1. THE ADVENTURES OF THE MONAD

Introduction

I want to invite you to take a journey with me in which we build a hypothesis about what life is all about. Why are we here? Who are we and where did we come from? People usually talk about such matters starting with themselves. Was their existence conjured out of nothing? But stop for a minute and reflect on who you think you are and how you actually got to this point. If you look at our evolutionary timeline, you can see a march from simple beginnings, to where we are today. We have gone from looking at the world, to trying to understand it. I want to take you on a journey. Let’s explore the possibilities of comprehending the world. Let’s try putting meaning to it and giving it a goal.

My Story

My mother related a story to me that when I was three years old. She asked me if I wanted to talk about God. I replied there was no need, as I already knew God! How could a three-year-old give such an answer? Somehow, at that young age, life had not separated me from the ‘Source’ from which I had come. I seemed to be remembering it. The word ‘Source’ represents a beginning point for all creation.  This is a theme I will return to many times as I develop the ideas I am presenting to you. What was I remembering and how could I be remembering it? These are all questions we are going to be looking at.

Why are you here?

Why are you here right now? I suggest that it may be because you feel within yourself there must be more to life. There must be more than what appears to be happening in your daily existence at present. Like me at three years of age, you know there is something more to life and you want to reconnect to it.

The way forward

Together we will explore a whole raft of ideas. This will include the creation of the Universe, to how we evolved. It will also include questions about who we are and the laws that govern our very existence. Consider everything presented as a working hypothesis. It will remain so until you are in a position to prove it to yourself.

Once you have a convincing explanation for why you are here, you are in a position to begin to move your life forward. You can do this in a way that helps you realise goals that are not limited to one lifetime. You realise you are building a platform that is going to last for eternity. This platform is indestructible and actually has a purpose. What that purpose is will become clear as you are able to read the signs in your life. This includes the emotions in your heart and the processes governing your thoughts.

Building this life view is going to take time. It will involve us going through a series of knowledge gathering exercises. We will eventually build our understanding into a clearer view of the Universe and our place within it.

Esoteric Knowledge

I wish to start by discussing the term Esoteric Knowledge. I have studied many esoteric books throughout my life. Esoteric means ‘hidden’, but clearly if I know about it, it is no longer hidden. All references to esoteric knowledge imply that in the past humanity did not have easy access to this knowledge. Knowledge is power, and for this reason, some knowledge has not been shared. Knowledge is for the common good of all. Some people would rather benefit themselves and hold power over others by hoarding that knowledge.

I had a general understanding of most of the esoteric books I read. Yet I found some of the books difficult to understand. It was only when I came across the works of a Swedish philosopher called Henry T. Laurency, that I found a way of unlocking most of the information in the books I was reading. Laurency laid out a clear body of knowledge taught in a wisdom school about 2,700 years ago. It was by a man you all know well, his name was Pythagoras. 

Hylozoics

A wisdom school is a place of learning. It is here that someone, usually called a ‘master’, taught his disciples. The knowledge imparted was ‘esoteric’. There were usually had seven grades taught in a school. However, the number of grades could vary between schools and masters. Hylozoics was the system taught by Pythagoras and the word means Spiritual-Materialism. Henry Laurency communicated the lower three grades of that body of knowledge to us. I would like to point out that Laurency is a pseudonym, not the author’s real name.

Matter-Motion-Consciousness

Spiritual materialism is a contradiction in terms. We usually regard material and spiritual things as opposed to one another. Understanding this contradiction gave me a key. I was able to unlock most of the hidden meaning in the esoteric books I had read. I now had the fundamental basis for all existence in the Universe. Hylozoics states that all existence is composed of three things. These are matter, motion and consciousness. 

