Some two thousand years ago a group of men entered a boat on the edge of an inland sea and set sail for the farther shore. It had been a tiring day, and as they sailed the leader of the group fell asleep. As they made their way across the lake a hot wind began to stir, causing the waves to slap against the timbers of the boat. The gusts of wind increased in strength and the waves became more turbulent.
Soon water began to pour over the shallow sides of the vessel as it heaved and plunged in the angry sea. Fearing for their lives the group turned to their leader in alarm, begging him to save them. The man awoke from his slumber and asked them why they were so afraid. Then turning to the raging sea and the wind he rebuked them. The storm was immediately stilled and a great calm settled on the waters of the lake.
For the disciples who witnessed this miracle on the Sea of Galilee, the quelling of the storm seemed further proof of the divine nature of Jesus and of his God-like powers. What they had just seen seemed clearly beyond the power of any normal human being. Anyone who could tame nature in such a dramatic fashion surely had to be divine. The attitude of those early disciples continues to prevail to this day. We still believe that we are powerless in the face of the overwhelming forces of nature.
Yet as we have seen from the previous instalment, the New Physics as described by Quantum Mechanics makes it clear that everything that we see and experience in nature is actually a product of our minds, and not of some outward force. The American physicist Fritjof Capra sums up this view of the New Physics:
“Physicists have come to see that all their theories about natural phenomena, including the “laws” they describe, are creations of the human mind; properties of our conceptual map of reality, rather than of reality itself.” (The Tao of Physics)
The 20th century Indian sage Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj continually stressed to his followers that the world that appears so real to us, and that appears to exist outside of ourselves, is actually a subjective phenomenon that is created by the mind, and is tailored to the mind of each individual observer. As we find recorded in his answers to questioners in his book I Am That:
“You create the world in your imagination like a dream. As you cannot separate the dream from yourself, so you cannot have an outer world separate from yourself.”
“The mind and the world are not separate. Do understand that what you think to be the world is your own mind”.
“As long as the mind is there, your body and your world are there. Your world is mind-made, subjective, enclosed within the mind.”
Because the world we see around us, including the world of nature, is mind-made, it can always be remade by any individual who has the knowledge and the power to do so. And this is what Jesus did when he rebuked the wind and the waves and stilled the raging storm. But the power that enabled Jesus to do what he did resides within every human being, and every person alive today has the potential power to do the same.
But we who have been schooled within the classical tradition of science find it almost impossible to deny the validity of our senses. We argue, like the skeptic who once confronted another 20th century Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, that the world must have an objective reality because it continues to exist for others even when we ourselves are asleep. In response Ramana replied:
“Such a world mocks you for knowing it without knowing yourself. The world is the result of your mind. Know your mind. Then see the world. You will realize that it is not different from the Self.” (Talks With Ramana Maharshi)
The power to control the weather has been exhibited by numerous other sages. One day Paramahansa Yoganada was asked by his Guru Sri Yukteswar Giri to lead his disciples on a parade across the beach at Puri, on the eastern shore of India. It was a scorching day and the disciples would have to walk barefoot over the fiery sands. Yoganada appealed to Yukteswar to intercede. As he later wrote in his autobiography:
“No sooner had we left the hermitage than the sky became filled with clouds as though by magic. To the accompaniment of astonished ejaculations from all observers, a light shower fell, cooling the city streets and the scorching seashore. The soothing drops descended during the two hours of the parade. The exact instant at which our group returned to the ashram, the clouds and rain disappeared”. (Autobiography of a Yogi)
The revered Muslim saint Sai Baba of Shirdi was also known for his power to influence the weather. On one occasion fierce monsoon rains lashed the village of Shirdi flooding the streets with incessant rain. Prayers to to the local Hindu deities to stop the downpour were in vain. Finally the villagers gathered around the mosque where Sai Baba lived and implored him to intervene.
Sai Baba commanded the wind and the rain to cease. Immediately the storm abated and the air was filled with a tranquil sweetness. (Sai Baba: The Saint of Shirdi)
Allan, Weather Wizards, September 2, 2010, 12:25 pm
“The Last Days of Tolemac” is a book of prophecy. It deals with events that are happening in the world today and shows how they fulfill prophecies that were made many centuries ago. It also explains in detail what will happen in the coming years based on these prophecies.
