The Sacred Science holds that the universe’s existence depends on the Creators perpetual self-recognition.
This idea suggests that the universe is the result of Spirit’s meditation on the powers of its own being. Although we describe this seemingly mental process using words which we have associated to the personal activities familiar to our own consciousness, we must attempt to understand also that the type of activity described here is beyond the ordinary meanings we have associated to these words. They are pointing to something that words are incapable of articulating accurately. When we receive them into the inner vessels made for this level of meaning, however, they can get us at least some of the way there. The rest of the distance then is traversed by our transcendent and innermost essence.
As we consider the transpersonal and esoteric meaning of these ideas, as we are throughout the Meditations Beyond the Zodiac materials, we must keep in mind that in order to interpret them in their proper light, we will need to have developed the inner vessels of understanding which allow us to go beyond the outer meaning of the words and symbols to their more subtle and numinous essence. Too concrete or literal an interpretation will result in much remaining concealed from our awareness, and our grasp will be one of belief rather than one of direct experience. The practice of meditation and the intelligent use of imagination, cultivates these inner vessels and over time elevates our meaning-making faculties to higher planes of activity. It is at these higher levels where the mysteries are disrobed and the essence of natural law is observed by our inner eye of Spirit.
To continue then with the riddle, the sages have offered the idea that the contemplation of Spirit on its own powers is identical to drawing forth the laws of nature and time-space. There is no gap between what is conceived of and what is made manifest in physical existence because the mental substance of Spirit’s self contemplation is the formative or creative level of reality. In a similar fashion, on the level of our individual human consciousness, our concentrated use of creative imagery draws forth the circumstances of our personal lives. It is on this foundational idea that is built the whole notion of intentional manifestation. As we image ourselves and our world, we bring into being those conditions which we have envisioned. And by means of creative imagination we can transform the formative level of reality bringing about those conditions which are more clearly a reflection of our divine desires.
With esoteric Aquarius we consider the idea that meditation is the means by which creation comes into being. And that on the lower arch of manifestation at the human level which is the universal mind in miniature, it expresses that same creative principal. The laws of nature that organize the life energy into its vehicles of expression consolidates its potencies into and as self-conscious awareness. Meaning, our capacity of self awareness is the result of the concentration of the universal life power on to individual centers of expression – you and me. Our unique existence, our “I” is set apart from everything else, yet the creative power that animates it is the same creative power creating, sustaining and guiding everything else. It is the one creative power that we all share with each other, with all living things and with God.
Creation And Concentration
In meditation, the primary activities of the mind that are otherwise automatic and largely unconscious can be brought up in to conscious awareness. Creativity, for example, depends on the concentration of abstract “mind stuff” onto a specific form so that an idea is sorted out from others. If we want to write a song for example, we have to think – what sort of song? What style will it be? What lyrics will it have and so on. The potential of undefined inspiration must be given a shape. Without a definite object of focus there are no ideas, no thoughts, no words or sounds, and no sequential unfolding of events where meaning is generated. Without the concentration or condensation of abstract mental substance on to some definite form, nothing comes into being.
With some training in meditation, we can observe this phenomenon. We can ask ourselves and look to see: Is there thought when there are no words or images to distinguish one thing from another? And, in the absence of any objects of thought to which can be assigned a name and a form, is there a subject? a perceiver for whom the object appears in awareness?
This inquiry as you might imagine take quite a bit of a certain type of concentration. We must choose to place attention on that rather than something else. We narrow attention, aiming it to the thing we wish to observe.
Self-conscious awareness, the consciousness which feels a sense of “I” apart from any “thou” or “that” is utterly dependent on the narrowing power of concentration. It is that which chooses where to place attention and in so choosing it limits its activity much like a a flash light being focused into a laser beam. This is why Aquarius is said to be ruled by Saturn in addition to Uranus. Saturn is the principal of limitation whereby the narrowing of attention becomes possible. Through limitation and the sorting out of one quality from another all distinctions and nuance come into being. This power is so immediate and instinctive to us that we can take it for granted, not even noticing it except in those times we feel distracted. That we can know the difference between the color red and blue, a table from a chair or the inside from the outside is also this principal at work in us. When we develop this power to the nth degree, the subtle distinctions we become capable of making give us the ability to see well beyond the surface appearances of things into their essential nature, revealing the hidden patterns that give rise to all created things.
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We often think of meditation as a tool for our own growth and development. We meditate because we want the benefits of being grounded, aligned with our inner being, and functioning at our best. We also meditate because we want to evolve spiritually, connecting to the ourselves in such a way that will empower our self-actualization. A good measure of how well we are progressing in meditation are the fruits of our labor. The exercise of concentration in meditation carries over to all our other activities.
