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The Universal Principles (Part 2)

We have studied in the previous article the two main principles at the basis of movement: the principles of rhythm and of vibration, operating in and out of time, space and matter or form.

It is difficult to conceive movement occurring out of time, space and matter, as with vibration. It is however out of vibration, in the domain of unity, that something will eventually manifest. The principle of rhythm is the movement from one pole to another pole. We are therefore in the domain of duality, in time, space and matter.

We can understand the difference through an analogy (incidentally analogic thinking is based on the principle of correspondence). The difference between a swell and a wave is that the wave is horizontal displacement of a ridge of water between two depressions. A swell is a heaving and subsiding of a body of water; there is movement but no horizontal displacement of water. This last can be compared to vibration, the wave to rhythm in terms of movement.

In this article we will look at the nature of four universal principles operating in time, space and matter: the principles of correspondence, causation, gender and polarity.

The principle of correspondence

The key to this principle is the idea that everything in the cosmos is interconnected; every thing reflects every other thing. This insight has implications that shatter “common sense”. Earlier philosophers used the expressions “As above, so below” and “microcosm equates to macrocosm” to convey these ideas. Increasing sensitivity to this principle leads to responsibility and compassion.

The principle of correspondence may be linked to the idea of passage, the transformational movement from one state to another. For us, as humans, the passage is often mediated by symbols conveyed through language, dreams, rituals, art, or music. Although the symbols are apprehended by our senses, they point the mind away from the world of the senses. Potent symbols are in effect messengers from territory that is, to us, unknown and uncharted.

If we are now at a turning point in human history, we may say it is accompanied by a surfacing of the principle of correspondence: a shift from linear to global consciousness. The search for perfection or contentment by investigating “things” out there needs to stop. Instead, we may consciously, and reasonably, aim to know the universe by knowing ourselves.

This principle presents us with a unique way to open to the world, allowing us to witness that what happens within also takes place out there. We are made of the same stuff as the stars. The dawn of a new day can be witnessed by an eye formed of the same matter as the rising sun. Between sun and flesh a constant intimate contact allows the scientist to affirm that matter is crystallised light.

The principle of causation

The principle of causation refers to the “law” of cause and effect, a plausible explanation for many phenomena with one event causing another in a determinist chain at sequential moments in time.

The vast edifice of modern technology, and the conventional Western worldview with its unbridled materialism, are founded almost exclusively on a determinist, causation-dominated philosophy. One can indeed discover the causes of many events; if one fails to discover an adequate cause, however, conventional thinking still assumes that a cause exists but that it is at present simply unknown.

While the concept of cause and effect is helpful in many contexts, it is intrinsically limited. Rigid belief in causation can become a prison. Can we move from the realm of causation and determinism to the realm of creativity and freedom? Can we free ourselves from our time-bound habits, repetitions, and memories, to realise our potential?

A restricted view of our individuality assumes that all the elements of our being come from the past - perhaps genetically encoded into the first cell of our embryo, to be played back in later life like music on a pre-recorded cassette.

Metamorphosis implies that the first and subsequent cells provide only a structure, a material base, that may attract new energies, events, and awareness at any time.

These factors may break the chain of causation. Consciousness and light are never bound by the past. On the contrary, when they break into our awareness they over-ride all previous programmes. They may wipe the cassette and install new music.

However, personal feelings of aspiration, arrogance, equality, surrender, indifference, particular victories or defeats, beliefs or acts of faith, impeccable or chaotic endeavours, tyrannical or submissive behaviours and violence can all be recognised in the organic phases in human society. To quote Gore Vidal’s essay “The new technocrats” where he reports the cycle established by the 18th century Neapolitan Vico, working from Plato : “ First chaos. Then theocracy. Then aristocracy. Then democracy – but as republics tend to become imperial and tyrannous they collapse and we are back to Chaos and to its child Theocracy and a new cycle”. Fundamentalism reawakens with greater virulence the excesses of the Inquisition, aristocracy and class system go hand in hand – anything to preserve the status quo – democracy leeches its power in idealism and gross consumerism. Confusion is the order of the day mostly created by minds drunk with greed, seeking to satisfy their appetite for control and power. Chaos, one feels, is just around the corner. How to get out of that situation?