If you wish to read these prophecies Click Here
As the book explains, our world is about to be transformed. We are about to experience “a new heaven and a new earth” where there will be no more suffering and no more pain. No matter how desperate the circumstances of our lives may be at this time, and no matter how depraved the world around us may seem, we are about to experience a world of beauty and wonder that beggars the imagination, as is described in the pages of this book.
Allan, Oracle of Tolemac, September 1, 2010, 9:13 pm
Since the purpose of this Blog is to validate the prophecies contained in the book “The Last Days of Tolemac“, some readers have asked what relevance recent posts on such subjects as The Mystery of Consciousness and The Power of Thought have to do with the subject of prophecy. The answer is that because we have misunderstood the nature of the universe we see and sense around us, we are unaware of the part we play in the creation of the circumstances that arise in the context of our daily lives.
When we explored the latest findings of Quantum Physics we found that the conclusion to which leading scientists were led was that there was no actual universe that existed as an outward reality in space. Furthermore, even if there was such a thing as an external universe, science could say nothing about it because all the empirical data they had acquired in their laboratory experiments ultimately resolved itself into impressions in consciousness.
Modern physics has thus confirmed the teachings of the ancient Rishis and mystics, who taught that the universe is nothing more or less than a projection of consciousness. And because each one of us is a conscious sentient being, everyone who is alive on earth today is not only a witness to the world we see around us, but is actually a co-creator of this world in consciousness.
The outer world that appears to exist outside of ourselves is an illusion which the ancient Hindu mystics referred to as Maya. It is a reflection in consciousness of our inner thoughts and beliefs. We have been conditioned since birth into believing that everything we see and sense inside our minds exists as an outward reality in space. And because we believe that we are small and puny compared to the infinite size of the universe, we have been conditioned into believing that we have little control over the events that dominate our world.
In reality, each one of us is a point of consciousness operating within an overall matrix called Supreme Awareness. For as long as we choose to operate as a single point of consciousness we are limited in what we do and what we can achieve. But if we choose to align our consciousness with that of Supreme Awareness, then the very forces of the universe are ours to command.
What this means is that each one of us not only has the potential power to control the events that occur in our daily lives, but we also have the inherent power to control the forces of nature, including the weather. The lives of the great Avatars throughout history have borne testimony to this truth. It is our ignorance of our true nature and of the world that we have projected upon ourselves that makes us refute our noble heritage.
We simply cannot bring ourselves to believe this fundamental truth. When a visitor to the 20th century Rishi Nisargadatta Maharaj was confronted with this possibility of the mind he exclaimed incredulously:
Visitor: “The world is so rich and complex - how could I create it?
Maharaj: Do you know yourself enough to know what you can and cannot do? You do not know your own powers. You never investigated. Begin with yourself.” (I Am That)
Those who are convinced of the existence of, and necessity for, a personal God, and who find their lives comforted and guided accordingly, do not need to give up this belief. But it remains a belief, a limit which prevents them from understanding their true prowess. For as the American pioneer into the nature of consciousness John Lilly has affirmed, every form of belief, no matter how lofty or noble, serves only to limit the free expression of our lives.
“In the province of the mind, what is believed to be true is true or becomes true, within limits to be found experientially or experimentally. These limits are further limits to be transcended. In the province of the mind, there are no limits.” (The Center of the Cyclone)
Unless the limits of these beliefs are transcended, we will never come to know our unlimited potential.
Those people who believe implicitly in the existence of a personal God will find evidence in their lives to verify this belief. This is not proof of the reality of God, but of the efficacy of their own belief. As the mystics have revealed, the phenomenon of belief is self-serving. We experience in life what we expect to experience, as well as what we have been conditioned to believe. The universe is merely a mirror to our inward thoughts and beliefs, and this varies from person to person.
For as Nisargadatta Maharaj has pointed out: “God is only an idea in your mind. The fact is you. The only thing you know for sure is: ‘here and now I am’. Remove the ‘here and now’ the ‘I am” remains unassailable. The world exists in memory, memory comes into consciousness; consciousness exists in awareness and awareness is the reflection of the light on the waters of existence.” (I Am That)
All that we see around us, from the stirrings of primal life beneath our feet to the pulsing beat of cosmic quasars in distant space, remains a picture painted in consciousness by our thoughts. The atom and the galaxy both describe our inherent nature. If we seem to inhabit a universe born of divine decree, its creator is that divine principle that resides within the heart of every one of us.
