We can get caught up in the activities, cares and toils of everyday life and often be submerged in worldly concerns. There is a greater reality and we need to create space for this. We need to detach a bit to connect with deeper levels of being. In finding and exploring a greater reality we can come to regard the more immediate and familiar world around us as being of lesser significance, less real, less worthy of attention, of being an illusion, etc. We often hear the expression – creation is an illusion, the world is an illusion, it’s all an illusion, there is no polarity, separation, etc. There is an element of truth here. But we need to be careful about how we handle this.
If creation is an illusion, whose illusion is it? It’s our illusion. Finding ourselves embedded in this material world, is it better to be embedded in an illusion or in reality? If it is an illusion, why did we embed ourselves in it in the first place? What facilitates the most effective relationship with the world we find ourselves in? What provides us with the best means of resolution, expansion, integration, etc.?
There is a spectrum of reality here and we can employ ‘maxi me’ and ‘mini me’ to explore some of the possibilities. We’re all familiar with mini me as our focus of consciousness in physical embodiment. We can regard maxi me as our fully expanded consciousness that exists beyond boundaries in the wholeness of Source. Mini me and maxi me define our spectrum of consciousness.
Maxi me enjoys the luxury of infinite possibility and can propose ideas. Mini me gets to test these and can report back to maxi me how they work out in practice. Mini me can see a lorry speeding down the road and can decide to see if it is an illusion. It can decide to step out in front of the lorry. For maxi me the consequences are fairly insignificant. Its existence continues at its level and isn’t threatened in any way. It can regard the event as an interesting experience. But for poor mini me the consequences are pretty drastic. Maxi me can entertain illusion as in interesting concept, but mini me has to face the reality / consequences and has a different perspective.
Reality is a very big issue for mini me. Would we be happy to have the pilot landing our plane regard the runway as an illusion, or the surgeon operating on our heart, or the engineer designing a bridge, etc.? There is a big element of responsibility at this level, where consequences are so immediate. This requires a particular focus, discipline and realism that may not be so immediate at other levels. This may well be one of the many valuable lessons of physical existence.
In practice mini me has functional intelligence and knows not to step out in front of a lorry regardless of what maxi me tells it. What is really needed here is communication. We need to get maxi me and mini me talking to each other so that they know and understand each other’s perspective and work together as a coherent whole. Mini me needs maxi me to hold the Source connection so that it doesn’t get lost and to be its resource and mother ship. Maxi me needs mini me as its agent or scout in creation. Maxi me can’t project into creation in its wholeness and lacks the concrete specialisation to cope with conditions here. But working together they can ‘do the business’. Each perspective is appropriate to its conditions.
Creation
Needless to say all begins with Source. Creation emerges within Source as an exploration of possibility, a learning experience. Source is infinitely alive and infinitely free, whole and integrated. This freedom includes infinite creativity, opportunity to explore. However the creative process itself is bound by consequences to contain the wanderings and ultimately bring the learning and experience home. We are an intimate part of this process as is much else in creation.
Creation involves a projection within Source. There is a progressive projection into structure, boundaries and limitation. This entails a measure of separation from the wholeness and total freedom of Source. Crucially however this separation is within Source and not from Source. Separation, polarity, etc. are natural parts of the creative process. There is a flow into these states, but also very importantly a natural flow out of them back into resolution in Source. These flows entail continuous movement within creation, dynamism, adaptation, etc. When these flows get stuck problems arise. A lot of the problems with polarity, separation, etc. arise from such stuckness. Source is also intimately present to and immanent in creation at every level as the life and consciousness that imbues it in all its forms.
The creative process then entails projection into manifestation. We project into these manifestations to harvest the experience and learning. The creative process is bound by consequences, which manifest as laws. We may escape reality as the saying goes, but not consequences. We have the fundamental principles and laws of creation that manifest progressively as laws of structure, of behaviour, etc. at each level down for example to laws of physics, etc. Our creation or manifestation is then reflected back to us in accordance with the laws of the realm. We get to experience and interact with our creation as the ‘external’ world around us. This is a wonderful opportunity and learning experience. How we manage this experience and the benefit we derive from it is very much up to ourselves. This can help provide some context for looking at issues of illusion, reality, etc.
