The One Being differentiates and qualifies [from Itself] into individual unique expressions, or what could be named as parts or portions. Yet this differentiation is not unilaterally decided; as in the model of ‘I-God decide to differentiate this and that particular way. There is a natural differentiation at the highest ontological level, which could be called predestined since it follows from the very Nature of The One Being and could not be otherwise. An analogy of this would be the fundamental colors we see as light differentiates naturally. Now before moving on to elaborate on the meta-model, we will briefly state a few footnotes, as it were.
One theological belief insists that such ‘creationism’, or how God-Being manifests, is by His/Her Will or decision, A different theology insists that manifestation emerges naturally and unavoidably from the nature of God’s Essence – such that existence must reflect the very natural qualities of God and therefore are not actually ‘willed or decided.’ If we analyze these opposing views, and especially consider what significance they really have, we would find that either view makes some sense and it is not as important as theology debates make it seem.
Another point to quickly review before moving on is that when the model states that God-Being differentiates, this does not mean that God, The One, losses its oneness and completeness as it breaks apart into pieces. The One God differentiates [from Itself]; yet this occurs on a different ontological dimension than the Absolute Oneness dimension. In other words, Transcendental Oneness remains eternal, unaltered by its differentiation. God remains as the Essential Substance of creation, or we could say that creation is made from God’s Being; Yet the Complete Unity/Oneness remains as Itself. Thus, differentiation of Being and un- differentiation of Being co-exist.
Now back to the model, it is important to understand that God does not decide to be Gandhi one moment, then Hitler another. Our model here rejects any other model implying that God decided to manifest as a Hitler or decided to create a Hitler. Our model rejects any particular determinism of how life will be.
So here is a view of the model. Descending energies from God-Being enter into our world. These energies can also be described as potential Being Qualities made available to our world. These Qualities are available for all. They sub-exist in our world, or within our potential. And these are the fundamental good divine qualities; no bad qualities. Now, and at every moment, each piece or person of creation is in a process of awakening to these Divine Qualities, or Divine Potentials. Each person begins with no awakening, yet very soon awakens to some small portion of Divine Potential. Then, this awakening process continues. The more one awakens to Divine Potentials, the more spiritually realized one becomes and the more advanced and better person one becomes. Yet during this process of divine awakening, influences from the external environment can enter into one’s character development. This cannot be avoided, because we all learn from the external world and are influenced by this, as well as being influenced from within by the descending (or emerging) divine qualities. Simply stated, the external influences can be either favorable or opposing to the divine influences.
One question often asked is how could negative or divinely opposing influences have ever occurred, if indeed all creation emerges fundamentally from Divine Being. This of course is similar to any question about evil in our world or in human beings. Here is the answer. It’s all to do with accidental imbalances, and also to do with any learning curve. Accidental (as in non-intentional) imbalances are the result of certain divine qualities being over emphasized or over-developed, while important balancing qualities are unrealized, neglected, or under nourished. If certain qualities become over dominant or domineering, to the detriment and weakening of other important qualities, then problems ensue – and these problems will manifest as [non-spiritual] negative thoughts and behavior. This is all to do with imbalances.
An example would be the over dominance of practical will in a person, without any complementing qualities of love and caring about others. A person with a strong development of practical will but without any love could turn into an evil tyrant. A person with strongly developed love but without practical will shall probably have strong feelings of goodwill but be ineffectual since they lack the actual quality of will. These are just a few examples, to see how imbalances of otherwise good qualities can create bad qualities.
Also note that each individual psyche ‘collects’ (so to speak) discrete divine qualities, like one flavor at a time, rather than bunched together and already integrated. It is up to us, or up to our human process of psyche development, to integrate and balance these discrete qualities.
The fundamental qualities available from the Divine Source of creation are all potentially good, but when a few of these are in isolation or in opposition to other divine qualities, then imbalances ensue, and we see evils and wrongs because of this. When any particular divine qualities are overly partitioned and over emphasized, without the balance from other divine qualities, then problems ensue. Evils can thus be explained from this basic metaphysics.
The more perfect goodness possible for any person will come about in a process of awakening and developing the Divine Qualities [emerging from within]; yet extremely important in this is the ideal of realizing ALL of the divine qualities and balancing these into an integrated being. The process of realization, therefore, needs to incorporate wholeness and balance. This is the movement toward realizing the Wholeness and Unity of Being.