Allan, Weather Wizards, August 12, 2010, 11:42 am
Thought is the creative force of the universe. In fact the universe is nothing more than energy (Prana) manifesting as form shaped by the underlying power of thought. The ancient Rishis, along with the modern Masters, have all demonstrated the creative power of thought through various “miraculous” feats. Of course these feats were not miraculous at all, because thought itself is unlimited and can never be bound by so-called laws of nature or of science.
Whenever the situation calls for it, these Masters have the power to conjure forth whatever is needed, in order to demonstrate the power of the mind to overcome obstacles or the vicissitudes of life. When the disciple Peter was confronted by tax officials in Capernaum, demanding to know whether they would be paying the customary tribute, he went to Jesus asking what they should do. Jesus responded by saying that they owed nothing to the kings of this world. Nevertheless, he went on to say:
“Notwithstanding lest we should offend them, go thou unto the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.” (Matthew: 17:27)
Materialising a coin inside a fish is a modest example of the of power of the mind to manipulate energy into form. When the renowned Rishi Lahiri Mahasaya received his initiation from his Guru Babaji high in the Himalayan mountains, the Master prepared for his disciple a materialisation of truly stupendous proportions.
As Paramahansa Yoganada described in his book “Autobiography of a Yogi“, after a lengthy march along a narrow track that wound its way through towering trees, Lahiri and his companion were suddenly confronted by a stunning sight.
“Before us stood a vast palace of dazzling gold. Ornamented with countless jewels, set amid landscaped gardens, reflected in tranquil pools - a spectacle of unparallelled grandeur! Towering archways were intricately laid with great diamonds, sapphires and emeralds. Men of angelic countenance were stationed by gates redly resplendent with rubies.”
Lahiri Mahasaya was speechless at the magnificence of the panorama that lay before him, and imagined that the long mountain climb had caused him to hallucinate this amazing palace. Seeing the look of disbelief on Lahiri’s face, the disciple who had led him to this place in the mountains explained:
“In tune with the infinite all-accomplishing will, Babaji is able to command the elemental atoms to combine and manifest themselves in any form. This golden palace, instantaneously brought into being, is real in the same sense that the earth is real.”
Lahiri and his companion made their way through archways inlaid with precious jewels, past groups of chanting devotees, until they reached an immense hall. At the end of this hall they saw Babaji himself seated on a golden throne. It was in this lavish palace, situated in the middle of the high Himalayas, that Lahiri Mahasaya received his yogic initiation. Later, when the ceremony was complete, Babaji asked Lahiri to close his eyes.
“When I reopened them, the enchanting palace and its gardens had disappeared. My own body and the forms of Babaji and his disciples were all now seated on the bare ground at the exact site of the vanished palace, not far from the sunlit entrance of the rocky grottos. Although stunned, I looked trustingly at my guru. I knew not what to expect on this day of miracles.”
“The purpose for which this palace was created has now been served” said Babaji. He then lifted up an earthen vessel from the ground. “Put your hand there and receive whatever food you desire.” Lahiri touched the broad, empty bowl. As he did so, hot buttered luchis, curry and sweetmeats appeared. Lahiri noticed that no matter how much he ate, the bowl continued to remain full. Finally, when he had finished eating, the food vanished leaving nothing but the empty bowl in his hand.
The entire manifestation that we call our waking world is thought-formed, just like the palace created to serve the needs of Babaji. The energy that makes up our outer universe is shaped by thought, and is sustained for as long as the thought persists. As soon as we cease to sustain the energising thoughts that make it up, the outer form vanishes, and the energy subsides into the substratum of the Void, that physicists of today call the Quantum Field.
Allan, Power of Thought, June 18, 2010, 8:27 pm
Our ability to get what we want in life depends on our ability to frame our thoughts clearly, so that our personal energy can be focused on the achievement of these desires. If we do not focus our minds clearly on our objectives they remain hazy and ill-defined. These thoughts therefore cannot manifest effectively in the physical world.
When we concentrate on a single thought, to the total exclusion of all other conflicting thoughts, they become a powerful force for change. The more clearly we hold an image in our minds, the more power we direct towards the attainment of that image. As we repeat this process the mind becomes more concentrated, and so gains strength. In the case of Sages and those who have cultivated perfect concentration, thoughts are able to manifest instantaneously, without any intervening delay.
The power of the individual mind is limited by the personal power of the individual concerned. This power varies from person to person. It increases with robust health and diminishes with illness. It is vital and effective in youth and fades, unless carefully cultivated, with advancing age. But however much power a person may possess, that power can be made more effective by practice.
