In material metaphysics, everything is made of matter and its correlating energies. In this classical model of upward causation, all things start from the elementary particles that make atoms to molecules and molecules to cells. These cells can differentiate to make neurons and the brain and as a result, the brain creates the body’s energies. In this view, it is the brain that makes the processes that we call mental or spiritual. One problem with the reductionist model is that once we breakdown the infinitely small particles even more, nothing is there but energy. If at a quantum level, we are nothing but energy, how can matter be most important?
Dr. Amit Goswami, a quantum physicist, posits that consciousness is not an epiphenomenon of the brain but it is the ground of being. All things, including us, emanate from consciousness. He calls this downward causation and subscribes a causal capacity to consciousness. He goes one step further to say that the relationship between all things is one of tangled hierarchy – meaning that the effect of influence is circular in nature. This is significant when we consider creating our reality and healing.
When we view anything in our world, we perceive it as an object to us. Meaning in the subject-object model, I am the subject and all other things are objects. We run into a bit of a problem with this model because each individual person believes that they are the subject and all other things objects. This conundrum is resolved by describing our experience as an illusion. It is illusory because, with consciousness as the ground of being, we are all objects and the Infinite is the subject. Enlightened beings move past this object-subject split to unity, where they encounter the divine. They move past the conceptual to know experientially that We Are All One.
The tangled hierarchical relationship that we have with consciousness means that we may influence our reality. How do we do this? We can influence our lives in powerful ways by elevating our consciousness and transcending the ego. Not by completing removing the ego but by using it to experience the divine. We (individuals) cannot singularly create our reality because we try to do this from the ego. Ordinary consciousness cannot manifest in the physical world because at this level, we are the created, not creator. It is only by moving into unity with the divine can we truly access genuine creativity and insights.
Deepak Chopra give a great summary (4 minutes) of consciousness as the ground of being here.
Recognize that the observer (me or you) is actually the observed.
The ego is vital in the preparation to leap into non-ordinary states of consciousness by being still and full of awareness. The ego is equally important when we are manifesting the insights obtained while in unity with consciousness. It is through these creative insights from the quantum field that we can influence and co-create our reality. I call it co-creation because from the perspective of the ego, we are separate from Source. In truth, we are the creators of our experience because we are one and the same with Source. Once we achieve union with the Infinite, we access unlimited creativity, health and love. It is where the unmanifested becomes the manifested. The object becomes the subject. And it is because of the ego that the individual can transcend it to experience the divine.
Meditation is the tool that we can use to move past our perceived separateness and into wholeness. It is no wonder that mediation has been practiced for thousands of years and it will be the catalyst for the evolution of the collective consciousness. The mental, physical and spiritual benefits of meditation are proven but not widely accepted or known. Once the general population establishes a meditative practice and aligns themselves with the intention of the Infinite, we will finally see large-scale change because we will be manifesting at great speeds and with a deeper purpose.
Stillness, contemplation and reflection are no longer reserved for monks, the cloistered or followers of the New Age. They are a necessity for our evolution. We can no longer ignore that consciousness is the ground of being. It is everywhere and permeates everything. To connect with the Infinite is to finally understand who you are and the purpose of your life. It is the place where the created becomes the creator and in the stillness is where our divinity meets with the Divine.
Posted on May 20, 2012
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