Energy
Our human energy is divine energy.
We partake in the divine,
as the divine expresses through us.
In modern terminology the universe is made of energies. It might also be said to be made of particles, ever smaller ones, and some say the smallest elements of matter are like vibrating strings. This is not a discourse on contemporary physics; that will be left to physicists. This discourse is on meta-physics, and it includes a bigger picture than even the whole physical universe, and it also includes purpose and scheme. Yet one of the terms shared by physics and metaphysics is energy. We know something of what energy is, by our own experience and by our general knowledge of physical science. So using the analogy of energy, from physical science, is useful for spiritual and metaphysical discourse. Also, we each have physical experiences of energy within our own body, which is sometimes high and sometimes low, so the word 'energy' becomes useful in pragmatic talk about spiritual experiences and subtle bodies.
Existence/Reality is made of energy, it is energy. God is energy. Being is energy. The universe is energy. Life, reality, everything is all God-Being energy. And this confirms the truth of universal unity, for all of this energy is unified in an interrelated wave pattern. But besides knowing the unity, we must also understand that there are levels of the one God-energy. Pure and Absolute Consciousness is the highest level/vibration of energy. This is God Consciousness, or God-Knowing. It is the energy of Self-Consciousness. The lowest vibration or level of energy is the grossest density of matter, which is the most stable material manifestation of energy, but lacking in consciousness. The greater the consciousness, the higher is the energy. In other words, the higher energies have greater consciousness, just as the lower energies have lesser consciousness.
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In a very simple model of Reality, there is spiritual energy on the one hand, and material energy on the other hand. These are the two hands or the two poles of God. Here we are speaking of God as the Whole, which includes the higher/spiritual and lower/material. And what is spiritual energy? Spiritual Consciousness, which at its highest point is God-Consciousness, is the essence of spiritual energy. It is higher in the continuum of Energy; certainly higher than physical mechanical energy. So consciousness is a vibration of energy that is higher than the vibration of material energy. Thus, reality spans a continuum of energy vibration, from the higher energies of consciousness to the lower energies of physical matter. Or another way of thinking about this is that when energy vibrations are lowered the One Essential Substance consolidates and densifies as physical matter; and when energy vibrations are raised the One Essential Substance de-solidifies and is rarified into a much more free experience which is consciousness.
Yet because this is a continuum, the consciousness energies and material energies are not absolutely distinct. That is, there is not an exact division of reality at some point, with all consciousness on one side and all material on the other. Rather, consciousness energy simply becomes less concentrated and intense at the lower levels of vibration; while material energy becomes more rarified and unfixed at the higher levels of vibration. It is said that there is some consciousness is everything, including cell life and even including metals. There is really some degree of consciousness everywhere; though in some places or beings this consciousness is less.
So although a distinction can be made, we must be careful not to conclude that the spiritual and physical energies are absolutely divided, as though there were a definite line between them. There is a distinction, and we can say that these energies are in different dimensions, or of a different kind, but nonetheless there is a relationship at work here, and so they are both part of a greater Whole which is an undivided Reality. In fact, they form a continuum within the Whole Reality. In this continuum, the spiritual is at one pole and the physical at the other pole. To understand this better, we now have to see both spiritual and physical energies as levels or vibrations of the very same Energy. The higher levels of energy are the spiritual, while the lower levels are the physical. In religious terms, we say that all the levels of Energy are of the same Being. It will also help to see that the spiritual energy interpenetrates the physical, so that any physical energy, or physical existent, contains at least some degree of spiritual energy. This added understanding of the Model helps us see that the distinction between spiritual and physical energies is not absolute or a definite dividing line.
An example of this non-absolute distinction is the human being, who can be placed somewhere in the middle of these poles of spiritual and physical energy. We can know ourselves as somewhat spiritual and somewhat physical; our highest energies being spiritual and our lowest being physical. Both are present, yet at any moment we might be experiencing more of the spiritual or, conversely, we might be experiencing more of the physical. Our attention might even become totally immersed in the spiritual, or it might become totally immersed in the physical, or it might be somewhere in between or in vacillation between these. As well in the human being, we can see a continuum between free will/decision and mechanical/automatic actions; as with any one person or moment, there is more of one and less of the other.
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Spiritual energy has divine purpose in it and higher Divine Will; while physical energy is mechanical and acts in just a passive manner in cause/effect relation to preceding energies. We can then say that spiritual energy is causal in relation to physical energy, while physical energy is not causal but dependent in relation to spiritual energy. So in this scheme or model, which we can see as top to down, the spiritual energy is active and causal in relation the passive, effected and dependent physical energy. Of course though, the some physical energies will be causal to other physical energies; but when spiritual energy is considered the physical energies are all passive in relation to it, for it would not be true that physical energies are causal to the spiritual energies. So this is how we can make the distinction between the two.