When the 20th century Indian Sage Sri Ramana Maharshi was asked what was meant by strength of mind, he replied that it was the ability to concentrate on one particular thought without being distracted. When asked how this could be achieved, he said: “By practice“.
He went on to add: “The wavering of the mind is a weakness arising from the dissipation of its energy in the shape of thoughts. When one makes the mind stick to one thought the energy is conserved, and the mind becomes stronger”. (Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)
Any desire can be achieved if the mind is steadfastly focused upon it. However our ability to manifest what we desire is undermined by negative thoughts such as doubts and fears. These contradictory thoughts negate the power of the original thought. The more we allow the mind to focus on these negative thoughts, the more its power will be dissipated. For as the ancient Sage Dattatreya explained to his pupil Parasurama:
“The will conceives effectively or ineffectively according as it is broken up by indecision. One should forget the old associations in order to make one’s new conception effective and this endures only so long as it is not obstructed by the old one. A conception is forceful unless obstructed by an antecedent one and thus destroyed. It is effective only when forceful; in that way even great things may be achieved.” (Tripura Rahasya)
Our most common error in life is to fritter away our energies pursuing conflicting objectives, and to allow our most heart-felt desires to be haunted by debilitating doubts. We hold briefly to one goal, only to drop it and then move quickly on to the next. One objective gives way to another in quick succession, and our reservoir of personal power is quickly depleted, as is evidenced by the words of the English poet William Wordsworth:
“The world is too much with us, late and soon. Getting and spending we lay waste our powers.” (Personal Talk)
At every moment of our lives we create anew our image of ourselves and of our world, in the shape of our thoughts and desires. Yet we remain unconscious of the role played by the mind as it spins its web of circumstance around us. We would rather believe that we are victims of a fate or destiny which allocates pain, defeat and suffering according to some random plan.
What we call destiny is nothing more than the loosely knit pattern of events that we have woven around us. Being blind to the role which our mind has played in the creation of these events, we are easily misled into believing that we are held in the thrall of an iron fate. But the fate that appears to binds us is the product of thoughts that we ourselves have woven, and these can be undone and woven again according to new desires. Destiny has its firmest grip on those who are convinced of is immutable power.
Another 20th century Indian Sage Sri Nisargadhatta Maharaj scoffs at these shallow fears: “Steady faith is stronger than destiny. Destiny is the result of causes mostly accidental and is therefore loosely woven. Confidence and good hope will overcome it easily.”
And to those who claim that the world outside of them is completely beyond their power to control he adds: “On the contrary, a world of which you are the only source and ground is fully within your power to change. What is created can always be uncreated, and recreated. All will happen as you want it, provided you really want it.” (I Am That)
Sri Ramana Maharshi answers in similar fashion to those who are convinced that they are trapped by by an unyielding fate. To a questioner who asked him whether he could overcome the limitations of his present life he replied:
“Yes. Many have done so. Believe it! They did so because they believed they could.” (Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)
We are reminded again of the words of Jesus: “For verily I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” (Matthew 17:20)
Allan, Power of Thought, June 12, 2010, 4:57 am
According to the Biblical book of John, Jesus responded to the Jews by saying:”And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free“. (John 8:32) Although this is one of the most widely quoted passages in the Bible, it is likely that only a handful of people alive today understand the full meaning of these words. For Jesus was not talking about the freedom of the body, he was referring to freedom from the body.
The freedom that Jesus was talking about is the inherent destiny of every person who is alive today. For it is our latent destiny to finally come to know who we really are. And in that culminating moment of revelation, each one of us will discover the truth that we are not the limited bodies that we believe ourselves to be. We are in fact Immortal Beings, ever free from the limitations of matter, energy, space and time. We will never die, because in truth we were never born.
The reward of this Supreme Truth is everlasting freedom. Just as a ripened fruit falls from the tree, never to return, so the enlightened soul escapes forever from the limitations of the body and of the mind. With this freedom comes the power to change the world. For the universe itself waits on those who have gained the keys to the kingdom of life and an understanding of the true nature of mind.
As we have seen in the last instalment, our world is mind-made, and mind is nothing more or less than the sum total of our thoughts. The universe is not some giant cosmic stage that exists outside of ourselves and upon which we play out our puny lives. Nor is it a vast creation that runs according to the whims of some Supreme Being. Because the universe is actually a projection of the mind which consists of thoughts, then as these thoughts change, so the universe changes as well.
