Untitled (27 page)

  Jung strongly disagreed with Freud's symbolic interpretations. According to him what Freud was talking about should be referred to as "signs"; they were simply other ways of representing a known reality, not unlike the pictograms used on traffic signs along our highways. Jung suggested that true symbols are not cryptic statements about biological functions but were references to complex transcendental realities.

  For centuries, universal symbols have played important roles in many religions. The Indo-Iranian swastika, for instance, an armed cross pointing counterclockwise, is an ancient symbol of peace and well-being related to the solar disc. (In its clockwise form it became the infamous Hackenkreuz, symbol of the German Nazi Party.) The centuries-old Hindu symbols of Shiva lingam and yoni have multiple meanings, ranging from the male and female sexual organs and generative functions to static and dynamic forces of existence—pure consciousness and the energy of creation. The cross, a symbol of prehistoric origin, has deep universal meanings in many different cultures. In its most ancient connotation, it points to the sun and through the sun to the creative power of the universe. To others it symbolizes all of existence because it represents the four cardinal points or directions and the center. In the mainstream Christian tradition it symbolizes the historical crucifixion of Jesus, while in esoteric mystical Christianity it refers to different aspects of incarnation, spiritual death, and rebirth. Its Egyptian variety, the Nile cross or
ankh,
was the most sacred symbol of the mysteries of Isis and Osiris, where the neophytes discovered their immortality and eternal life.

  The six-pointed star—two overlapping triangles pointing in opposite directions—has many different meanings, depending on the period and culture. In ancient and medieval alchemy, it portrayed the union of the four elements—earth, water, fire, and air. In the Kabbalah, it is called the "Star of David" and represents an illuminated person in whom the lower consciousness (upward pointing triangle) strives to reach higher levels and the higher consciousness (downward oriented triangle) tries to make itself effective and functional in the physical world. In the Tantric tradition, the six-pointed star represents the union of male and female principles.

  The famous Taoist yin-yang symbol represents the dynamic interplay of feminine and masculine principles, or passive and active aspects of the Tao, the creative principle of the cosmos. Similarly, the lotus played an important role in the spiritual symbolism of many cultures, including those of ancient Egypt, India, and Central America; in all it was a symbol of human spiritual potential.

  It continues to amaze me that many people in transpersonal states of mind not only spontaneously envision such symbols but are also able to decipher their deeper esoteric meaning—even when they hold no previous intellectual knowledge of the spiritual traditions from which these designs came. This strongly suggests that these are not logos designed by humans for religious purposes but are elements of a symbolic language belonging to the collective unconscious.

In the most dramatic and all-encompassing transpersonal experiences, boundaries seem to dissolve and distinctions between ourselves and other people, objects, or forces disappear. We experience oneness and encounter, or even fully identify with, the creative principle of the universe. Depending on the extent to which we still maintain the sense of our everyday identity, we can experience this encounter either as an awed witness or as the creative force itself. This creative principle may take a variety of forms. Sometimes it appears as a personified Demiurge, or creator, an archetype of high order that has power over all others. I have encountered instances where people experienced more than one Creator, for example, male and female deities working jointly, as they sometimes appear in the mythologies of many cultures, or even a hierarchy of universes and creators. More frequently, the creative force of the universe is perceived as something beyond any form—pure consciousness endowed with supreme intelligence and the capacity to create any and all experiential worlds, seen and unseen, physical or etheric.

  Experiences of cosmic consciousness have been described in many religious scriptures throughout history. The ultimate creative principle has been known by many names—Brahman in Hinduism, Dharmakaya in Mahayana Buddhism, the Tao in Taoism, Pneuma in Christian mysticism, Allah in Sufism, and Kether in the Kabbalah. The basic message in the mystical traditions has been that not only can we experientially connect with the creative principle but each of us, in a sense, is the creative principle. This is possible because all boundaries in the universe are ultimately illusory, arbitrary, and can therefore be transcended. The best known expression of this perennial wisdom is the famous statement
Tat tvam asi
(or "Thou art That," you are the Godhead) found in the ancient Indian Upanishads. Modern research in non-ordinary states of consciousness has brought strong support for this understanding of human nature, since it shows beyond any doubt that transcendent states of consciousness can be reached by a variety of consciousness-expanding methods.

  When we experience identification with the cosmic consciousness, we have the feeling of enfolding the totality of existence within us, and of comprehending the Reality that underlies all realities. We have a profound sense that we are in connection with the supreme and ultimate principle of all Being. In this state, it is absolutely clear that this principle is the ultimate and the only mystery; once its existence is accepted, everything else can be understood from it and explained. The experience of cosmic consciousness is boundless, unfathomable, and beyond expression. Yet, even a short experiential exposure to it satisfies fully our craving for understanding. All questions about the mysteries of life seem to be answered and there is no need to go any further. Communicating this to those who have not had this experience is neither possible nor necessary. It becomes a selfvalidating and deeply personal experience.

  Probably the most famous statement about the futility of attempting to capture the essence of the cosmic source in thought or language comes from Lao-tsu, a Chinese sage who lived in the fourth century B.C.:

The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named is not the eternal name.
The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth.
The named is the mother of ten thousand things.

