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..:: The Observer V / The
Soul ::..
By
Alan Schneider
We have come at last to the most
crucial spiritual consideration of them all – the existence of the Soul
within the human observational field. This essay will
delve deeply into this most significant subject, treating the Soul not
merely as a hypothetical construct, but as one that can be observed
directly in the observational field, through participation,
concentration, and sensation.
What is the Soul? The answer
to this question depends on our personal observational perspective.
From the perspective of the Physical Plane, physical senses, and ego,
the Soul is, at best, an archetypal concept existing largely beyond the
possibility of empirical verification that has some bearing upon
consciousness as the spiritual essence of the individual, and the moral
director of behavior. At worst, as is demonstrated by the consciousness
of the very materialistic among us, the Soul is completely
non-existent – the byproduct of idealistic wish-fulfillment fantasy, and
nothing more. Viewed through the observational lens of the Astral
Plane, the Soul assumes a more present reality among the great
assemblage of archetypes active there, and observable by the Astral
Body, although it may well be only one of a large number of images
relevant to the organism and its internal processes, all vying for the
attention and recognition of the observer. Through the lens of the
Mental Plane, the Soul has at least become yet more important as a
possible Spirit Guide and spiritual mentor, although it may not be fully
recognized for what it is there, and still be regarded by the residual
ego consciousness of the Physical Plane as a means to a personal end.
The level of observation
corresponding to the Soul is the Atmic Plane of Expression – with
the Atman being the Hindu equivalent term for the Judeo-Christian
Soul in that spiritual system. The Yogic/Tantric level
associated with the Soul is the Heart Chakra, Anahata, Chakra
Four in the Ascension sequence. The hallmarks of Anahata awareness
are compassion and the advent of genuinely selfless love and human
involvement. Because this level of observation represents such an
enormous departure from the levels preceding it, a brief review of what
has been said in the previous newsletters of The Observer series
is in order at this time.
The action of the Kundalini
in the first three Chakras is inexorably tied to the physical body
observable on the Physical Plane of Expression – generally termed
“reality” by the ego, and characterized by the continuous stream of
sensory manifestation. While it is true that we can meditate and travel
among the first three observational planes with practice, they remain
largely self (please note the use of the lower case “s”)
motivated, and rooted in the observations in and of the body. Even at
the level of Manipura, where the social (s)elf and its concerns
predominate, the motivational drivers present are generally very
individualized and personal in nature. One can exist for the term of
incarnation, or incarnations, and never transcend these three levels of
observation – never even hear of the suggestion that
observational levels are what they are, or think of the possibility
of any further expression of consciousness beyond the personal. This is
the Karmic baseline condition of humanity – the roots and trunk of the
Tree of Life and consciousness, requiring only the most basal
involvement of the Kundalini, without the need of any type of extended
or higher awareness whatsoever.
As the spiritual evolution
and development of the Soul continues, the Kundalini energy will
eventually maximize its potential in Manipura – this condition is often
characterized by a cumulative boredom and dissatisfaction with life on
the Physical Plane, even (or perhaps especially) in the case of
the manifestly materially successful individuals present thereon. A
sense of the need for something beyond personal gratification and social
status begins to become manifest in the consciousness of the
observational field of the individual – the first twinges of the
movement of the Kundalini in the direction of Anahata. And these
experiences may be accompanied by one degree or another of moral remorse
and misgivings for the questionable actions that may have been performed
in the service of material achievement and social success up to this
point. Now, we are ready to begin the Kundalini crossing into
Anahata, across the great gulf of personal isolation into
collective moral involvement in the higher social environment of
self-sacrifice represented by the Heart Chakra. It is only at
this level that we can begin to understand the ultimate meaning and
significance of the observer in consciousness, and of the observational
field phenomenon as well. In Anahata, we truly begin to awaken to the
truth of our identity. Previous to this level, we remain asleep and
unconsciousness to the full implications of who and what we really are.