The corollary is equally valid. If we wish to change the universe, we need only change our thoughts! For as the sage Sri Dattatreya has pointed out in the Hindu classic Tripura Rahasya, “The world becomes for one whatever one is accustomed to think of it“. These words are echoed in the opening stanza of the Dhammapada, the summation of the teachings of the Buddha: “What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: our life is the creation of our mind“.
Everything that happens to us in our lives is ultimately the result of what we ourselves have thought. Our thoughts are projected in the form of an outer universe, which then interacts with us in the form of events that happen to us. The link between this interaction of thought and circumstance is known as desire. Desire is the chain which binds the observer to that which is observed. It is the cause of the entire manifestation of the universe.
This power of desire is both mysterious and miraculous. As Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj explains: “Your mind projects a structure and you identify yourself with it. It is the nature of desire to prompt the mind to create a world for its fulfilment. Even a small desire can start a long line of action; what about a strong desire? A desire can produce a universe; its powers are miraculous“. (I Am That)
Life is nothing more or less than the universal pageant created by the desire to experience. The universe dances to the cosmic sound expressed within each individual soul. Within the universe, which is the arena we have built for the realization of our desires, we are free to desire anything we can imagine. Whatever we wish for can be achieved. Anything in life is possible if we desire it strongly enough. The universe automatically works to manifest it for us.
The plain fact, to which sages of every generation have attested, is that there is no limit to what we may desire, just as there is no limit to the ability of the universe to grant us our desire. We truly are the Gods of our own creation. Through the miracle of creative thought we are free to stamp our wills upon the cosmos. We are not pawns ground remorselessly down by an uncarng universe.
The universe is alive, and it dances to the melody of our pipes. We are free to dance the cosmic dance, and to drink deeply from the cup of desire, until at last we grow weary of its charms. We have the assurance of Maharaj that we can attain whatever our hearts desire.
“When you work for something whole-heartedly and steadily, it happens, for it is the function of the mind to make things happen“. (I Am That)
Allan, Power of Thought, June 4, 2010, 9:28 pm
According to the teachings of the ancient Rishis, all life manifests consciousness. What this means is that every creature in nature, whether it be human, animal, bird, tree, plant or even viruses and bacteria possesses consciousness. Even stones are conscious, albeit at a very low level. For as Jesus answered the Pharisees who called on him to rebuke his disciples who were publicly attesting to his glory: “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out”. (Luke: 19:40)
Materially minded critics may scoff at such ideas, but they remain the bedrock of mystical truth as taught by the ancient Rishis. Whenever the basic energy of the universe (Prana) coalesces into form, that form becomes imbued with consciousness. That consciousness is characterised by a sense of personal identity which then permeates that form as the feeling “I am”. This sense of personal identity remains for as long as that form exists, and ends when that particular form “dies”.
Our lives consist of a series of thoughts, feelings, images and events that occur within consciousness. These sensations are associated with a sense of individual identity, and they make up the content of our personal lives. These conscious impressions are considered to be the product of a phenomenon called mind. The mind is thought to be a function of the human brain, which is considered to be the seat of consciousness itself.
But as we have seen in previous instalments, the idea of the brain giving birth to consciousness which then functions as mind does not stand up to critical analysis. The verdict of the sages confirms that it is the body and the brain that are the products of consciousness, and not the other way around. The entire universe is reflected in the mind. But what exactly is this phenomenon that we call the mind?
When the 20th century sage Ramana Maharshi was asked about the nature of the mind, he replied that there was no such thing as mind. He explained that what we have come to call “the mind” is nothing more than a collection of thoughts and feelings that exist within consciousness. What we call mind is actually a cloud of thoughts which cover the sun of Pure Awareness, or Reality.
The mind is simply a collective term for a variety of thoughts and feelings, all of which have their source in consciousness. And because each one of us associates our sense of individual identity with these thoughts and feelings, we believe that they are our thoughts and feelings. Yet if we search for the source of our individual identity, this personal ego disappears into consciousness itself.
As the Maharshi remarks: “The mind is only a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts arise because there is a thinker. The thinker is the ego. The ego, if sought, will vanish automatically. The ego and the mind are the same. The ego is the root-thought from which all other thoughts arise.” (Talks with Ramana Maharshi)
Once the root-thought of the “I” appears, all other thoughts emerge in relation to this “I”. The individual personality is thus the sum total of all the thoughts and feelings which have come to be associated with that “I” thought. The things that we associate with the outside world are also images in consciousness, and do not exist outside of ourselves. In this way each one of us constructs a sense of individual personality as well as an outer universe in which we function.