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Will and consciousness are related very intimately; for the more of one is accompanied by more of the other, and the lesser of one causes less of the other. So higher energy also involves greater will, or we could call it power to direct and organize. Or another way to see it is that consciousness has will within it. At the very top of the Energy pole is God, with consciousness and will, both a knowingness and an effectiveness in relation to all of Existence. The human consciousness is a possible range between the highest Pole, Divine Consciousness/Will, and the lower levels of physical existence. In other words, human consciousness or experience can be anywhere along the Energy continuum between God-Consciousness and physical engrossment. What makes the human significant in this great scheme is that the human is part of the whole interactive process. So we are mediators in between God (at the top of the pole) and the more mechanical physical world. Thus, the level of our consciousness and will becomes powerfully significant in the movement and shaping of physical existence. We are very much a significant part of the whole scheme of energy transformation and movement, by the level of our consciousness and the effect of our energy.
Thus, the Energy of Being has both the property of consciousness and movement. This is also in the continuum of Being. The higher energies have a more pure consciousness, though they actually do have movement; while the lower energies have less consciousness but more evident movement. The lower energies will have a more direct movement in the physical world, while the higher energies will have a less direct movement or effect in the physical world. And yet, the higher energies of consciousness will nonetheless effect the physical lower energies and be even more effective and integral in the overall physical existence. This is because the higher energies of consciousness interpenetrate the lower energies and physical world. Once again, we can see a continuum of relation between consciousness and movement, the higher with the lower.
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Energy events and interrelationships
Reality can be understood as both subjective and objective, or as experiences and events. The inward or mental aspect of reality consists of experiences. The outward or physical aspect of reality consists of events, or relations in motion. So in speaking of reality, we can either speak of [inward mental] experiences or [outward physical] events. For modern science the only speakable reality are physical events, but that is because this is only aspect of reality that is objectively measurable and verifiable by public consensus. But for the human individual, how one experiences outward events may be more significant than the measurable events themselves.
All reality is energy; more specifically, reality at any moment is a complex combination of energy events. Even more specific, all of these energy events are relational events, meaning that any event only exists (or comes to be) in relation to other events. No event can arise on just its own accord, nor in isolation from some other events. Another way of understanding this is that every event is, in some way, a response to a number of other events, and complexity arises as many events respond and interact with one another. Thus, all events are inter-relational. The more inter-relational a group of events, the more organized is its complexity. The whole universe is one great process consisting of multiple processes which are intrinsically relational in respect of other processes.
One could picture the universe as multiple entities in complex relationships. Every entity exists only by some relations with other entities. Thus, individuality and relationality are co-relatives. Entities, both non-living and living, are also translatable as energy events. Each entity is itself an energy event, though composed of smaller relating events. Entities in relation can just as well be understood as events in relation, and vice versa; and neither entities nor events can exist completely independent of relations. So we can coherently speak of either entities or energy events, since these are intrinsically translatable.
A most obvious fact is that events affect other events. Well, this is obvious at local levels, but it also true throughout larger spaces and systems. This is the universal principle of inter-relationship. Everything, every event, every action, produces relational effects and makes some difference in the world. Remember that thoughts are also energy events; they are just events of a different kind. Not only thoughts, but experiences are energy events. Experiences are events, and events are experiences; for these are the two sides of reality.
Reality is made of inter-relations, and in any moment there is a unique totality of complex relations, never before and never again occurring, and each relation creates unique experiences.. This is true of the vast total universe, and also true of any world or self. Every moment of a self is at least somewhat unique for any other moment; thus, each single moment of self experience is specially unique. Reality is also made of successive experiences.
Time is the transition from one experience to the next. Time is also the transition from one event to the next. For again, experiences and events are the two polar elements of Realty. The past is settled; it is concretized. Yet the future always contains open possibility and undetermined freedom. Though not all the future is open possibility, for there are regularities of cause-effect, also known as karma. Yet it could be said that the Divine Dimension, within the process we know as life, provides escape from karma and open possibility for new creativity and synthesis. New possibilities suddenly come into existence moment by moment
Related to time is process, and all of Reality is in process. Every thing is either developing towards a higher ideal of synthesis or it is part of a greater development. Now this does not necessarily imply that all is perfect, because always within process there are possible setbacks, mistakes, and hazards. So, any single instances can be unfortunate or imperfect, but the overall Larger Process keeps developing onward to higher goals. Theologically, even God is in process, but this is hardly a traditional view. In other words, God is in Process of Self-discovery; we and the world are part of that Great Process. So even for God, the future is ultimately unpredictable and open to discovery; for the whole universe in the process of time is reflective of God’s Process of Self-discovery and unpredictable artistic freedom.