So the world around us is something we are intimately related with. It is of immense value to us. It is a direct manifestation and reflection of our collective creative endeavours reflected by the laws of Source. It is Source telling us how we are doing in a very direct and immediate way. In other words we are free to imagine and create as we wish. But we are responsible for the consequences of what we project into manifestation, for interacting with it and for integrating the experience and learning it brings back to us.
The process by which we as Source reflect creation back to ourselves is governed by law and is quite impersonal. There is little judgment involved, mainly the immutable law of consequence. It doesn’t matter who we are or how important we think we are we will reap the harvest from the seeds we sow, both good and not so good. There are no specials, favouritism, appeals to personal influence, etc. There is no blame. It is we as Source who ordered creation this way. It may take some time for consequences to ensue. Source isn’t in a hurry. It knows eternity and has all the time in the world. Everything gets sorted out eventually and comes home one way or another.
The whole process of creation exists within Source and Source is present in various forms at every level. There is an interesting polarity in creation between inner and outer realities. As a polarity the distinction between inner and outer realities is insignificant close to the ground or free state of Source, what we normally refer to as Source. It is most meaningful deep or out in creation. We can regard what we project from ourselves out into manifestation and the worlds it creates as outer reality, i.e. the ordinary world. We can regard our living connection to Source and the levels through which that connection is held as inner reality. We could equally regard it to the other way round. We could regard the world as a sub-reality within Source that we are looking into and that which contains it as the outer reality. What is inner or outer will vary as we move our conscious focus through the various levels in creation.
There is a beautiful representation of this polarity in the structure of a natural spiral and particularly that of a Krystal Spiral. We can envision a spiral expanding outwards from a point of unity, all the way outwards through the fields of creation to the expanses of infinity. This spiral implies and contains within itself a complementary spiral that circles round and approaches the pivot point for the spiral set, i.e. the point of origin. The origin at the centre and infinity at the edge, the infinitely small and infinitely large, are intimately related. They are one and the same and represent Source.
So we have a progression from a point of origin, through a point of unity all the way out to the limitless extent of infinity. The inner and outer spirals are balanced through the point of unity. They mirror each other through this point. The point of unity can be anywhere on the spiral and still integrate and mirror the inner and outer elements. The spiral itself holds connection to Source at both ends through all the fields of expression. There is a progression from Source to Source along the spiral with connection to Source at every level. A crucially important point is that there is connection to Source at both ends. Source is present as a level of infinite expansion. It is also present as a point of infinite focus, as a centre point within every natural structure in creation. It is additionally present by connection at every level to the extent that the natural connections are maintained.
This provides a wonderful illustration of the immanence of Source. The spiral is a powerful symbol that reveals a wealth of information when we interact with it. So we can strengthen Source connection in both the inward and outer directions and obviously this is the most powerful, balanced and meaningful way to do it. We can go within to connect with Source, but we haven’t completely found Source until we also find the Source presence, connections and reality in the world around us. We can find Source in the eyes of the people we meet, our animal friends, the beauty of a sunset, flowers, etc. to the extent that we have integrated Source connection. Our ‘here & now’ moment is our point of power, where we live, are connected and functional. This is represented by the point of unity on a spiral. Our inner and outer realities are mirrored and balanced through this point. Our outer reality reflects what we are working through in our inner reality and vice versa.
Now the process of creation being fundamentally creative is experimental and exploratory. It’s a work in progress and can get quite messy at times. Progress doesn’t have to be perfect in order to be useful or valuable. A messy desk or work bench can be a sign of productive work moving ahead! Mistakes are inherent in exploration, learning and development. A baby falls down many times in the process of learning to walk. How many times do we fall off a bicycle before we learn to ride? Mistakes aren’t a problem in themselves. Absence of mistakes can be a sign of not trying! It is how we handle our mistakes and integrate the valuable learning and opportunities they provide that matters. We are all entitled to our mistakes and the learning opportunities they provide. It isn’t necessarily good to try to shield people from the consequences of mistakes. We have our ideals, but in a dynamic, fast moving situation perfection can be hard to achieve or hold onto. Too much perfection can be a sign of stagnation.
World
Our world can get quite intense and hectic at times and we often need to step back a bit to avoid being swamped or overwhelmed by it. This is where an element of detachment comes into play. We need to detach a bit to find and strengthen our inner connection. There is a bigger reality that contains our worldly focus and we need to build relationship with that. In coming to terms with an expanded reality we can view our normal world as a lesser reality and deprecate it as an illusion. This is fine as part of a process of detachment as long as we don’t take it to the point of dissociation, of damaging our relationship with our normal world. Just because there is a deeper inner reality doesn’t mean that outer reality is of no consequence, is of lesser value, can be ignored, avoided, etc. It’s there for a reason and serves a purpose.