The two, ego and world, are thus inextricably intertwined. They are born of the same source, and both derive their meaning from the other. The ego exists in terms of its thought relationships with the outer world, while the world is the product of inner images projected by the mind. There can be no world without the ego, and no ego without a world to interact with. The Indian sage Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj puts it this way:
“As long as the mind is there, your body and your world are there. Your world is mind-made, subjective, enclosed within the mind, fragmentary, temporary, personal, hanging on a thread of memory.” (I Am That)
The universe is simply a collection of thoughts. This has not only been the teaching of mystics both ancient and modern, but it has also been the central core of the wisdom of the ages. As Ramana Maharshi has pointed out: “The thoughts are the content of the mind, and they shape the universe”. (Talks with Ramana Maharshi)
As we shall see in the following instalment, this is the crucial conclusion towards which all the previous entries have led. Once we truly understand the meaning of these words, then we shall come to understand our unique destiny. No matter whether we be rich or poor, educated or not, of whatever race, color or creed, each one of us alive today shares an inalienable right.
Each one of us has the power to shape the universe.
Allan, Mystery of Consciousness, May 28, 2010, 9:40 pm
As we have seen from previous instalments, all matter ultimately resolves itself into energy. But this energy is not static. It is always in motion. Physicists have found furthermore, that the patterns of energy that take the form of particles do not exist as permanent formations. They constantly flash into existence and out of existence again, much as a firefly twinkles in the night.
The universe that we see and sense around us is actually a phenomenon that is constantly being created and destroyed, and particles of matter are simply perturbations of a uniform and underlying field of energy. Physicists have called this basic field of energy the quantum field, since it is the source out of which the tiniest particles (or quanta) have been created, and into which they are dissolved again.
As Albert Einstein has pointed out, it is the field that is the only reality. “We may therefore regard matter as being constituted by the regions of space in which the field is extremely intense….there is no place in this new kind of physics both for the field and matter, for the field is the only reality.”
Mystics have known about this field for thousands of years. By an interesting coincidence, this ultimate source of all matter was also referred to as “the field” more than three thousand years ago in the sacred Hindu classic Bhagavad Gita: “This body is called the Field. Know me also to be in all fields. The knowledge of the Field and of the Knower of the Field I deem to be true knowledge.” (Chapter 13: Verses 1-2)
This field is the source of everything that we experience as our outer universe. All matter and created form are derived from this substratum of Reality. The nature of this Reality is hidden by a dark veil. This mysterious dark cavern is the source of all created life. This veil of darkness is referred to by mystics as the Void. All conscious life appears out of this Void and ultimately disappears into it again.
This Void is a brooding pregnant darkness. It possesses unlimited potential for the creation of manifested form. The German mystic Jacob Boehme described this Void as “The Dark”. He called it the Ungrund or “ungrounded”. According to Boehme, this Ungrund is the primal source, the unconditioned freedom, the uncreated root of all. It has no attributes, yet it is the inexpressible source of both God and all creation. From this dark, feminine creative source all life emerges.
The ancient Rishis claimed that all life emerged out of a sea of energy called Prana (referred to as Qi in China, and as Ki in Japan). According to these Rishis, this energy was not only the source from which all matter is derived, but it is also the intelligent principle which vitalizes all organic life. As the Indian Yogi Gopi Krishna wrote: “In its cosmic form prana is a highly diffused intelligent energy spread everywhere.”
Paramahansa Yoganada referred to prana as the “creative lifetronic force”. It is spread throughout the entire universe and is immanent in all manifested forms. Being a dynamic form of energy, prana is always in motion. It is in constant ebb and flow. It is the medium through which the entire cosmic dance of the universe unfolds. As the ancient Rishis explained, prana is not an inert form of energy, it is the secret to undertanding life itself.
For prana is not only an intelligent form of energy, it is the source of consciousness itself. As the 20th century master Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj noted: “Consciousness as such is the subtle counterpart of matter. You may consider it in a way as a form of very subtle energy. Whenever matter organizes itself into a stable organism, consciousness appears spontaneously. With the destruction of the organism consciousness disappears.” (I Am That)
As we can see from the above, consciousness is inextricably linked with form. There can be no consciousness without an accompanying form, nor can there exist in nature a form that is not vitalized by consciousness. The character of consciousness varies with form however, and as forms become more complex, so the levels of consciousness associated with these forms change accordingly.
