SEVENTH CENTER

TRANSCENDENT AND SPIRITUAL CONSIDERATIONS

THREE TRANSCENDENT PARADIGMS

God-Creation-Soul Paradigm
Scientific Energy/Matter Universe Paradigm
Mystery Paradigm
and Chakras Outside the Body

The all inclusive Self

The aim of section seven is to give us a sense and perception of the universality of the vast existence that lives outside and beyond the lifespan of the individual.

Whatsoever is the nature of the Self, it is the all inclusive Totality of Existence. Whatsoever exists is the Self. The all inclusive Self is thus everything that can and does exist. This is realizing and perceiving the Universal Self within all things - the Source and Substance of all things. This realization releases the Self from attachment to the individual and assists the individual and the universal to become as one. We realize that all diverse and various phenomena are expressions of the Universal Self and that all sentient creatures are the Self disguised as a variety of many.

The individual is an experience that exists within the Totality that is the true Self.

Identify with the Totality and experience the individual.

A little human experience within the vast, eternal, Totality of Existence that is the Self.

Transcendent means to go beyond our identification with the body and mind. Paradigm means a definite view of life. Here are two transcendent paradigms; the spiritual and the scientific. My aim is to show that the three paradigms named above ultimately lead the individual into a liberated union with "the unknowable mystery of the Totality of Existence" and to realize that this is the ultimate identity of our self and all life - the very deepest identity of Self.

In the same way that "the potter is not the pot", the Beyond (the mysterious Totality of Existence) is not restricted to the lifetime of any individual and all instances of individuals arise out of the Beyond. Thus, it is preferable to identify with the Beyond and experience the individual.

The Beyond, the eternal Life from where all various things arise and return. Our little lifetime like a small soap bubble in the infinite Ocean of the Beyond. We do not know the nature of this Ocean, we can only wonder at it, marvel at it, and acknowledge it as the source and substance of all possible experiences of variety, diversity, and multiplicity, of which we are a small part of.

Personally, I feel that it is wiser to not conclude nor summarize upon the nature of "the Beyond" - The Totality of Existence. Whatever "the Beyond" is, it is a phenomenon that is not limited to the lifespan of any individual living creature. The Beyond is the undying, eternal, immortal source of All. It is the Beyond that also experiences all mortal creatures and all sentient and conscious beings and events. The Beyond is the All and All is One - the Eternal, Unknowable Mystery.

Thus, the real Self is the mysterious, all inclusive, Totality of Existence. It cannot be known nor explained for Its Being is unknowable, unexplainable, and an ultimate mystery - even unto Itself. It can, however, by experienced as the mysterious All, The Totality of Existence, the One Real Self; unborn, undying, eternal, and mysterious.

WHAT IS BEHIND THE INDIVIDUAL?

Three Possible identities beyond the life of the individual:

Identity as the Soul

If the deepest identity of the individual is the soul, then the real individual is not the human body/brain individual. If the individual is the soul then the whole process of the universe and of life is the will of God and thus there is no need to worry about it. What happens must happen for deep and meaningful reasons that only God understands and we are to live in full acceptance that we are heading towards better things through a process of learning from this life on earth. In the soul paradigm, the individual soul is not the body/brain experience and leaves the body at the time of its expiration to go onto other experiences in other types of bodies. The soul must be created by God, thus the soul is part of God, and thus Life, the Universe, and Everthing - all possible expressions of The Creation - is all about God - the individual soul being some part of God's creative ability and will. Soul and Creation are already within God, so we are all within God now and have always been.

Identity as God

If the deepest identity of the individual is God, then God is playing some game with Itself and thus there is no need to worry about life or be attached to the individual and its life, for all life on earth and in the universe must be part of Gods experience, and God - being eternal, immortal, and the creator of all - will not suffer any loss due to the experiences in any of Its Creations - creatures, planets, universes, phenomena.

Identity as the Universe

If the deepest identity of the individual is the Universe and sentient lifeforms occur due to the eternal energetic changes of the Universe that produce solar systems and habitable planets, then there is no need to worry or be attached to life as all life is an experience of the mysterious universe, and biological sentient creatures and their planetary environments will periodically appear and disappear due to the energy/matter dynamic of the Universe.

God or no-god, soul or no-soul, life is the way it is and we need to learn to attend to it with consideration, love, and care.

And then there is the Tao...

GOD-CREATION-SOUL PARADIGM

"Identification with the mortal and finite is the root cause of humanity's pain, misery, depression, search for meaning, madness, and suffering. All variety that arises out of Existence may appear again. This is entirely in the hands of the creator - whatever that is. However many times variety and multiplicity occurs, identifying with anything less than the infinite and eternal source of all, will always cause some form of distress and suffering in the heart and mind of the individual. The real Self is the All, not just the manifested variety, or the body and mind, but also the immortal, mysterious, and vaster Existence itself.

I, The Totality of Existence, am currently having a human experience. It will pass, but my eternal, immortal, mysterious Self will always remain."

SCIENTIFIC ENERGY/MATTER UNIVERSE PARADIGM

MYSTERY PARADIGMS

Tao Te Ching