The learning curve factor also comes in play here, because in any process of awakening the ideal wholeness and balanced completion cannot be realized right away. This spiritual process [of learning or realizing] is hopefully moving towards wholeness and balance, but during the process one could not expect a completed or perfect expression of wholeness and balance. One cannot expect a complete divine expression of people along the process of their realizing the Divine, and one could not expect perfection along a process of perfecting. Therefore, the learning curve factor, which is inherent and unavoidable in this world of awakening and expression, also explains why there are imperfections, mistakes and imbalances along the learning curve path – which we call our world or the history of our world.
As each individual being awakens more within the Greater One Being, it follows that more of the One Being’s qualities are individualized and collected into the lesser being. During this process of awakening to and collecting greater spiritual qualities, there are many possibilities as to how this might occur. If we imagine this process of realization near its beginning, there are many unpredictable possibilities as to which qualities will be received and how much of each, which means that the resulting composite of any individual will most often be unique at any one time. Therefore, in the overall picture of humanity some of these unique arrangements will be unbalanced, whereby certain qualities dominant in relation to other qualities.
As one might now see, in this model there is no divine determination of each individual, as if God decided how each individual person should be. Rather, the divine qualities of God are available for all, as potentials, and these qualities enter into individuals in unique combinations, depending on variable circumstances and receptivity. Various imbalances of the qualities are therefore possible, which then in turn manifest as imbalanced decisions, behavior or actions. In this way, the world acquires certain combinations of imbalances. These imbalances of qualities, as well as consequential imbalanced social structures, explain the bad or evils of our world. These imbalances are not meant to be in any way permanent; they are merely unavoidable possibilities in how spiritual qualities are realized and collected.
Over a process of learning and individual integration, the qualities should become more evenly balanced, and thus the person will become more integrated and balanced. This can generally be called a learning curve, because along any learning process there are inevitable mistakes and imbalances. We just hope that the imbalanced individuals do not hurt too many people before they learn to become more balanced human beings.
Differentiation of the One Being into a plurality of unique individual beings IS the nature of existence. It is simply one of the principles of existence. The One differentiates into a plurality of individuals, and individuals embark on a process of returning to the One. The One is going on adventures into individualities, and the individualities are seeking to return back home. This is also called the Great Dance. Throughout this, the One remains as One in its transcendental aspect, and each individual holds the One within at its deepest essence.
So because of this differentiation, there will necessarily be
relative degrees of separateness in existence. The separateness that we speak of here is a ‘relative degree’ of individual autonomy and knowingness. Each individual, or individuation of the One, is a separate piece. Each is a separate piece of the One, yet containing all of the One in essence nonetheless. Each are separate holograms, as it were. Each is also a separate autonomy, to some degree; in other words, each has some degree of autonomous choice in its own thoughts and actions. Some philosophers think that individuals have complete autonomy in their thoughts and actions, while other philosophers believe that individuals have none. But the truth is somewhere in between absolute autonomous freedom and absolute conditioned response. We are a little of both. Some have more freedom than others, and most humans have more autonomy than other animals. So humans can best be described as having relative autonomy, or autonomy to some degree or another.
There is also a relative separateness in respect to each individual’s knowing of the One. In this sense, the more one knows of the One Being, the less one is separate from the One. The less knowing one is, or the greater ignorance one has, the more separate one is from the One (God). This could also be explained in terms of relative Light. The more the knowing, the more the Light. The more the ignorance, the more the Dark. Thus, there are relative degrees of Light and Dark; the more of one, the less of the other. And we can see how knowingness is related to Light, while ignorance is related to Darkness. Where each person is, individually, ranges somewhere in between these absolute extremes; we are relatively Light and relatively Darkness.
Each is a unique individualization of the One Being; yet some may be beginners and others more advanced in their realization and actualization of the Divine Qualities.
God can be understood as the General Substance and Potentials of all Existence. Therefore God is the whole Universe; and the whole Universe is God. But this does not necessarily imply a pantheism – whereby God is nothing more than the universe observed. There is much more in the Universe and about the Universe, than we can ordinarily observe. Also, this does necessarily not imply that each specific detail of life is identical to God. The Parts of the Whole are God, in that each is of the Divine Substance, but no single Part is identical to the Whole.