Referring to the Sphere of
the Psyche diagram, the central core of this structure is the ambiguous
dark ball shown. The wisdom of this representation is seen in its
absence of additional symbolic expression – at no point in this
depiction is more shown than the presence of the ego and surrounding
personal unconscious ring on the surface, the extended interior (which
is postulated as being the region of “dreams” and “dreaming”) and the
Self at the center, suggested as the possible origin of the “internal
regulatory mechanisms” that produce those dreams, but not necessarily
so. None of the analysis of the Mystery Theories is present, because
these analyses are essentially hypothetical in nature, however
logical their existence may be, or seem to be. The Sphere is shown as a
sphere, not an onion with many additional layers, not a
ladder with many rungs present, and not a pyramid composed of
multiple levels converging in sequence to a peak of expression. All of
these latter are essentially interpretations and interpretational,
and, while these may be very significant from the perspective of the
Astral Plane, or perhaps the Mental Plane, the Sphere of the Psyche
remains the most valid representation of the observational field from
the perspective of the Physical Plane wherein we are all held
courtesy of the body, senses, and the ego for the term of incarnation.
It contains all that can be verified by experiential investigation of
the observational field – we know that we exist as the body, the
interpreter of that body’s experience (both consciously and
unconsciously), and the receiver of archetypal impressions in deep
dreaming and deep meditation that can, at the extreme depth of
those states, be traced to a fundamental point of collective
origin beyond which nothing more can be known by any further means of
observation or investigation – the Self – referred to with the
upper case “S” to distinguish it from the lesser “(s)elf” present as the
ego observer on the Sphere’s surface.
Eastern religion has analyzed
this Self (although it does not use that term) into a sequence of
additional states that are, again, largely hypothetical, although
certainly very logical in their sequence, as has the Hebrew tradition of
the Tree of Life in the West. The Eastern representation of this
system is the Chakra Tree, or Lotus Tree of Yoga and
Tantra, referred to so often in these essays. But, here in this fifth
in the sequence of The Observer Series, I will confine myself to
treating only the Self of the Sphere of the Psyche. Why?
Because this much can be known (although not necessarily
without question) and is the subject of common reportage by
investigators using dream journaling and meditation as their techniques
of observation. Yes, the Hindu Brahman very possibly is the
ultimate foundation of all experience and observation, as is the
Cabalist Ain Soph Aur, and Brahma may be the Creator of
existence, as may Kether, but these remain interpretations after
the fact of observation, not observations themselves. Only the
Jungian Self is directly observable as a subject of human
experience.
In “The Observer IV / The Kundalini”, I
mention the archetypes as the primary drivers of experience, producing
archetypal symbols that appear in direct human observation and
perception. Mention was also made of the acculturated determination of
these symbols – the forms they display in consciousness emerge through
the filter of personal and social acculturation. And mention was also
made of the presumption that the precise nature of the archetypes
themselves cannot be known – they exist beyond the threshold of
observation within chaos as strange attractors. All that can be
said of them is that they appear to generate a more or less
consistent set of symbols across cultures, and that this symbol set
appears to represent a universal foundation in human experience
existing at the instinctual level, presumably as the consequence of
neural activity in the human brain, and perhaps also hormonally
moderated by the endocrine glands.
The Self is itself an
archetypal symbol of the threshold of chaos – and is subject to
cultural representation as such. Interestingly, in most of the
Ascension experiences of my knowledge, it does not appear dark,
but very bright, in observation – a bright, glowing spherical or radial
form at the center of the observational field. I myself perceived this
form initially as Sahasrara, Chakra Seven, the Crown Chakra,
described in “Samadhi” (Doors In Disguise, Chapter One), and progressively experienced a sequence of
perceptions beginning with a radiant, colorful floral form, culminating in such a glowing white sphere as was just described. It
should be noted here that the depiction of the Sphere of the Psyche is
as seen from the view of the ego observer on the Physical Plane – what
is deep within the Sphere is necessarily dark from that perspective on
the surface.
Is the Jungian Self also the Soul of
Anahata and the Buddhic Plane? It is probably more relevant to inquire
whether the Self is the ultimate form of the observer in the
observational field, and whether that field corresponds to the Sphere of
the Psyche. What, then, is the root source of the observer and the
field, and where does this manifestation come from?