Saccidananda, which describes the experience of cosmic consciousness. This composite word is made up of three roots:
sat,
meaning existence;
chit,
meaning awareness or intelligence; and
ananda,
meaning bliss. Thus, Saccidananda suggests "blissful intelligent awareness of existence." It is an experience devoid of any concrete content, yet the being it represents possesses the capacity for creating infinite experiential worlds.

  If the experience of encountering the ultimate creative force cannot be described in everyday language, poetry perhaps comes closer to doing it justice, though even poetry falls far short. The spiritual poetry of Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Kabir, Kahlil Gibran, Sri Aurobindo, or Saint Hildegard von Bingen comes closest to expressing this experience.

  The following description of cosmic consciousness is by a person who has been involved in systematic self-exploration for a number of years. I offer it here because it provides us with at least a hint of the feelings, thoughts, and insights that arise in the process.

The experience then changed into an extremely powerful and moving experience of the Cosmic Tree. The unified field of cosmic energy that I had experienced before now became a massive tree of radiant energy suspended in space. Larger than the largest galaxy, it was composed entirely of light. The core of the tree was lost to the brilliant display but limbs and leaves were visible around its edges. I experienced myself as one of the leaves; the lives of my family and close friends were leaves clustered around me on a small branch. All of our distinguishing characteristics, what made us the individuals we were, appeared from this perspective to be quite minor, almost arbitrary variations of this fundamental energy.

  I was taken around the tree and shown how to move from one person's experience to another and it was ridiculously easy. Different lives around the globe were simply different experiences the tree was having. Choice governed all experience; different beings who were all parts of Being Itself had simply chosen these manifold experiences. At this point, I was the tree. Not that I was having the full range of its experience, but I knew myself to be this single, encompassing Consciousness. I knew that Its identity was my true identity.

  Though I had taken monism to heart years before, I was now actually experiencing the seamless flow of consciousness into crystallizations of embodiment. I was experiencing how consciousness manifests itself in separate forms while remaining unified. I knew that fundamentally there was only One Consciousness in the universe. From this perspective my individual identity and everybody else's appeared temporary and almost trivial. To experience my true Identity filled me with a profound sense of numinous encounter.

  For the next several hours, this Consciousness took him on an extraordinary tour of the universe. It was as if it wanted to show him its work. He was convinced that this consciousness was the Creator of our entire physical universe. It would take him somewhere, or open him up to experiences, and he would eventually come to understand the hidden workings of the cosmos. Over and over again, he was overwhelmed at the magnitude, the subtlety, and the intelligence of what he was witnessing. The beauty of the design was such that he was constantly left breathless by what he was seeing. He continues:

This tour was the most extraordinary journey of my life. The vistas of intelligent design repeatedly swept me into cognitive ecstasy. Though these experiences were amazing in their own right, the most poignant aspect of today's session for me was not the discovered dimensions of the universe themselves, but what my seeing and understanding them meant to the Consciousness I was with. It was so happy to have someone to show its work to. I felt that it had been waiting for billions of years for embodied consciousness to evolve to the point that someone could at last see, understand, and appreciate what it had accomplished.

  I felt the loneliness of this Intelligence having created such a masterpiece and having no one to appreciate its work, and I wept. I wept for its isolation and in awe of the profound love that had accepted this isolation as part of a greater plan. Behind creation, I felt a Love of extraordinary proportions. All of existence is an expression of Love. The intelligence of the universe's design is equally matched by the depth of Love that inspired it.

  Somewhere in here I realized that I was not going to be able to take back with me the knowledge I had gathered on this journey. The Intelligence I was with also knew this, making our few hours of contact all the more precious to it. There was nothing I was going to be able to do with this knowledge, except experience it now. My greatest service was simply to appreciate what I was seeing. It seemed extremely important to mirror existence back to its Creator in loving appreciation. To see, to understand, and to appreciate.

  In this type of experience we can get profound insights into the process of creation and even feel the forces and impulses involved. We can sense an impelling abundance of creative energy, immense love and compassion, an irresistible artistic impulse, boundless curiosity, and a passion for experimentation. This identification with the creative energy of the cosmos often inspires a new attitude toward life and becomes the foundation for a new understanding of existence. Most people feel exalted as they discover their real cosmic status and gain an entirely new perspective on their daily problems. Many leave behind all feelings of being victimized by their everyday trials and tribulations, or even by such global problems as economic strife and war, knowing that on another level they are active participants in the creation of a universal drama.

  Occasionally, people can have negative reactions to cosmic insights of this kind. Some find it difficult to return to their everyday consciousnesses and assume roles that seem trivial in light of what they have just experienced. Others may feel disappointed because of a realization that as human beings they are just actors in a predetermined cosmic play and they resist awakening to that fact. Peoples' reactions and insights to this experience can range from feeling disappointed to feeling that they have an important role to play in the continuing evolution of consciousness. There do not seem to be simple answers to the questions that arise as a result of the experience of cosmic consciousness; ultimately the answer we get is that our own individualized search for answers is an integral part of the evolution of cosmic consciousness.

  The experience of cosmic consciousness provides important insights for deepening our understanding of the highest forms of creativity. The literature on creativity is filled with examples of extraordinary artistic, scientific, philosophical, and religious inspiration that came from a transpersonal source and that occurred in non-ordinary states of consciousness. Even the shortest "flashes" of mystical insight often trigger extraordinary results. The degree to which people participate in these moments of insight and discovery vary greatly from one individual to another. In general, the mechanisms involved fall into three large categories.