Everything in the Universe is made from Matter.  When I say everything, I mean everything.  This is a very significant point.  Matter must be present regardless of what level of existence you are looking at.  If it exists, matter is at its core.  This is an interesting concept to get your head around.  We often consider physical and spiritual existence to be separate things. I am saying that they are inseparable.   What to us seems empty space is far from it. There is matter vibrating at higher frequencies that we can not observe yet. I am not talking about sub-atomic particles, but whole planes of matter.  These exist above the physical plane.  In fact, there are 48 planes above the physical plane! We will get to this topic in due course.

For matter to exist, it must be in motion. If it is not, it would not exist. The aspect called motion is also called ‘Energy‘, ‘Will’ or ‘Power’. At the moment I want to focus on the word ‘motion’. 

I have had many discussions with students of esoterics. They talk about the spiritual realms as being devoid of matter. They say it is ‘spiritual’ instead of ‘material’. I wish to make it very clear right from the outset of this journey that we will always be in the realm of matter. No matter how ‘spiritual’ it is, it is always composed of matter.

Science

Matter can transform itself into Energy according to current scientific thinking. In Pythagoras’ universe, everything must contain matter. Matter dissolves into higher forms of matter, which is vibrating at a higher rate. This results in the release of energy observed by science. Matter is thus moved by energy, also called ‘motion’, which causes it to vibrate. Linking these two elements is a third, which is a form of ‘magnetism’ that we will call Consciousness. So everything must have ‘matter’, which is in ‘motion’ and this gives rise to ‘consciousness’. 

How matter, motion and consciousness relate to one another is key to understanding ‘everything’. That may seem a bold statement to make. As you encounter new ideas about Life, the Universe and Everything, ask yourself three questions. How does what I am trying to understand, relate to the three fundamental building blocks found in everything? Those building blocks being Motion, Matter and Consciousness.

Consciousness

Pythagoras is proposing something fascinating.  He is suggesting that everything in the Universe has ‘consciousness’. Does this mean rocks are conscious? Well, Pythagoras states that everything has consciousness at four basic levels. The first is Potential consciousness. This means matter starts by being unconscious completely.  When I say this, I don’t mean unconscious like a rock. Rocks are way more conscious than the particle I am talking about. This potentially conscious particle will evolve further into consciousness. 

The second level of consciousness is Passive consciousness. Matter that has passive consciousness can respond to external stimuli. In future presentations, I will be discussing elementals.  These life forms respond to external stimuli but can not act independently from them.

The third level of consciousness is Active consciousness. Matter that is actively conscious is able to learn something, remember it and then repeat it. However, active consciousness is not conscious of itself. A good example are your cells, which make up your muscles. They can learn to play the piano or hit a ball, almost without you having to think about it. They do this in an automated manner. They remember something and repeat it without knowing why. 

The fourth and final level of consciousness is Self-consciousness. Matter is now conscious of itself.  This is what we as humans have. We are  self-conscious.

So to recap, matter is always present and to be present it has to be in motion. It is also conscious in one of four potential ways. These are potential consciousness, passive consciousness, active consciousness and self-consciousness. What then is the smallest unit of matter? Whatever it is, it has to be the fundamental building block of the entire Universe. Pythagoras gave the name Primordial Atom to the smallest unit of existence in the universe. He also called it the Monad. Now you see where the title of this presentation comes from. The monad is the smallest unit of existence. This also happens to be ‘us’! We will discuss the origins of primordial atoms in greater detail. For the present, remember, every unit of existence must have three fundamental attributes. These are matter, motion and consciousness. 

Before the Beginning

Now that I have introduced you to our friend the Monad, let us consider the biggest question of all. Where do we come from and when did it all begin? I guess the easiest place to start is before there was even the universe. The Greeks had a word for this place, they called it Chaos. Hylozoics teaches that there is a mode of existence, which is beyond time and space. We can think of this as an Anti-verse, as opposed to a universe. The Anti-verse comprises a substance called Primordial Matter. This is not the Primordial Atom, which is found in the Universe. This is a state of matter before there is even a universe. This matter has two contradictory aspects. It has Absolute Density. This means that there is no space anywhere within its boundaries. If there is no space, then the concept of space can not exist.  This is a very different place from the universe. In the universe, we can see and feel solid matter but no one atom ever touches another atom of matter. What looks solid, is almost empty space. If you remove all the space between the atoms that comprise humanity, the amount of space humanity would now occupy, would be the size of an apple! I give the example of the apple to try and imagine what it would be like to have absolutely no space at all.