Whenever the energy of prana manifests as a particular form, consciousness arises automatically in that form. This consciousness is always associated with a sense of identity. This identity is characterized with the sense of the individual “I am”, which then associates itself with that form. This sense of “I am” therefore exists within all forms of matter. It follows that all creatures existing in the universe possess consciousness, as Nisargadatta Maharaj has pointed out:
“This knowledge “I am” is the same, whether it is an insect, worm, human being, or an avatar (being of the highest order); the basic consciousness is the same in all of these. In order to manifest itself the consciousness needs a frame, a particular construct in which it can oocur. That form can be anything, but it needs a form, and it lasts only as long as that particular form remains.” (I Am That)
So the mystery of the source of consciousness, which has so far eluded the best minds of our scientists, stands revealed in the teachings of mystics, both ancient and modern. Consciousness does not arise inside the brain, as most psychologists today believe, and as modern scientists are still trying to prove. It is an integral part of the energy that makes up, not only our own bodies, but all of created life.
Allan, Mystery of Consciousness, May 21, 2010, 11:40 am
As we have seen from the previous instalment, despite four hundred years of painstaking scientific experimentation, investigation and analysis, we are faced with an inescapable conclusion to the riddle of consciousness. The fact is that we simply do not know how it is that we are able to see, or hear, or smell, taste or touch!
If we trace the process of vision to its source, we can see how the energy of light is converted through chemical and molecular interaction into neurological signals that ultimately lead to the visual centre of the cerebral cortex of the brain. And as it is with sight, so it is with all the other senses. But this is where scientific knowledge ends and speculation begins, for scientists have still been unable to explain exactly how a mental image occurs in our minds.
It is obvious that no image can appear in our minds unless there exists something in which, or on which, this image can appear. This base, or substratum, is consciousness itself. When we say that we see something, what we are saying is that an image of that something registers upon our consciousness. If it did not, we could never be aware of it. But the enigma of how it is that we come to see or sense something is preceded by an even greater mystery.
Not only has science so far been unable to explain exactly how a mental image comes to appear in consciousness, but it has also been unable to say how consciousness itself arises. For if consciousness is regarded as the outcome of a series of physical processes within the brain, as psychologists maintain, then some part of the brain must obviously be responsible for its creation.
So far, however, no evidence of any source of consciousness has yet been found to exist within the brain, nor has any accepted explanation been produced to account for its appearance. The fact that scientists have thus far been unable to explain how consciousness arises has not deterred them from believing that it does take place, although in some as yet unexplained manner. Until it is explained, however, the idea that consciousness arises inside the brain remains an article of faith. It is nothing more than an unsubstantiated belief.
This conclusion has now been corroborated by the latest findings of quantum physics, as has been pointed out in previous instalments. It is also supported by the vast body of evidence contained in dreams, hallucinations, and other “alternate” states. For as Dr Charles Muses has pointed out: “A salient fact of modern brain research should be stated here: The brain is not the source of its own motivational impulses“.
The mystery of consciousness also conflicts with accepted evolutionary theory, which is held to be an inviolable pillar of modern scientific thought. According to the principles of neo-Darwinism, life on earth has evolved through a series of changes in form from the simple to the complex, as can be seen from the fossil record. Simple life forms like algae and plants emerged first, to be followed by more complex life forms like fishes, birds, animals and primates, leading up to the emergence of human beings (Homo Sapiens).
All scientists agree that human beings possess consciousness. However, they are not prepared to accept that consciousness exists in primitive forms of life, such as bacteria or plants. But the conundrum of consciousness is this. If all life forms are the product of natural selection, as Darwin claimed, and that complex life forms have evolved over vast eons of time from these simple origins, then when exactly did consciousness first appear within the hierarchy of life forms, and what caused it to come about.
While modern science has nothing to say on this point, the solution to this mystery has been known for thousands of years. It has in fact been taught over the centuries by mystics and Rishis, and has been revealed in their holy books. The secret to the understanding of the mystery of consciousness, lies in the true understanding of energy itself.
We have seen how quantum physicists have come to recognise that all matter ultimately resolves itself into energy. As Fritjof Capra has pointed out: “Atoms consist of particles, and these particles are not made of any material stuff. When we observe them, we never see any substance, what we observe are dynamic patterns continually changing into one another - a constant dance of energy.” (The Tao of Physics)
This conclusion is echoed by Gary Zukav. “The search for the ultimate stuff of the universe ends with the discovery that there isn’t any. If there is any ultimate stuff of the universe, it is pure energy, but subatomic particles are not ‘made of’ energy, they are energy“. (Original emphasis) (The Dancing Wu Li Masters)
If we are ever to understand the true origin and nature of consciousness, we need to investigate what this energy is, and what its properties are. This investigation will not only explain what consciousness is, but how it came about, and how it empowers us to change the universe that we see and sense around us. The following instalment will reveal what the ancient Rishis have had to say about it.
