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THE SCIENCE OF THE SOUL - Soul Growth PDF

340 Pages·2004·1.05 MB·English
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THE SCIENCE OF THE SOUL THE SCI EN CE OF THE S O U L On Consciousness and the Structure of Reality Geoffrey D. Falk Blue Dolphin Publishing Copyright © 2004 Geoffrey D. Falk All rights reserved. Published by Blue Dolphin Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 8, Nevada City, CA 95959 Orders: 1-800-643-0765 Web: www.bluedolphinpublishing.com ISBN: 1-57733-131-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Falk, Geoffrey D., 1966- The science of the soul : on consciousness and the structure of reality / Geoffrey D. Falk. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-57733-131-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Consciousness. 2. Reality. 3. Physics—Philosophy. 4. Religion and science. I. Title. B105.C477F35 2003 191—dc22 2003024011 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Introduction vii I As Above, So Below 1 II The Consciousness of Light 5 III The Essence of Creation 10 IV On Good and Evil 36 V Freedom of Choice 45 VI On the Nature of Om 49 VII Holograms 64 VIII Psychology and Motivations 77 IX Symbolism and Structure in Mythology 102 X Chaos, Light and Manifestation 170 XI Wholeness and Fragmentation — I 183 XII Wholeness and Fragmentation — II 206 XIII Psychology and Transcendence 240 XIV Summary 257 XV Conclusions 267 Bibliography 303 Permissions 315 Index 317 v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS my sincere gratitude to Paul and Nancy Clemens at Blue Dolphin Publishing, for helping to make this publica- tion dream a reality. My heartfelt appreciation also goes out to James Fadiman and Huston Smith, for their valued words of support and encouragement. vi INTRODUCTION IT IS WELL KNOWN TO ALL who have undertaken a thorough investigation of the quantitative ideology underlying the practice of meditation as a means toward the attainment of expanded states of consciousness, that consciousness is the fundamental reality at the basis of all creation. The fact that the only difference between matter, energy and dualistic con- sciousness is in their respective rates of vibration has also been much emphasized. Given, then, this nature of matter as a low rate of intelligent vibration or consciousness, and given also the validity of “As above, so below,” we must find the behavior of consciousness reflected in the conduct of physical matter; the former qualities being ascertainable through medi- tation-born intuition or mystic insight, while the latter are measurable in the physicists’ laboratories. However, the quantitative relations between the behavior of the physical world and the characteristics of its constitu- ent consciousness have rarely been elucidated. What I have attempted to provide in this book is a non-reductionistic model of the behavior of consciousness as the basic stuff of the cosmos, to explain as many aspects as possible of the expanded or mystical states of awareness; as well as a concomitant demonstration that the principles upon which the operation of the physical world is based occur as a necessary conse- quence of the characteristics of the inner realms of consciousness. Such a non-reductionistic model will, therefore, not attempt to explain mystical experiences in terms of Pribram’s holographic model of vii viii THE SCIENCE OF THE SOUL the brain’s storage of memory, for example. It might, however, embody a higher universal or archetypal structure, of which physical holograms are merely a lower reflection on the plane of matter. Further, since all individualized finite consciousness is only a subset of the Infinite Ocean of Consciousness which has become all waves of matter, any valid explanation of the basic nature and behavior of mind and consciousness (such behavior being essentially the domain of psy- chology) must include within its scope the root of all physics and philosophy. Physics, for all particles are simply waves of certain rates of vibration of the Ocean of Consciousness; and philosophy, since freedom of choice, the fundamental question of philosophy, is a function of consciousness, not of anything at a reductionistic atomic or molecular level (e.g., the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle): Quantum physics has nothing to do with the free will problem. If there is such a problem, it is not furthered a whit by the latest development in physics. —Erwin Schrödinger Thus, the model we are seeking will necessarily bridge the disci- plines of psychology, physics and philosophy. This cannot be avoided, nor should it be: once we acknowledge that consciousness is the basic stuff that has become all mind and matter—this, however, not at all implying a naïve idealism in which “I create reality through my percep- tion of it”—we cannot inexorably compartmentalize psychology, phi- losophy and physics as separate from one another. As with any symbolic model, however, it is crucial that one remember that the map-model is not the territory of reality, but is merely a mental representation of that territory: it is the “menu,” not the “meal.” The “territory” of reality-in- itself can be known only through the direct experience of consciousness by consciousness in intuition, not through any sensory experiences or concepts of the intellect. August, 2003 Geoffrey D. Falk Toronto, Ontario www.geoffreyfalk.com CHAPTER I AS ABOVE, SO BELOW The world is illusory; Brahman alone is real; Brahman is the world. —Ramana Maharshi WE ARE INDIVIDUALIZED WAVES of consciousness on the Infinite Ocean of Spirit; so say the sages. But, although the Ocean has become the wave, and the wave, when it dissolves the illusion of ego-separation and limitation, realizes that it has always been one with the Infinite Ocean, the form-bound wave itself is not the Ocean. Nor is the Ocean merely the sum of its waves—the Ocean can exist without the waves, but the waves cannot exist without the Ocean. Everything you can see, hear, smell, touch, taste, and much more, is part of this Ocean. For all matter, energy and consciousness is merely waves of certain rates of vibration on the surface of the Ocean of Consciousness; Spirit has become, and is present in and as, every created thing. That is, consciousness is the “water” of the Infinite Ocean of Spirit, and all phenomena arise as modifications of this one stuff, or ripples on/of this Ocean of cosmic consciousness. When the wave rises, it is the water; and when it falls, it is the same water again. Tell me, Sir, where is the distinction? Because it has been named as wave, shall it no longer be considered as water? —Kabir 1 2 THE SCIENCE OF THE SOUL Though difference be none, I am of Thee, Not Thou, O Lord, of me; For of the sea is verily the Wave, Not of the Wave the Sea. —Shankara The intellectually understandable characteristics of this rippling Ocean of Consciousness are in some measure articulated in the teachings of great spiritual personages such as Jesus Christ, the Buddha, Krishna, etc. While the individual emphases of these sages have varied, they have all acknowledged, implicitly or explicitly, the metaphorical basis of universal design expressed in the aphorism “As above, so below.” The implication of this aphorism—expounded in scriptures as old as the Upanishads—is that the microcosm reflects the macrocosm. Thus, atoms (in the view of classical physics, at least) are miniature solar systems. Likewise, the human body mirrors the structure of the cosmos (the “body” of God)—so that humankind is created “in the image of God”—etc. In the words of the Buddha, “Verily, I tell you, the world is within this six feet high body!” Also, “As above, so below” correspondences generally take the form of metaphors—e.g., “creation is waves on the Infinite Ocean.” And, as Gregory Bateson noted, “metaphor is the language of Nature”: creation is built on “As above, so below.” As an alternative expression of this principle, consider that archetypes are said to be the first forms to emerge from Spirit in the creation of the cosmos, upon which all subsequent creation is patterned. These archetypes determine the form of every structure on every level of creation, from high to low. The lower structures (including myths) are not themselves the archetypes, but rather reflect a higher universal basis. It is in imitation of the angelic works of art that any work of art such as a garment or chariot is made here. —the Rig Veda That which is below is like that which is above, and that which is above is like that which is below for the performance of the miracles of the One Substance. —Hermetic saying

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