God is the Whole Existence, so everything in existence is in and of God.
Now here is an understanding that most don’t realize –
The Universe evolves from God; creation comes out of God. What this means is that the levels and details of this universe come from the General Godness. The universe is an implicate order, meaning that it is a complex web of embedded hierarchical levels. This intricate complexity has evolved out of the General. So it is emergent from the General, yet always remains in the general. This has to be pictured differently than thinking that, when a creation emerges from a Creator, the creation must then be separate from the Creator. There has never been any separation between God (from which creation comes) and the emergent creation. The incorrect thinking would be to imagine that creation emerges from God, like a baby emerges from her mother. The baby and mother are then separated spatially. But this is not the model to have in mind. Instead, imagine a world of uniform homogeneity without any diversity, then imagine that this gradually differentiates into a very diversified complexity. It is the same world, but this world has gotten more complex and diverse. Thus, the complexity, creation, came out of the General, God.
Imagine the making of a painting. The most general qualities are painted first.
Then this becomes background, as details are added. Now, the details are different from the general background. Yet both are of the same painting. That is, there is only one painting, which has both general qualities and particular details. As well, one might sometime see the general and not the details, while at another time one might see the details and not the general. This is an analogy for how the Universal and its particulars share the same space, and how God and creation share the same space. God is not outside of this universe of particulars. Finally to consider in this analogy is that the particulars come forth from the General.
Add to above – the General is enfolded within the particulars, and thus they share the same space, or the same canvas in the picture. So the progeny does not come out into a new area of space, but rather it emerges (or ‘clarifies’) in the same space as the General Pattern from which it is born.
Higher and lower levels
In the metaphysics of levels, there is a higher and a lower, with various levels in between. Except for the highest and lowest, each level is higher to one level while lower to another. This is how a law perspective comes about, as in what is higher to one is lower to another. What is a roof to someone, is a floor to someone else. At the very highest level there is only ONE. This is the One Light. But we might also know this as the One Being, or the One Love, or the One Power. Each of these descriptions is legitimate, but all of them are only One. It is only our mind and our experience which breaks the One into many possible description. So at this Highest Level, Light, Being, Love and Power are all the same, because there is Only One. It is only at a level lower than this, that these Attributions become distinguished independently.
So, at this Highest Level of Just Oneness, there are no divisions or distinctions. Thus, there is no distinction of good and evil, and there is no judgment whatsoever, because at this level all reality is Only One. This doesn’t mean, though, that in reality there is no good and evil distinction. Nor does it mean that we shouldn’t judge between good and bad. It just means that at this highest level of Reality there is Only One and no judgments whatsoever. But we do not always live at this highest level; in fact, we live mostly in lower levels. Yet we are not meant to Just live at the Highest Level of Oneness; rather, we are meant to live also in lower levels where there IS distinction and a need for good judgment (instead of no-judgment). We need to accept all levels of Reality, not just think of the Highest Level (of Only Oneness) as the only true reality.
Each higher level, in relation to its lower level, functions as creative energy potential for that lower level. Each lower level receives creative inspiration, nourishment and sustainability from its respective higher level. From each higher level perspective, its lower level is its place of creative work and form-building1. The higher level acts as an energy force for the lower level; while the lower level acts as a form (or formation) of its higher energy-power. The higher builds the lower, though lower level circumstances certainly are at play in this creativity. It is not true that the higher level can simply create what it wills, or become as an absolute dictator for the lower level. Lower levels have some degree of autonomy and creative organic spontaneity, but the higher has power to generally influence or guide the lower towards its higher aims and to sometimes intervene if needed.
The lower level stabilizes its higher-level energy into certain forms or activities. This then has its own unique effects upon this level and upon levels under it. These forms and activities become even more stabilized and begin to enjoy degrees of autonomy. Yet at some point, the usefulness of such forms begins to fade, or an experiment has had its day; so the higher levels lessen their nourishing force. With less and less nourishing energy, a lower form will begin to break apart or dis-integrate. From the lower perspective, this seems as a problem; but not from the higher perspective – which has newer creative ideas in mind. When the lower form breaks apart, there is an energy release, because the energy of the form is now released. The form turns back into its primal energy. And so this energy is returned, as it were, to the higher level (where from it had come originally). This adds to the potential energy, as stored in the higher level, that can then re-create into new form. This study tells a lot.