Allan, Mystery of Consciousness, May 14, 2010, 8:59 pm
As we have seen from previous instalments, the scientific quest to discover the fundamental building blocks of the universe led quantum physicists to the inescapable conclusion that there was no outward physical universe at all, and that all of our sensory impressions of what appears to be “out there” in space are in fact impressions that are registered upon our consciousness “within”. This conclusion led inevitably to the search for the nature and origin of consciousness itself.
Because scientists had previously operated on the belief that the universe did exist outwardly in space as our senses suggested, it was natural for them to assume that the source of consciousness was to be found within the human body. It was assumed that consciousness itself was somehow generated inside the human brain. Yet it soon became apparent that the source of consciousness was not as easy to locate as scientists had imagined.
It was the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung who noted that the mind was capable of producing scenarios which involved an entire range of sensory responses. These mental pageants could arise in dreams, but they could also be derived from a variety of stimuli such as alcohol, chemical or psychedelic agents. They could also arise as a result of stress or trauma. These illusions appeared to be every bit as veridical as the events that were witnessed in waking consciousness.
What troubled Jung was the fact that the mind was capable of projecting these illusions whether the percipient was conscious or not, and regardless of whether the brain was damaged or intact. As he noted in his book ”Memories, Dreams, Reflections” published in 1961:
“There are certain astonishing observations in cases of profound syncope after acute injuries to the brain and in severe states of collapse. In both situations, total loss of consciousness can be accompanied by perceptions of the outside world and vivid dream experiences. Since the cerebral cortex, the seat of consciousness, is not functioning at these times, there is as yet no explanation for such phenomena.”
Jung’s mystification is easy to understand. For if the world exists as a three dimensional reality outside of ourselves, and if the function of the senses is simply to convey messages to the brain reflecting the content of this world, then how is it possible for impressions of the world to continue to be experienced when the brain is severely damaged, and the body is physically unconscious?”
The solution to this mystery, which Jung along with many leading scientists to this day have still refused to accept, lies in the fact that the cerebral cortex is not the seat of human consciousness, as mystics have been pointing out for millennia. The reason why people continue to experience hallucinations even when they are unconscious, or suffer from severe brain damage, is because the brain, the body and the entire world exist within consciousness, and not the other way around.
Consciousness is not created by the brain, nor does it have its source within the body. Because consciousness is not dependent on the brain, it is not affected by the physical condition of the human body. Projections of the mind can continue to occur, albeit on a different level from that of normal waking experience, even when the brain is severely damaged and the body is totally unconscious.
We remain convinced that our senses are merely windows to an outer world that exists outside of ourselves. So if we see an oak tree in a meadow, we believe that it is our brain that creates this image of the oak tree in our minds, and that it is also our brain that creates our state of inner consciousness that allows us to witness it in the first place. As it is with our eyes, so we believe a similar operation occurs with each of our other senses.
But when we trace the network of nerve signals from our senses to their ultimate destination within the brain, we discover that the cells that are apparently responsible for our ability to see or to smell or to hear, are not the most wonderful and complex cells within the human body, but are no different from any other nerve cells in the body. Our exquisitely complex function of sight or touch or taste appears to be the product of of the most elementary forms of cellular life.
As Dr Charles A. Muses wrote in “Paraphysics: A New View of Ourselves and the Cosmos“:
“Even in the hypothalamus, often thought of as a prime ‘center’, what we have is not a source but only a concentrated bundle of fibres. When impulses have been traced further than even concentrated bundles, we end up with specific neurons. But these are specialised amoebas, and by accepted evolutionary theory, protozoan sensibility cannot be regarded as the executive suite of human intelligence!”
Scientists have therfore been confronted with a mystifying riddle. How is it that these simple nerve cells, which have been found to comprise the visual centre of the cerebral cortex, are able to perform the stupefying trick of creating images in consciousness, as well as the thoughts that are associated with them? In spite of its accumulation of knowledge over a span of four hundred years, science has still been unable to solve this riddle.
Allan, Mystery of Consciousness, May 7, 2010, 8:46 pm
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