Flow
of Life
In this chapter a spiritual perspective on the life view is drawn in key words:
Life is Motion
-
Everyday
Reality:
- We
find ourselves and our environment mainly as stationary, means fix
(for example, I as a person, my partner, my car, a lake, a stream, etc.) - If we look precisely, we have to realize, that all this is constantly changing! (for example, water cycle)
- This change is in the dimension of place and time.
- So in the most detailed view only movement remains not static objects. This shows us the physics of quantum theory and the wave model.
- But even in our inner perception, we can see, that for example thoughts and emotions come and go currently.
- To act in our everyday reality, we use our mind.
- This needed to evaluate and decide on courses of action and for communicating to distinguish these possibilities. Therefore, our full percepted reality is divided in each case in at least two different parts (duality) as I-you, light-dark, good-bad, ...
- Also more
complex subdivisions are possible, as prime number
subdivisions:
3 Trinity, enneagram, persons of language
5 Chinese elements, ...
7 scale (heptatonic), ...
- For understanding flowing movement the mind subdivides the reality in stationary units (for example, baby, toddler, kindergarten child, school child, adolescent, adult, aged)
- It is now important, that the reality is changing continuously, while we describe and capture this static!
- For this I now would like to highlight a fundamental problem: Our mind is subject to the uncertainty principle (as in quantum physics). We can only recognize by viewing either states (statics) or motion (dynamics) in detail clearly, never both at the same time exactly.
- Due to our mind focus on statics we overlook tendentially dynamic life!
- What
happens if we stick to a static view, although life continues to flow?
1. We are used to the static state and no longer want this habit to lose. This means we combine a wish and so our emotional state with one of the favorite parts. We try to reside the flow of life.
2. The result is necessarily a contradiction between the constantly changing reality and ourer static point of view. We try to look away from the flow of life.
- Here it is advisable to look in more detail, about what areas of our experience we are talking. Transpersonal psychology as well as the spiritual traditions separate following experience layers:
- - Everyday
reality (body, nature, ...)
- Subtle reality (emotions, thoughts,...)
- Absolute reality (existence/love, nonexistence/emptiness witness)
- If
we look in the details the dynamic / static, the following assignment
is giben:
- Everyday reality = dynamic (is but experienced static)
- Subtle reality = dynamic (is often experienced static)
- Absolute reality = static (is often not experienced)
- We can see, that we use a static point of view in the two layers, which are both not static. We are looking for statics ie safety, security, peace, etc. at the wrong place.
- This leads in everyday life with the first two levels of reality to a big problem. As above indicated an expectation is linked with a static view, we produce in an undesirable event resistance and thus suffering in us.
- Similarly the flow of water creates a resistance or an interrupted life flow a congestion. Therefor we need a internal dam, that costs energy, and thus a higher reservoir and a higher wall rocks constantly upwards, until finally a massive event (breakthrough, disease, ...) overflows our wall. And suddenly the long repressed appears.
- Most clearly this is shown for emotions. If we suppress a certain emotion, for example, due to a negative childhood experience, this emotional reservoir will rise and build more pressure. So consecutive somatic diseases are generated and intensified until nothing can stop the flow in us. At least we experience ourself in the middle of a crisis.
Development Psychology
- The attempt to explore these dynamics of life, has led to various descriptions.
- Scientifically, there are over 300 different development psychologies from different fields of science (individual development of child, social developments, etc.).
- Ken Wilber, also dubbed as "Einstein of consciousness development" has succeeded in an integral approach to discover the relationship of these studies.
- Important knowledge is in the integral step model AQAL, that beside levels also quadrants, states, lines and types are to be considered as parts.
- As described above, this is just a model not the reality. It is useful for helping and understanding, but not for devaluation or otherwise kind of exclusion.
- Pioneer in this field is especially Jean Gebser. But Spiral Dynamics by Don Beck et al has to be regarded as significant explanatory publication.
- In principle from my understanding the following steps and their crises/shadows can be separeted (see Chap. Development Levels):
- The steps 1 to 6 only consider themselves to be absolutely correct. From an integral perspective in principle from level 7 can be detected, that we go through these levels, which are all important, as defined trails in human life and handed down by the previous mankind.
- Usually we step forwart as an individuum and so indirectly the collective formed levels, this then results in a statistic distribution (bell) and majority mainly determines the group consciousness. Problems arise, as explained above, when moving from one level to the next happens.
- We encounter in life due to the development levels normaly limits. Then, when the suffering is too great by the absoluteness of a level, sometime the next level is breaking through, which exceeds the development and skills of current levels and prevails.
-
Level
1: survival (person-centered) -> extinction
Level 2: safety (family centered) -> narrow, one-sidedness
Level 3: force (tribe centered) -> cruelty, exploitation
Level 4: rules (structure centered) -> pitiless, mercilessness
Level 5: power (power center) -> resource exhaustion, technocrat.
Level 6: pluralism (pluralistic) -> egalismus
Level 7: development (development center) -> elitist
Level 8: authenticity (truth centered) -> I-structure / thought control
Level 9: will / intention -> temptation of power
Level 10: presentation -> illusion of space / time
Level 11: observer -> existence of a separate own person
Level 12: nonduality
- If we get changed by the crises of life, it's completely natural, that we continue on our level path.
- There are two great teachers of life, that will help us in our development through or better over the level transitions. These are mainly suffering but also love. Both lead to the release of a static idea.
- At the beginning of our life usually suffering in the crisis will lead us to give up our former position/situation and change us. With increasing life experience and awareness, love and trust to life can allow to discover earlier blockages, to release the previous level conviction and achieve next level with less/no suffering.
- We can not directly enter the next level, because it is new territory. We are previously unaware of this before. Even if we let go of old, the new level of development is not clearly understood or immediately livable.
-
So
what helps us to minimize the related suffering?
Universal aids are summarized in the following chapters!
- God/the divine can only be all, like white light, which consists of all the color segments of the light spectrum. So all the parts of a division, see duality, primary number subdivision, ....
- Dynamics
and statics are dual parts of the Divine!
Dynamic: Creation takes place continously in the everyday reality and the spiritual reality..
-> Development in a vast expanse repeatedly exceeding every limit.
Statics: In the depths of our being this absolute reality can be experienced..
-> Unaffected by the other two levels of reality there is peace and quiet.. - The divine unity of all (christ. unio mystico) can be EXPERIENCED starting from this absolute reality.