The lower forms are not perfect, even though all forms are part of a great Beingness and Process which we could call beautiful. Everything is of the great Creative Process – which is an evolution towards higher perfection, finer intelligent activity, or more refinement. Everything is in and of this Evolutionary Process, and in this sense everything is in and of One Unity. This doesn’t mean that everything and activity is perfect; it just means that everything is in a Process towards perfection. But this process is not completely directed or predetermined. Rather, it is generally directed from Higher Levels, but in its specifics the creativity is working out in a kind of organic learning process and being affected by forces at that same level of activity.
Here is an explanation for how the Divine Power influences and guides, but does not determine.
All of manifestation is, fundamentally, distinctive frequencies and forms of energy. There is only one essential energy, which vibrates at different possible frequencies and manifests as distinct elements and forms. All distinctions and differences in the universe are caused by differences in energy vibration and the resulting differences in elements and forms.
Such truths can show us the more hidden laws of metaphysics, because metaphysics has significant correspondences with the more verifiable physical sciences2.
The metaphysics is as follows. Spiritual Source (or Spiritual Will) is in a process (or work) of manifesting. This is similar to how an Idea is in process (or seeking) to manifest. The Spiritual Source, Spiritual Will, and Spiritual Idea are higher frequencies (vibrations) of Energy; while the manifested forms and outer activities are lower frequencies. This is distinction between higher and lower is not about good and bad. It’s just a distinction between Source/Will/Idea and manifested forms and activities. But at the core, higher frequencies work upon and influence lower frequencies; similar to how Ideas work upon and influence manifestations.
Higher frequency energies ‘come down’ (from the Higher Source). These higher energies transform lower energies. Remember that the lower energy frequencies can be either activity, form, thought, emotion, or even social structures. Higher frequency-energies influence and transform lower-frequency energies. This is the metaphysical law. The Higher has more influence or power over the lower; though it is not completely controlling or compelling. The transformation of the lower by the Higher is a gradual process, which can be slow over time, because it is not completely controlling or determining.
Rather than seeing this as a controlling or determining Force, one would better see this as a filtering down process. Higher Frequencies affect the next lower frequency-energy which, while transforming over a process of time, affects its next lower frequency, and this filtering process continues on until final activity and form transformations. In this manner, Spirit influences and guides world, Spirit gradually transforms the world, and the world is gradually spiritualized. This shows a gradual, overall, general influence of Spirit over matter, or God over world; but without a often used model of determinism. Higher Frequencies influence lower energies in a gradual process of transformation and unfoldment of Divine Will.
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Photons from the Absolute Source travel through the planes to reach this level of manifestation and activity. From their ontological beginning these photons, or souls, create rippling effects through the planes and they creates “bodies” at each level; for example, a mental and a desire body. As these “emissaries of Light” travel into manifestation and create therein, circumstances of light and dark develop, also good and bad, or levels of goodness. This journey is, to much extent, experimental and a learning process; and therefore, it creates world circumstances relatively ranging from ignorant mistakes to lovingly wise activity. This whole world is a developing world, a world in progress, which is heading towards greater and greater Love-Wisdom, but not there yet, and it is still finding its way there, exploring its way there, figuring out its way there.
It is certainly not true that the Absolute Source is always coming into manifestation in a perfectly lovingly and wise way. It is not, because “HE” comes into manifestation in these rays of light, photons, or souls; and as these photons “travel” into further levels, or “descend further”, they come into further levels of freedom and experimentation. There is no absolute divine compulsion, and there is no absolute divine knowing of what is best to do in every little circumstance. The details of decision are up to us. So each soul is on a journey of experiment; though it has an inner core of divine love and intelligence, which acts as its inner guide, so to speak. But each soul has to rely on its outer worldly bodies, its worldly personality, in order to navigate in the world of manifestation and circumstances. Unfortunately, or fortunately, though, the personality is easily conditioned and affected by its circumstances and the people around.