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We are in relationship with energies all around us. Our physical senses perceive objects, people, natural phenomena, etc, yet we can also sense or be aware of the subtle energies emanating from things, places and people of the world. Energy is emanating out from everything and everywhere, and there are different kinds of energy being emitted. These different kinds of energies are like different frequencies or wavelengths. Remember that the sun is emitting a vast range of different energies (or frequencies), and these have different effects. For example, a certain range of energy heats things, while another range of energy is visually perceived. So there are all sorts of energies coming down and bouncing around, and some are being stored and some are being emitted. Our interest here is with more subtle kinds of energies, though just because they are called subtle does not mean they are beyond our experience. This is not to meant to convince you of something that cannot be experienced. On the contrary, this subject is being discussed because it is a definite part of our experience, yet something that is not acknowledged by ordinary science. For we can feel (or sense) invisible, subtle energies emanating from places and living beings around us. At first this may sound fairly esoteric, but these energies are really not so hard to sense or experience, if one is being open-minded and sensitive.
To simplify this science, we will categorize the subtle energies into three basic kinds. The first kind is vital energy, which has also been called chi or prana, and it is possible to sense this vital energy emanating from others and also from places. Just begin to give some sensitive attention to this, and the sensing will naturally open up. One will notice and feel this vital energy. If you can feel it in yourself, then you will be able to sense it in others or even in places. We can also receive and draw from this vital energy, though it is rather impolite to attempt stealing it from others. There is already a whole lot of this vital energy all around and in the planet, so there is no reason to take it from others – unless they are offering it as healing.
The next kind of energy to notice is emotional energy. We already have experience noticing and being sensitive to the emotional energies of people around us. It is so common that people probably do not even think about it as anything special. Mostly, this emotional sensitivity is occurring subconsciously. But it is useful to give conscious attention to this and make this sensitivity conscious. For then we can interact with others more effectively and realistically, rather than ignoring or taking no notice of their emotions or feelings. For the bottom line is that we each affect others by our emotional energies, and in turn, we each are affected by the emotional energies of others. Also to note is that places emanate different qualities of emotional energy, just as people do; though this is usually less noticeable. And from certain places, as well as certain people, we can receive higher, beautiful qualities of emotional energy, very positive and healing energies, if we are open and sensitive to this. For example, some places emanate a quality of peace that is truly transformative.
Emotional energies can roughly be divided into positive and negative emotions. Negative emotions are those which do not really help other people or situations, or which might also be harmful overall. Contrasting, positive emotional energies are those which are helpful, uplifting, healing, or sometimes clearing. So we need to take more care in sensing these emotional energies, so that we do not let ourselves be negatively affected, and also so that we do not negatively affect others. Of course, this very interaction with emotional energies is often challenging or problematic; and we should not always expect the ideal situation where everything will go smoothly and positively. For it is on the emotional level of living that humans have the most work and healing to do. A useful, practical principle is to open receptively to the positive emotional energies of others and places around us, while brushing off and ignoring any negative energies as much as possible. This “brushing off and ignoring” is not to advocate denial of inharmonious and negative energies. It is not meant in that sense. On the contrary, the negative needs to be noticed so that it doesn’t hit us in the back. Yet simultaneously with noticing, one can brush it off and not give it any reactive emotional energy, and maybe even help to dispel the negative by simply not agreeing with it while also not negatively reacting to it. Consider this approach.
The third category of subtle energy is consciousness energy, and there are different qualities and levels of this sort of energy. It is not a vital energy and it is not an emotional energy. It is a consciousness energy, an awakening energy. It can be noticed as light emanating from people and even places, or from the whole world in general, but this is not a physical light and not the light that we perceive through the physical eyes. It is a much more subtle perception of light. We will not elaborate much about this energy at this time, except to say that the energy of consciousness ranges in levels from higher to lower frequencies. This energy is all around us, and to varying degrees it is in and through all things and all people. Ultimately we are all within one great Consciousness. And each person can gradually, stage by stage, wake up and realize this reality of Conscious Being.
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All entities join as agents in the open-ended process of creation.
could add here about Reality distinguished into experience and events.