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..:: Akasha ::..

By

Alan Schneider

                                                                                   

                One of the most interesting elements of the Astral state of consciousness, at least to this author, is the Akashic Record. The term Akasha refers to a similar state of consciousness to the elusive non-dual awareness so often mentioned in these essays. The Akasha is the perception of the state beyond perception – a totally free state of consciousness that is not affected by any prior conditioning of any kind. The Akashic Record can be thought of as the memory of the Logos beyond time and space as we know them. All possibilities are present in this memory – past, present, future, real, fictional, tragic, comic, symbolic. The key to conceptualizing this condition lies in understanding that what we believe we know in most cases is the result of a perspective that we may very well not have been aware of having. In life, this “perspective” is the body, senses, central nervous system, and that focal portion of the central nervous system called the ego, all collectively referred to as the manifest Physical Plane. In meditation, which takes us beyond life as we experience it through the ego, this perspective becomes the Astral Plane. As we enter the next level of experience, frequently referred in the Mystery Studies to as the Mental Plane, we begin to enter the perspective-free condition of the Akashic Record.  Here, we have left the personal portion of the Astral experience – with its burden of trauma and repression – behind, and entered the Jungian collective unconscious, the region of the Archetypal symbols and symbol complexes that define consciousness itself on the previous planes of experience. 

            Jung postulated that the Archetypes could not be directly experienced in any state of conscious experience – they were non-perceptible “instinctual” processes that were endemic to human brain neurology and generated archetypal symbols in response to cultural cues and patterns. In this way, we are all born with an extensive set of perceptual templates that enable social behavior to emerge from essential biological instinct. Jung suspected that social behavior, and hence society itself, was only possible through the influence of the archetypes. 

            The boundary of the Mental and Astral Planes is anything but distinct. Most people experience a preponderance of ego-driven personal images in the Astral State that only gradually transmute into the Archetypal images of the Mental Plane after years of mental “exercise” – e.g. therapy, meditation, yoga, austerity, etc. Along the way, a complex admixture of personal and collective symbolic images is the rule of experience. The more personal, the less collective, and the less archetypal and Akashic in particular, seems to be the principle of manifestation at work, but this can be countermanded by numerous examples of highly specific images displayed in the Akasha. Again, the boundary is anything but distinct! As soon as we leave the apparently concrete world of the physical senses, we also leave the comforting manifestation of logical consistency, proportion, and linear temporal expression, and enter the infinitely pliable expression of the Psyche and psychic manifestation. In this “new world”, we are confronted with a logic based upon associative symbolic meaning – a logic of subtlety and concealed expression that has no literal correlates, and must be excavated from the deep sediment of the archetypal symbols to be understood at all in the terms that the ego is familiar with. It goes without saying that this type of ego-interpreted understanding is frequently not forthcoming, and we must accept totally new conditions of awareness that force us to learn equally new systems of understanding as we go along. 

            The Akashic Record essentially contains an infinite number of discrete “entries” that take the form of symbolic events that simply emerge into conscious perception from the aforementioned non-perceptual instinctual matrix that presupposes the “knowable” in the Psyche. This pre-expressed condition is the layer of chaos that extends beyond perception to infinity and the Logos. These symbolic events can be of any form or context whatsoever – psychic images of past or future events, personal repressed memories, collective memories of an entire race or people (Jung called this racial memory), fantastic or horrific symbolic vignettes, emotional manifestations occurring with or without apparent causal links, Ascension experiences of Angels and the Logos, Decension experiences of Demons and the Underworld in Hell continuums (frequently referred to as frightening near-death experiences, or FNDEs in near-death literature – the FNDE is another type of altered state of consciousness, analogous to the Astral state, accessed by nearly dying), and any other expression of any kind imaginable.  I once had an experience of some kind of apparently Native American images of dancing Kachina figures that went on for some time that I have never understood to this day, although I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that an individual familiar with that cultural context would understand what these figures and their “dance” meant. I am not even remotely Native American – I’m German/European in extraction – so where did these images come from? They came from the deep collective unconscious beyond the realm of racial boundaries, where this symbol system was somehow the best one to express what I was receiving from the Akasha. It is quite possible that we are not even unitary beings at all, but represent many consciousnesses coexisting in a single physical organism. It is quite possible that we are the Akasha, and the Logos, hidden behind a thin screen of individual ego and culture, and waiting for the least opportunity to emerge into universal expression. The perceptual and spiritual implications of the Astral experience are absolutely staggering.  

            Many psychics are aware of the principle of the Akasha, and have come to understand its importance in their work. The accurate forecasting of future events, the divining of past events and hidden information, the communication with the essence of the departed, or as yet unborn spirits, remote viewing, and the intuitive understanding of clients’ needs and motivations all hinge upon effective Akashic perception.  And most legitimate psychic mediums will also acknowledge that they do not control what comes to them in trance of any kind past a very limited set of initial cues on the Physical Plane – personal effects of the departed, items of evidence, symbolic suggestions. These may or may not bear fruit at all, or may bear much fruit – the case depends on how open the psychic can be (i.e. free of ego involvement), and how well Karmically endowed for the practice the psychic is – some people are just natural intuitives of amazing power and perception, able to Astrally link to the Akasha as easily as others might walk down the street! I personally feel that the well-known television psychic John Edwards (of the program Crossing Over) is such a person. This man has learned two of life’s most valuable lessons – trust your intuition completely, and don’t fear other’s judgments of you. I can only guess what this must have cost him...  