Light-photons from the Central Cosmic Sun travel “out” through the planes, creating “bodies” of activity. This would mean that all manifestations are perfect forms from the Central Source, except for the following reasons….. ::
One reason is that each form on each plane must mature through a developing process; that is, nothing can immediately appear in the realm of space/time, for all things require time to develop. Thus, all realms are known as worlds of becoming, except for the Being Itself, the Cosmic Sun. So in this process of development, this becoming, many mistakes and setbacks are possible. Another part of the difficulty is that the “traveling soul”, the light from God, gets disconnected from its developing forms, sort of how a parent can get disconnected from their kids. The connection between lower plane bodies and the soul-creator can get murky or weak as they are further “distant” from the Absolute Source, the Central Sun. The divine connective force gets weaker, and thus, there is more possibility for “a freedom to go astray”. Thirdly, a semi-autonomous power gets created with each level and each form, which we can call the ego-power of that form, and this ego has an inherent tendency (tamas or inertia) to maintain its own pattern and preserve itself as it is. Thus, at each stage or developing moment of the maturing process, there is an ego inertia to preserve itself and to resist change and evolution.
Two kinds of forces bring about the evolution or perfection of qualities. One great force is known as the Cosmic Magnet, or think of the spiritual gravity of the Cosmic Sun upon all that emerged from it. An outward-going force to manifest propels sparks and rays out from the Source and gives rise to the vast plurality of ego-self journeys. Yet to balance this propelling-out force is an equally opposite force of inward-pulling – inward back to the Source – which is like a gravity pulling everything back its originating Essence. The outward-pushing force causes further degrees of individuality, self-autonomy, and experimentation, thus manifesting further plurality in creation. While the inward-pulling force reminds entities of their Essence and brings them back towards Unity Consciousness. This is an actual metaphysical force in the very space of creation, a spiritual correspondence to physical gravity. Yet for the most part, this spiritual force works from within entities, working upon the subjective mind and heart.
Each soul has come through the planes, as a spark from the Central Sun (or Spiritual Source), and this soul has been building bodies all along in each plane of being. However
So at some point the soul has to re-awaken in the personality life and inspire a conscious and responsible work of building the whole house… with Light and Love.
Some religious teachings suggest that Divine Power is 'always' at work 'perfectly' in our world, and that everything which happens is a direct outcome of this Divine Power or Will. But this is not so. Our world is deficient in Divine Power. This is not because the Divine lacks Power. The Divine is the very source of all Power; or as said, God is all powerful. But this Power is not absolutely imposing; it waits for receptivity to develop, it waits for an opening.
Note that in our request for the increase of Divine Power in our world, we are recognizing that Divine Power is not fully functioning in our world at this time. This is because our world is in an evolutionary process, moving from darkness to greater Light, egocentricity to Love, and whereby the human being is gradually becoming a better medium for the working of Divine Power. Remember that Divine Power is not like a great invisible hand making good in the world; rather, the Divine Power (or Good) must work through natural, material, and human mediums. For our human part in this, we each have to take responsibility to be instruments for this Divine Power. It cannot fully work in this world without our participation.
However, Divine Power is also at work, to some extent, even in spite of human egotism and other spiritual deficiencies. If it wasn’t, then there wouldn’t be much hope for the human race and this planet. Divine Power (the power-of-Good) is working through us, to some extent, even when we are not consciously participating in it; but it is not working fully. Thus, there is always some spiritual force of influence finding its way into our lives and the world. The Divine seeps through, as it were, even in spite of our many oppositions and suppression of it.
So there needs to be an increase in Divine Power, just as there needs to be an increase in Light-consciousness and an increase in Love. We wouldn’t say that Love is being fully expressed in our world, so neither is Divine Power (or Spiritual Will). As is with Spiritual Light, Divine Power emerges into our world from a higher Plane, and it is a Potential until it is realized and expressed in our world. Meditate on this.
Now we also need to understand that Divine Power needs a medium in our world, in order to be manifest and expressive. Miracles from God do seem to happen occasionally, but we would be foolish to expect that the world will suddenly be saved by a Divine Power stepping into this world to make everything just right. No, Divine Power will have to emerge through us. It will have to move through living human beings.
1This form may not necessarily be physical. It could be an emotional form, an astral image, or a mental thought form.
2Metaphysics can never be as verifiable as the physical sciences. Philosophers and scientists often criticize metaphysical propositions and theories because of their unverifiability, but metaphysics is verifiable by experience, though admittedly this is less of an objective verification. But just because a theory has difficulty being fully verified, doesn’t mean that it necessarily is wrong nor is stupid to postulate.