's all easier said than done. But it has to be done anyway.

We may not understand everything that happens in our life, but sometimes letting go and having a little faith may just be the right move to make.