We all have unique identities, histories, perspectives, lessons, gifts and specialisations. We will be most at home in a particular phase of the great cycle of creation and integration at various times. We don’t have to be master of all of them, but it helps to appreciate the range and to work effectively with them as far as possible. The ideal process is embodied in the practice of engaged detachment or detached engagement. We can detach so as not to be swamped, but remain engaged so that we are connected, functional and effective.
When we regard our world or creation as an illusion this can take us in the direction of not taking these seriously. We don’t have to take them too seriously, but seriously enough that we’re not dysfunctional. What is an illusion? It is something that isn’t quite real, that shouldn’t be quite this way, that somehow presents a distorted perception of reality. There are many different perceptions of reality depending on our vantage point in consciousness. Changing our perception of reality doesn’t necessarily imply that our earlier perception is obsolete, distorted or needs to head to the rubbish bin. We can learn to move through the gears and change states of perception so that we become increasingly effective at every level. When we apply the word illusion we are downgrading the reality of what we relate to. We need to be careful how we apply it so that we’re not building disconnection or dissociation and shooting ourselves in the foot.
Disconnection is a significant problem at many levels and we are all working to repair this. There are many ways we can become disconnected. The most obvious is through weak inner Source connection and connection to higher levels of our being. This arises when we are too out in the world, swamped by activity, etc. This reduces our ability to hold presence with our higher levels and bring this presence more fully into expression. We all have work to do here and this is an ongoing mission.
The other side of that coin that isn’t quite so obvious is that we can also lose effective connection at the other end with outer or objective reality, i.e. with Source manifest. We can detach from the world and go into spiritual states, which is fine in itself. Problems can arise where we neglect our world connections and end up weakening them. We can become ‘ungrounded’ – so spiritual that we are no earthly use, as the saying goes. The real power of spirit is in connection and bringing flows all the way through these connections out into the world to run the complete cycle of manifestation and from there back to Source. We have an analogy with electric currents in a circuit. Currents can only flow where there is complete connection all the way round the circuit and back to the source. If there is a break anywhere in the loop the current won’t flow. Increasing the voltage isn’t the answer – completing the connection is.
Spirit vs. Matter
We have a particular and age old problem in our world of a disconnect between spirit and matter. Material people ignore spirit, while spiritual people tend to regard matter as a burden, distraction, something to be detached from, shunned and effectively ignored. Some spiritual traditions regard corporeal matter as fallen or evil and struggle to separate spirit from it. Neither group is fully connected or able to run life force currents in a fully functional and effective way. This is a situation that suits the so called Powers That Be down to the ground. They have no problem with spiritual practice and people so long as they stick to the spiritual realms and let them get on with running the world. The big challenge is to bridge these divides effectively. Again this comes down to building connection to facilitate flow in a complete and balanced way.
We can consider that higher dimensional levels are where it’s all at and that lower levels are a distraction from this. Let’s not forget however that the original distraction in our universe arose at the higher dimensional level, in the form of the Fall of Lyra, and that it is from the lower dimensional levels that we are actually trying to deal with or remedy the situation.
Higher and lower dimensional levels form an integrated spectrum of frequency, where each level plays a distinct and valued role. In music for example high, middle and low frequency notes are all needed to fill out a more varied and richer experience of sound. It isn’t the case that one is more important than the other. Also in electricity we have high and low voltage electricity. Each plays their role in an integrated way and both are needed. It is the low voltage electricity that comes into our homes to power our appliances and serve us in a very useful way. Another important point is that electricity needs to be stepped up or down appropriate to its level. Running high voltage electricity into low voltage circuits would be disastrous. There is this need for an awareness of what is appropriate and for correct application.
When running frequency we can run it into local or planetary grids for example in a somewhat abstract way. I believe it is of value to recognise that people are an important part of grids both local and planetary. Also animals, trees, rocks and indeed any expression of life and particularly elemental life. Effective connection with grids then implies some willingness to connect with people and local life, sensitivity and working co-creatively and respectfully with the particular situation. It’s more than a case of barrelling frequency into grids to ‘fix’ them as we see fit and expecting them to be grateful for the privilege. Again outer connection, awareness and sensitivity are important in addition to the inner connection.