The science of Chaos Theory
may provide the most insightful level of information regarding the
Self. Jung came to the conclusion following many years of
cross-cultural research into the symbolism of historic and contemporary
societies that the evident similarity of many of the psychological
images present indicated the presence of a common root mechanism
generating them. He subsequently referred to these root structures as
archetypes, and the resultant images in consciousness as
archetypal symbols. He eventually concluded that the archetypes
themselves existed beyond the realm of direct observation, essentially
making them chaotic strange attractors in the observational field,
although he never used chaos theory terminology per se. Thus, any image
appearing in conscious perception, apart from those which occur
regarding conventional waking events, is very probably archetypal in
nature. This particularly applies to images occurring in meditation
practice.
If we take the total contents
of the unconscious into account, while there are certainly areas of
exception to the above suggestion, the great bulk of what is experienced
during periods of ego-free internal investigation and observation
consists of archetypal symbols manifesting interactively. Jung
realized that the archetypes where more than “just there” in the
collective unconscious – they exist in specific relationships to each
other that ultimately have survival value for the individual and the
race. These relationships were expressed in the archetypal symbols
present in a given observational episode. But the mechanism of
archetype generation had yet to be accounted for. Nothing in science
simply exists – there must be causality present to account for
manifestation, featuring at least one primary causal expression.
The Self may be conceived of
as the chaotic portal through which the archetypal psychic forces
emerge into conscious expression as archetypal symbols, and thus serves
as the needed causal modality noted above – the central point of origin
of archetypal expression in the Psyche. Because the archetypes are the
building blocks of consciousness, all conscious expression
results from their activity, emerging from the Self as their source.
If we accept the suggestion
that the Self is the root of internal consciousness, the question of the
external world – the Physical Plane – remains to be considered.
If evolution exists, then our human consciousness is most certainly one
of its products, shaped by the demands of survival on the Physical Plane
over many eons of time. But, at any instant of observation, all that is
present in the senses that inform us of the external (and to a large
extent, internal physiological) world is a blur of sensation that must
then be resolved into sensibility in the brain, and by the mind,
specifically, the ego awareness. There is certainly something “out
there”, but it is filtered through the neurology “in here” to such a
comprehensive extent that we cannot say with any certainly what it is,
only that it appears to be there in the context of an independent
environment. Jung felt that the Self was probably the clearest
reflection extant of what is external to the organism, in view of our
status at the apparent pinnacle of evolution – i.e. at the top of the
food chain. So, what we see in the Self is a perceptual high-fidelity
model of the world, existing embedded within the organism beyond
our current range of observation, and appearing in conscious awareness
as an archetypal symbol – a symbol of the utmost psychic potency,
however.
If we investigate what can
be known – the internal continuum of observation – we can
possibly observe the Self at some point. It frequently has the
appearance of an omnipresent field of intense white light, an emotional
valence of unconditional positive regard (agape Love, in spiritual
terms), and is also accompanied by the uncanny impression of a Presence,
or comprehensive identity, of some kind, all in all, a delightful
observation, but, what are we observing at this extent of
perception, and how?
My personal conclusion is
that the Self is the origin of all observational capability of
any kind anywhere, whether internal or external. The moment we begin to
observe ourselves in the act of observation, we begin to
experience the Self in manifestation, although we probably will not
realize this initially. Through the process of meditation, the most
effective method of internal observation available to my knowledge, we
can continue to develop this investigation, knowing the Self in great
depth and clarity if we wish, but there are certain caveats that
accompany this investigation that the observer needs to be aware of.
The Self is the primordial root of Creation expressed in archetypal
symbolism, presupposing the acculturation that expresses it – as
instinctual Presence. This Presence determines human consciousness up
to and including our observational capability. As we observe on more
and more subtle levels (reflected in the Planes of Ascension in the
Western Mystery Theories), we exceed the Self through the
observational practice – the observer and the observed fuse into one
non-dual Primal manifestation – no more object, and no more subject. We
have crossed over the Threshold into the chaos, and been absorbed
therein.
Short of this stage of
complete absorption, there is the final object of observation knowable –
the Self – and this Presence must be respected by the observer as the
most powerful observation of all – Creating, Preserving, and Destroying
all that we know of as the manifest world, by Creating, Preserving, and
Destroying us as the observers of that world. The moment we
awaken to our true nature as knowers of experience, we awaken to the
Truth of Consciousness – we are all God pouring God into God. Thus, the
Self can indeed be known as the Kundalini, the Soul, and the
Logos.
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
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