Synthesis: Towards a Unifying Plan - Part 4

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

 

We completed Part 3 with the following:

 

" In the evolutionary and developmental process, once we reach the level of

language we have already crossed a barrier because with language it becomes

possible to form symbols and an inner world comes into being. There is the outer

world around us consisting of all the energies of matter and nature, and now

with language and symbol we create an inner world where we represent, through

the imagination, what we take to be the structure of the universe around us.

Outside is are all these energies at work, but through our senses, feelings,

imagination, reason and will, through all the faculties of our being, we

structure a universe around us. It is a very limited universe and a very limited

understanding that we have. It is always that we are structuring this appearance

of the world around us. It is not as it really is. The world is infinitely

greater than we perceive it. We only perceive those aspects of nature, matter

and the energies of existence which are reflected through our senses, our

feelings, our imagination, our mind and our will, through the whole of our human

organism, and this is our particular way of perceiving the universe. So matter

emerges into consciousness in us and we create this inner world by which we can

represent the world around us and that can gradually be extended. The whole aim

of pure science and of philosophy is to get a more and more accurate knowledge

of the world around, but we know now that understanding is always conditioned by

the limitations of our minds. "

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith) Chapter 12, p.261-262

 

Here now, is Part 4.

 

Enjoy,

 

violet

 

 

 

Synthesis: Towards a Unifying Plan - Part 4

 

(p.262) As consciousness develops we become more and more

self-conscious. First of all we are conscious of the world around us. Many

people live in that world of external consciousness, being aware of the world

around, of people, of events happening, of things to do and so on, but they

seldom if ever reflect on themselves. On the other hand certain people,

particularly at certain stages, develop the power of self-reflection to an

extraordinary extent. Self-consciousness begins to grow and it becomes

increasingly possible to be more and more aware of the universe around one in

its relation to oneself, and of one's own human organism. This is

self-reflection on oneself, and as far as we know it is a power unique to the

human being. It appears that so far nothing else in the universe can reflect on

itself as we do. The mind reflects on itself in such a way that we become

conscious of consciousness. It is an inner reflection and that is where real

growth begins to take place. That is where the universe now begins to emerge

into a new mode of existence. When we begin to reflect on ourselves we can go

back in consciousness, right to the beginning, to primeval, primordial

consciousness. It is possible now by various methods to go back to the state of

consciousness we have in the womb where each of us was one with the whole of

nature. We can also go back in consciousness to our early childhood, to discover

the emotions which we experienced then. Or we can go back to the stage where the

imagination began to awaken, when our personal life began to come into being

with the growth of language and all the developments which that brings. And then

we can reflect on the functioning of the mind. Not only does the mind function,

organising our experience, but we can reflect on the functioning of the mind. We

come to know our minds and how they work, and from that we get the science of

logic and epistemology.

 

In this way the whole realm of consciousness and the degree to which that can

grow is infinite. (P.263) The important thing is that we now begin to experience

ourselves as an integrated whole. This is the principle that we have taken from

the beginning. We have seen that contemporary physics understands the universe

to be an integrated whole, such that every part is related with every other part

and no part can be explained except in relation to the whole. So the physical

universe is an integrated, interrelated, interdependent whole and we can

experience our physical being as part of the universe. The whole universe is in

every part. That is the principle. Just as the structure of the whole human

organism is present in every cell, so the whole universe is present in each one

of us and we become conscious of the physical structure of the universe of which

we are a part.

 

Secondly, as we become conscious of our feelings, our sensations, imagination

and thought, we become conscious of ourselves as part of a psychological

organism. None of us is an independent reality. We are all parts of a whole,

experiencing ourselves through our heredity, our families, our language, our

race, our traditions, our customs. In this way we come to be aware of ourselves

as part of a psychological organism which eventually we realise stretches right

back in time to the beginning of humanity and looks forward to the future. So

each of us is part of this integrated whole which is both physical and

psychological. And, just as the physical organism is an organic part of the

physical universe, so this psychological organism is related to the psychic

organism of the universe. We are all members of a whole, interrelated and

interdependent. So far this is on a fairly ordinary level of consciousness but

we can now go to a higher level of consciousness such that we go beyond our

physical consciousness and beyond our normal psychological consciousness, and

then we become aware of a transcendent or transpersonal consciousness. (P.264)

Different terms are used for this level of consciousness: transpersonal,

suprapersonal, transcendent, spiritual, mystical, and so on. At this point we

begin to discover a deeper dimension of being. So far we have seen ourselves as

part of the physical universe, part of the whole psychological world, part of

our family and people and the human race, but now we begin to discover that we

ourselves are related to, and dependent on, powers and energies which are beyond

us and above us.

 

A New Vision of Reality (Western Science, Eastern Mysticism and

Christian Faith) Chapter 12, p.262-264

Bede Griffiths

Templegate Publishers - Springfield, Illinois

ISBN 0-87243-180-0