We all have two lines – an ‘up-line’ and an ‘out-line’ to our world. We need a balance between the two. Lack of grounding of the out-line can lead to instability in the up-line. In this case having a very strong up-line can become a weakness or liability if it exacerbates unbalance. The two lines need to check, calibrate and stabilise each other. Outer reality is great for checking an up-line. We can see what the impact out in the world is, whether it is enhancing effective relationship with the world and what the signals coming back say. Are we moving into greater mastery or are we losing touch and getting dysfunctional?
Higher level connection is very exciting and stimulating and we all need some of that. But we also need to stabilise it by grounding it in everyday life. Having a healthy relationship with ‘normal’ life and people in the outer world, however boring, is important to avoid getting blown around the place. While there’s excitement in stimulation, there’s sanity in normality.
Another important polarity we have to deal with is that between idealism and realism. Idealism is what we wish to create. Realism is what we end up actually creating and what we have to deal with. Both are important. Without idealism spirit wilts. Without realism we’re tilting at windmills or chasing the wind. Realism covers both inner and outer realities as both are real and intimately related. Normally realism is used to describe effective relationship with the objective outer world and I’ll use it in that sense. The two polarities complement each other like two legs walking. One holds stability to allow the other to move forward and then they reverse roles. When there is balance between the two we have efficient progress.
Idealism
Idealism inspires creation. It connects to imagination, vision and projection. It is of great value that this is to a high level for the best possible outcomes. However it’s also useful to recognise that our projection and manifestation aren’t the only things conditioning creation. We’re operating from a limited perspective. An expanded part of our nature close to Source also operates through the medium of natural law to shape outcomes from a perspective that embraces universal issues and large expanses of time. It’s a bit like a kid wishing for a continuous supply of sweets for example. The provider, e.g. the parents, may decide okay you can have some sweets, but not a large amount that would damage your teeth.
Creation provides a response to our projections. It’s important that we hear that response, take on board the learning provided and adapt our creative efforts accordingly. This is where realism comes into play. How are we doing? It’s not a question of either side dictating to the other. We won’t get very far if we tell creation how it should be. It’s for us to find out how it actually is and that’s a unique journey for each of us. It’s a co-creative cycle of engagement, responsive interaction, continuous learning and adaption. This is an ongoing process of discovery and mastery.
This cycle can break down where idealism expands into a belief system that isn’t responsive to nor conditioned by realism, i.e. into an ideology. Flying high on idealism is like being up in the air. It’s great for a time, but ultimately we have to come back down to earth. Ideally we do a controlled landing. If we hold off too long and run out of fuel we can end up doing a crash landing, which needless to say can be very painful and traumatic. When a gap between an ideology and reality develops ever more complex explanations are needed to bridge it. A reality check eventually arises. This is Source saying enough projection, time now for a reckoning and reconciliation with consequences. There can be a certain kindness or mercy in this. We can get caught in loops. Reality eventually intervenes to break us out so that we don’t get trapped permanently in such loops. We can learn the easy way by picking up signs early on or we can learn the hard way. A lack of realism can also lead to irrelevance. When we connect with reality on a regular basis we can help avoid a build-up of major problems.
We naturally wish to build a pleasant, satisfying, even idyllic life for ourselves. We wish to surround ourselves with agreeable people and settings and to banish baleful influences or anything that challenges us. In doing so we can however insulate ourselves from reality and end up in a very sterile place. In practice there is a lot of grit in life. While we may not like it it does serve a certain purpose. None of us is a finished product. We all have our corners that need to be rubbed off. We all have our strengths and our blind spots, our hang ups, lessons to learn, etc. We need a certain degree of challenge at times to help us shape up, a certain amount of grit to polish the diamond. Tough love is an important aspect of love. In shutting out what displeases us we can be sending away important learning opportunities or the very thing we actually need. Again it comes down to a willingness to face reality and be responsive to it.
There is also a lot of pain, suffering, difficulty and hardship in life, often unseen and where we might not expect it. This is where our humanity, openness, sensitivity and willingness to relate comes into its own. A smile, being present, warmth, caring and support can make a difference. A sense of humour can get us through a lot. Source is aliveness. By being alive to our lives rather than trying to escape out of them, holding presence in the present and building connection around us we can expand the footprint of Source in creation. We can expand presence, connection and flow.