As it was written in one of my favorite books, “Whenever spiritual aspirants meditate we are sharing in the exercise of the divine power that created everything. Thus one of the tests whereby a student may know whether or not he has really succeeded in meditation is this: Let him find out whether or not what he has been doing takes form in the production of something better than he had before he began to meditate.” ~ The Book of Tokens
Symbols of Aquarius
In astrology, the zodiacal signs are often depicted by either animals or objects. Aquarius, however, is represented by the image of a human bearing a container of water. As a sign represented by a human form, Aquarius points to the qualities that make us uniquely human. Specifically, that is our ability to think and speak, to make images of what was and modify those images to imagine what could be. Thus through the principal of Saturn: the finitizing power of making distinction and the principal of Uranus: the liberating power of innovation, humankind has learned to alter our environment through the skillful use of technology.
In the Tarot we find Aquarius depicted in key 10 and 21 as the head of a man along side the other fixed signs, represented by the Lion (Leo) the Bull (Taurus) and the Eagle (Scorpio). Aquarius and the head of a man in this case, represents the human capacity to reason, to take measurements, observe distinctions and make plans for the future. From this capacity comes language, technology and the foundations of civilization.
Aquarius highlights that capacity of consciousness to innovate and design new forms that become the tools for the advancement of evolution. That capacity rests on the ability of consciousness to concentrate attention onto specific details and reason out patterns. To do this, consciousness forms images in the mind which are used to anticipate outcomes, like in the building of tools. It also recalls images from previous experiences using memory to learn from mistakes and advantages of the past.
The mineral, plant and animal kingdoms also have their own rudimentary abilities for adaptation, but the human level transcends and includes all the earlier forms. In human consciousness, we have the chemical intelligence of the mineral kingdom like that which governs our immune systems, metabolic processes and innate pharmacopeia. We have the biological intelligence of the plant kingdom like that which governs our reproductive processes, respiration and circadian rhythms. We have the social intelligences of the animal kingdom which governs things like dominance hierarchies, survival drives and subsistence patterns. But it is not until the level of human consciousness that a self-reflexivity which allows for the conscious participation in evolution occurs.
With self reflexive awareness, the life power has reached a level of development where it can identify the nature of things and use this knowledge to bring novelty out from the field of potentiality and into manifest reality. By concentrating attention on the specific qualities of things, we can make decisions strategically, measure results, and make modifications to refine our methods.
The power of human consciousness is unique in all the kingdoms of nature. Only humans possess the ability to think, to think about thinking, and to discern out from among the thoughts exactly who or what is doing that thinking.
The most striking thing about this capacity is that we can concentrate attention on awareness itself not only identifying more accurately the nature of the objects that arise in awareness but more accurately identifying the nature of the subject for whom those objects are arising. The essence of meditation then is the exercise of this capacity to bring it up to the level where the proper measurements of the nature of being can be made. Through the correct understanding of our world and ourselves we can then put to use the innate creative powers of Aquarius to the building of the future.
We can better discern the principals underlying the patterns of nature or the laws of Spirit and its evolutionary plan or what has been called the telos of creation. We can become conscious participants and collaborators with that plan. By learning to better fulfill these laws in our actions and creations, we shape the world in the likeness of the creator’s creative vision fulfilling our purpose by helping Spirit to fulfill its purpose. When in the book of Genesis it says “on the 7th day God rested”, that is because the final task of creation is done through us. We are the vehicle through which the divine creative principal completes the work of creation – because we are the Creator in miniature.
With this capacity, humanity has measured the parts of existence from mathematics to the atomic sciences, to biology and physics. But we have yet to take a thorough account of the full depth and span of existence and humanity’s role within it. We have yet to measure the meta-narrative of Creation across the full spectrum of time and tell its story. And, we have yet to redesign our technology and society according to a right understanding of the nature of nature – replacing lack with abundance, competition with collaboration, conflict with compassion – bringing the activity of the human world into harmony with the natural laws of Spirit.
It is believed that the age of Aquarius is the time when humanity will develop its tools of reason and understanding to the level at which it becomes possible to eliminate all unnecessary forms of suffering and establish the true fellowship of man. For millennia we have been developing ever-more effective means of survival. We’ve been learning how to maximize our freedom, elevating ourselves from the burdens of life. With technology we have overcome the most difficult of hardships, populating every corner of the globe and even reaching our instruments beyond our solar system.
With our ingenuity we have created for ourselves the privilege to turn our attention to even deeper matters. We have afforded ourselves the luxury of contemplative practices, which expand our wisdom and compassion to include more and more of life. We have been expanding our center of gravity from egocentric, to ethnocentric to world-centric with each new vista bringing more goodness and beauty into the world than the one before. And now, with a millennia of technology encoded into our genetic and social architecture, we can expand into the next frontier of evolution: cosmo-centricity, the New Age of enlightenment where we build the universal fellowship of all humankind. As conscious collaborators with the creative principal of Spirit, we can deploy the greatest of all technologies: the technology of evolution enshrined in the powers self-conscious awareness right behind our eyes.