Where Are We?

Upon reading the title for this article, the answer may seem patently obvious. We are on planet Earth. Additionally, you would be in front of your PC / laptop / smart phone reading this article. And you would be right. But that's just one level of truth.

Let's take the question a step further. Let's say you die and believe in life after death. Where are you now? Religions the world over have different terms for it. Purgatory. The bardo. The astral plane. Heaven. Hell. Call it what you will. But "where" is that, exactly?

Now for another level. Esoteric spiritual traditions state that it's not only the physical body that is mortal. Even our astral and mental bodies will eventually pass away, with the soul moving higher as it unites with its Divine Source. "Where" does that leave us?

In the examples above, as we change planes or levels of existence, what we PERCEIVE also changes but YOU yourself, or rather your consciousness, remains constant throughout it all. The different bodies pass away, but these bodies are merely ways for us to perceive a particular plane, which is why when we die we are gone from the Earth (no one perceives us with normal eyes and we don't perceive the physical world anymore) until we get another physical body through reincarnation. It would probably be better to think of the different bodies as antennas that we can use to tune in to different levels of existence, much the same way we change channels on the TV. Flip to a different channel and you see something different on your screen.

According to Master Choa Kok Sui, the soul is pure energy with consciousness. If the consciousness is constant and it's only what we perceive that changes, "when" and "where" become increasingly meaningless the "farther" we go from the physical realm. I suppose this is why esoteric traditions say that the soul exists beyond space and time, and is immortal.

Additionally, as one studies esoteric manuscripts and treatises, one will eventually come upon references to the self as the center of a wonderful universe. While science has contradicted the Bible and shown that we are not the center of the universe, I believe this assertion found in the Bible and other spiritual texts refers to something much deeper.

The ancient genius Archimedes once said: "Show me one point in the Universe and I shall lift the globe off its hinges!" In the past, mysticism and science were not considered separate, so we can infer a deeper meaning to this quote. Earlier, we had shown that the consciousness remains constant, with only the perception changing. In this way, the consciousness is like a "point" by which everything perceived revolves around it. If there was no consciousness, there would be no experience because there is no one to do the experiencing. So all events have to "center" around the consciousness. So we may say that the quote of Archimedes refers to the deeper truth that we control what is in our surroundings, the same way that the Law of Attraction works by pulling into our sphere those things that we desire, both conscious and unconscious.

According to Kabbalah, only we are responsible for what happens to us (good or bad) and that whatever we perceive outside of ourselves is merely a reflection of our inner state (our inner state represents not only our unexpressed thoughts and emotions but also our karma). If we take the view that this is because all of these outside events are centered within our sphere of consciousness, orchestrated in such a way as to present a scene for our consciousness to view and experience, then it seems Kabbalah is saying the same thing in a different way.

But how can we be at the center of everything, when obviously there are other souls, other beings out there? That is certainly a paradox, the mechanics of which are not easy to decipher at our level of consciousness. However, I believe certain clues may be found by taking a closer look at the qualities we attribute to God.

In the words of Edwin J. Dingle (founder of the Institute of Mentalphysics), in his book The Science of Mentalphysics, he states that the Creator is all the knowledge there is (OMNISCIENCE), all the presence there is (OMNIPRESENCE) and all the power there is (OMNIPOTENCE). Therefore, the universe, our surroundings, even our very selves are not separate from the Creator, because the Creator is simply all that there is.

In History Channel's The Universe, I remember one episode about the Big Bang where one scientist said that he is related to the whole solar system chemically, and related to the whole universe atomically, and he thought that was really cool. Since the Big Bang theory states that everything started from one single point, that's a very profound statement right there.

Using the Law of Correspondence ("As above, so below; as below, so above."), we are the Creator expressed in human form, the same way a granite pebble is of the same essence as the mountain it came from. Again going back to Dingle's words, since the Creator is all that there is, and we are of the same essence as the Creator, then whatever the Creator is, I AM.

Now doesn't that sound familiar? I've always wondered about the two words I AM but considering the earlier part of this article it's now starting to make more sense.

In pranic healing, we are encouraged to say the following soul affirmation before meditation:

I am not the body,
I am not the emotions,
I am not the thoughts,
I am not the mind.
The mind is only a subtle instrument of the soul.
I am the soul.

I am a spiritual being of Divine Intelligence, Divine Love, Divine Power.
I am one with my Higher Soul.
I AM THAT I AM.

I am one with the Divine Spark within me.
I am a child of God,
I am connected with God,
I am one with God,
I am one with all.

I am the soul.

In the above affirmation are found beautiful and sublime truths written plain as day. But this is no mere mental exercise so a deeper realization of the truth, as with all spiritual truths, can only be achieved by experiencing it. The implications are certainly mind-boggling, and are worth more than just a passing thought.