Anti-verse

In the ‘anti-verse’, as already stated, there is no space between the primordial atoms. If there is no space between atoms, there is no space at all. These atoms have Absolute Density. The anti-verse never itself comes into existence. It never goes through a cycle of any kind of existence or non-existence. It is always there. It is infinite. Let me repeat; if there is no time then there is no beginning. The question of where something comes from or starts does not apply. It was always there! 

The second contradictory aspect found in the anti-verse is Absolute Elasticity. This means the anti-verse can expand to contain whatever is within it. This has implications when a universe comes into existence. So, all matter in the Anti-verse is completely solid and yet completely elastic at the same time.

Limitless Potential

Let us recap; we know atoms go to make up matter. When the atoms are vibrating at a slow rate and appear to be solid, we can grasp them. We however know that most of an atom is composed of empty space. The Anti-verse is what existed before the universe came into being. The Anti-verse has no space within its. Space does not exist at all.  It has always existed so there is no unit of time present either. The Anti-verse is the basic fabric of all that is or can be. This is a state of being that has Limitless Potential. Ponder that thought; Limitless Potential. What does this mean when it comes to the formation of a universe? In fact, is there any limit to the number of universes possible? The Kabbalah refers to the Anti-verse as the Ain Soph. The Hindus call it Parabrahm. It is from within this limitless potential that our universe comes into being.

This is a concept and will remain as such until our consciousness is able to observe it, if that in itself is possible. This concept is not new. Many schools of religious and esoteric thought have proposed it. I have at least given you an answer, no matter how inadequate, to the question, where do we come from. It is a lot easier to pose questions about the Universe, rather than the Anti-verse. So let us look at this next.

The Absolute

I want you to imagine that within the ‘Limitless Potential’ of the Anti-verse, there is a point of consciousness. In fact, there are many points of consciousness but we will concentrate on one. We are going to call it The Absolute. This Absolute hatches a plan. A plan that is so vast and so complete that it will become a whole Universe. A universe from its start to its completion. To realise this plan, The Absolute begins to build out the universe by creating a bubble. This happens in an infinite ‘sea’ of primordial matter. This is the dense stuff we have been talking about. The sea of primordial matters gives birth to the universe as we know it. At the same time this happens, ‘time’ and ‘space’ are born. The expansion of the bubble and its existence until it disappears is a unit of time. The fact that the bubble expands or contracts means that there has to be space within it. What is more significant is the fact that the Primordial Atoms that were touching one another, no longer do so. They have become Primary Atoms and are almost completely composed of empty space.

Time & Space

It is useful to repeat the point that in the Anti-verse there is no time and no space. In the universe, we have both. Why is this an important concept to grasp right now? The reason is that I am told by students of esoterics that time is an illusion. They often state that as consciousness expands, time disappears. This is true to a point. However, I am proposing something different to you. If the universe goes through a periodic cycle, of existing and then not existing, time must exist. The period, no matter how long, is a unit of time. So in a manifested universe, there has to always be time. This does not imply that time has to be the same at all levels of consciousness. It implies that time is always present. Connected to time is ‘space’. If a universe comes into existence, it does so in a unit of ‘space’, so space has to always exist as well. 

Hold these concepts of time and space very close to your heart. Also, remember the concept that you can never have consciousness without matter. You are likely to encounter the mantra that we are ‘trapped in time and space’. The suggestion will be that somehow we have to liberate ourselves from these constraints. This liberation, we are told, occurs when you move into the ‘spirit world’. I have given you an alternative viewpoint.