It is through the very energy of chaos that we may find solutions. Chaos occurs when boundaries of different vibrations come into contact. There is an unpredictable element that allows creativity to be expressed. We are accustomed to thinking that a state of crisis is necessary for change to happen, for consciousness to acquire a greater depth. It need not be so if we embrace chaos in consciousness and move before being obliged to do so.

The sense of order is inherent to all structures and events; if the structure dissolves with the attendant upheaval, it is often replaced by a wider structure with deeper reaches when the universal laws are recognised, acknowledged and taken into account, and their dynamic properties respected.

The principle of gender

A principle of gender, or duality, appears to pervade everything in the universe. One need only look at the electron and the proton in the atom; the male and the female in organisms; the sun and the moon in the heavens. There are many subtle and various expressions of this principle in our lives.

The terms “masculine” and “feminine” are purely relative: these energies are not restricted just to men or just to women respectively. On the contrary, it is a fundamental task for each individual, man or woman, to integrate these two aspects. An imbalance between the two can tend to a form of sterility.

Masculine energy makes things happen: it pushes towards action with will and determination. Feminine energy lets things happen: it is responsive, brings things to fruition, acts through intuition and imagination. The masculine involves the ability to perceive, to view, to be detached; while the feminine expresses the movement of active caring. It is important to remember that the cut of a man’s suit may be different from that of a woman’s but the cloth is the same.

The masculine aspect triggers new levels of being. The feminine aspect welcomes what has been triggered to bring it to maturity and let go of it. Through magnetism the feminine aspect will draw the new trigger of the masculine and so the cycle of creativity is enacted.

To achieve a balance of the gender energies implies resonance with the earth. In the physical body, this resonance is associated with the feet and legs, hence the importance of being “grounded” or “rooted”. The integration of the masculine and the feminine leads to a secure inner foundation and inner authority.

The principle of polarity

The principles of gender and causation are widely understood and accepted, rooted in the material world and our daily experiences. With the principle of polarity, nature shows us that everything has two aspects: day and night, heat and cold, nadir and zenith. Two opposite points are called poles; the dynamic tension between them is polarity.

We see the principle of polarity in human life as well: the masculine and the feminine, conflict and harmony, good and bad. One pole cannot, ever, exist without the other.

We frequently attempt to enjoy only the good, the “nice” side of a polarity. We want the fun, the affection, the life. We want never to experience the depression, the arguments, the death.

Yet it is an impossible task to separate the two. More often than not, if we try to cling to calm affection we get squabbling. Becoming obsessive about health we fall ill. We may appear to be stuck in a “corridor of opposites”. As we avoid our shadow it becomes darker and more powerful. It grips us more tightly. But we must remember an Afghan proverb, which states: “The cloud is dark but what falls from it is clear water”.

If we consider the swing of the pendulum, the movement to one extreme will bring about the movement to the opposite extreme. One thing and its opposite are the same thing, with many degrees in between. One pole creates the opposite pole. By extension we can say that we create our reality and we attract it in accordance to our level of consciousness. If we want to change our reality, we must change our level of consciousness first, otherwise we will recreate the same reality in a different setting. To change a level of consciousness, we need energy. The only source of power that can change a level of consciousness is to be found in the reality that we are trying to avoid. Hence the importance of detachment, which I define as: noticing the facts, acknowledging their presence and letting them be. In the matrix of detachment, which is the matrix of love, the energy of the facts itself can move, dynamically transforming them, releasing energy that deepens the level of awareness, thereby creating a new reality. Detachment is not passivity. It implies a tremendous economy of energy. That energy being at our disposal will bring about a new level of consciousness, which will then create a new reality.

The strange paradox is that if we embrace one pole, the other may appear on the horizon of our consciousness. We do not, then, waste energy in the hopeless attempt to shut out the truth. Instead, that energy is a force for liberation, for movement to a higher standpoint where we are no longer locked in the “corridor of opposites” at all.

Our daily world - the “real world” - appears physical, material, sequential. One event causes the next; objects impinge on other objects. At its most subtle, this world can be felt as vibration, the interplay of frequency patterns. How does this interplay come about? The answer to this question will be given in the next article where we study the principles of creative impulse, insight/illumination and communication/communion.

To be continued... >

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