            This brings me to the advent of a most important question. If we are all potentially psychically linked to the Akasha, what happened to our awareness of this connection? Why do we still act as isolates in culturally defined packets of experience? Why? Because we live in a world of fear-enforced social fictions that favor and benefit a tiny group of privileged isolates, that’s why. Because those social fictions reward those social manipulators, and restrain the unaware, that’s why. Because, after all of the eons of evolution, and cultural achievement throughout history, the law of the jungle still is the basis of civilization, and might still makes right. I frankly stand aghast at this condition and its naked persistence in human affairs. How can we still be so blind? Because insight is sight, and most of us simply are so distracted by the apparent outer world that we rarely look at the inner world where the real answers can be found. We are ultimately the victims of our own destiny, it’s as simple as that. Know that this is the human background against which the psychic drama is enacted, and act accordingly. 

            The question can further be asked, must be asked “If all that awaits us at the end of life is oblivion, why strive for inner Enlightenment at all?” Because we are all a part of a much larger condition that eclipses mortality itself. The Psyche that Freud felt, was convinced that, only existed within the boundary of the brain, is in truth only temporarily suspended in association with that brain for the sake of the Soul and Karma. This Psyche extends beyond the boundaries of infinity, as I have personally experienced in meditation, and constitutes a Cosmic Mind of unlimited power and presence. We are all capable to a much greater extent than is generally imagined of tapping into that Cosmic Mind and its capacities with one important limitation. I am going to address this limitation now. 

            In order to access the Cosmic Mind, we have to surrender the illusion of the personal mind, an illusion that has been instilled in us all through acculturation. Although “society” gives us many constructive reasons for this process, its all boils down to control for the convenience of the privileged. I was fortunate in a way, my socialization was imperfect in many ways, or I am sure that I would not have had many of the experiences I have written about in these articles. In all likelihood, I would have become a “happy idiot” burdened with a huge debt, crappy job, and dreary family life. The father of Gestalt Therapy, Fredrick Perls, once expressed his appreciation of Adolph Hitler as follows “If Hitler had not come to power in Germany (causing Perls, who was Jewish, to flee for his life – eventually to America), I would probably be ‘dead’ right now as a good Jewish psychiatrist living off of twenty patients for the rest of his life!” Although Perls appeared to be functioning from his ego, it is implicitly evident from his writings that he was clearly functioning from the Akasha.  The observation does need to be made in connection with this man that he still had some Karma, however, and never learned the value of maintaining a humble aspect before his fellow creatures. If it’s "inkarnate", it still has Karma! 

            The process of removing conditioning is truly horrible for most of us who make the attempt, not to mention the fact that some social conditioning is appropriate, and really does benefit the individual. One must evaluate the circumstances carefully before initiating the extraction process – there’s no point in throwing out the baby with the bath water! We will have the body and its Karmic residue for life, no matter how well we do in terms of attaining Enlightenment – we must eat, drink, eliminate, and participate in consciousness for the duration.  This author has, however, discovered a fairly workable method of functioning with Karma, and will now attempt to describe this technique.  

            First, it is necessary to forge a relationship with the Logos on some level, and in some manner, even if one does not really believe that such a Being or condition exists.  If necessary, one must be willing to pretend that such a relationship is possible, and then proceed accordingly. As bazaar as this arrangement sounds, it creates access to a higher state of consciousness than mere impulse gratification, and this higher consciousness is where spiritual liberation begins. 

            As this relationship develops over the years, a prolonged process of testing and trusting ensues. There will undoubtedly be many hardships, failures, misunderstandings, and disappointments along the way in this relationship with higher consciousness. Expect backward steps and frustration. This is the way it goes for a consciousness living in limitation attempting to understand and reach out to an infinite Consciousness beyond limitation.  

            As this relationship develops, a series of crucial impasses will be met and surpassed, usually with appreciable difficulty and outright suffering. Be prepared to sacrifice anything and everything as required to sustain the relationship. Nothing in life is as important as this bond, which surpasses life itself. Stay the course.  As long as you have the Logos in your life, you are not alone, and never will be.  

            Eventually, persistence will benefit the determined practitioner, and access to the Akasha and the Logos will become a normal part of consciousness. I have ongoing conversations with the Logos as I would, and do, with physical persons. I have ongoing visions from the Akasha as I have physical sight on the Physical Plane. I have learned to listen to the Voice of the Logos, and understand the visions of the Akasha, and employ both faithfully in my daily life. I have learned to trust absolutely in the Power of the Logos to guide my life, and have surrendered utterly to that Presence. This did not happen overnight, and required great sacrifices, but it did happen, and I am unquestionably better off in every way because it did. When I finally achieved full Samadhi, I lost myself, but gained a bond with the Logos that is worth more than any words can describe. Now, I am that bond. 

            The intimate nature of my bond with the Light of Consciousness enables me to provide wise council to those others who have chosen to seek the Truth, and to those whom I have simply met along the Way – as the Logos deems appropriate – as does my access to the Akasha. It is necessary to observe here that I do not have unlimited access to the Akashic Record, as a very few others seem to have, although I do have such access to the Logos. I believe that my residual ego structure interferes with Akashic access to a considerable extent.  Karma is still Karma, and we must all accept the limitations that it imposes as gracefully as possible, however frustrating this may be. I have learned to honor my bond with the Light, and live in this way as my priority consciousness!

 

                                                                               - With Love, Alan -

                                                                        (CR2008, Alan Schneider)

 

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