Lesson 9 - The 7 Kingdoms Of Evolution

“Everything in the Universe, throughout all its kingdoms, is conscious: i.e., endowed with a consciousness of its own kind and on its own plane of perception.”
H. P. BLAVATSKY

THE 7 KINGDOMS AND THEIR 7 SUBSTAGES

The evolution on the left side of the Arc of Creation is a descent where the Spirit has become increasingly involved in matter and hence takes on more significant degrees of constraint. On the right side of the Arc, evolution is moving toward taking on higher forms of organization, which are increasingly evolved and more unrestrained in becoming genuinely conscious.

Symmetry can be used as a valid confirmation to understand one side of the arc when correlated with the opposing side. I’ve already covered the concept of symmetry in a preceding lesson, and this is a great tool that you can use to examine further anything I’m sharing with you.

The seven kingdoms of evolution include light, particles, atoms, molecules, plants, animals, and humans. However, there are nine numbers and not just seven as original archetypes that existed at the time of creation.

To account for all eight numbers, it’s essential to view the kingdom at the bottom of the Arc, kingdom 4, consisting of 3 levels – inorganic, the turn, and organic.

When re-numbered as positions along the way in the movement through the Arc, there indeed are nine separate spheres of influence and not just 7. However, It is probably appropriate to number these areas as 4A, 4B, and 4C. However, no matter how you approach this, you will find 72 levels of consciousness (8×9) rather than 49 levels (7×7). The 8th kingdom is that of spirit, consciousness without a body.

LEVEL 1 – THE KINGDOM OF LIGHT

Level 1 (light and human) is all about the purpose or the seeking of the goal of Original Purposiveness.

The first step in the evolutionary process is the creation of the kingdom of light, which provides the purposeful emergence of what we can call the Monad. The Monad was a symbol referred to by Greek philosophers as “The First,” “The Seed,” “The Essence,” “The Builder,” and “The Foundation”. The point at the center of a circle represents it.

Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is of one essence, principle, substance, or energy. It also describes the fundamental qualities of the kingdom of light, and it is here that the original Purposiveness begins its descent from the realm of Spirit one level or kingdom at a time until it becomes crystallized within the matter of our physical world.

Since the emergence of human consciousness, humankind has revered the power and beauty of the natural world surrounding it and has worshipped the sun, the moon, and the stars. We have often used fire in sacrificial rites to represent a particular aspect of this natural phenomenon we call light. The electromagnetic radiation of light has held a revered place within all people’s spiritual and religious lives throughout human history. Light has been a central figure that has been shared by those who have gone through either profound spiritual experiences or have had a near-death experience. The silent glow of a single candle has been the central focus of spiritual contemplation and the establishment of spiritual space for ages.

Science has examined light in great detail and its relationship with our physical world and is beginning to conclude that the power and the subtlety of the electromagnetic force have had such an impact upon life and our experience of it that it can be considered an accurate physical representation for God’s indwelling Purposiveness and a representation of the very Source of life.

Quantum physics now tells us that there was one unified force at the moment of the universe’s birth. As the universe expanded, the force dissociated itself step by step into the four forces of physics – the nuclear, electromagnetic, weak, and gravitational forces.

The electromagnetic force is the most prominent in our world today and plays an obvious role in the evolution of life. We are enveloped by a sea of electromagnetic activity of which we are an integral part of its life-enhancing qualities. Nature around us is quietly yet constantly kept alive by myriads of low-level quantum electrodynamic events.

Without ever hearing of the discovery of photons and the electromagnetic spectrum, human beings from the earliest times have regarded light as the underlying essence of an unseen vibrance that they sensed and knew was evidence of God’s direct descent into the living world around us. Throughout religious history, light has been correlated with spirituality and used as a symbol of holiness and a metaphor for representing a spiritual presence, an indwelling.

The first book of Genesis describes the birth of the universe: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. (Genesis 1:1-3)

What a profound statement and display of reverence for the indwelling Spirit of light. We may never find a clearly defined bridge between the material and spiritual worlds. Still, it does appear that for humankind, there is no physical mechanism closer than the electromagnetic spectrum of light that constitutes the portion of the bridge on the material side that reaches into the mysterious gap between the two realms and into the spiritual. There is no other means that we currently know of that provides such a perfect bridge for the entrance of consciousness into our world and for the Purposiveness behind creation to use this pathway to accomplish its original goal.

The electromagnetic interaction of light and its omnipresence constitutes a substantial and accurate means of sensing the movement of God in our world. The indispensable physical medium underlies our ability to sense immanence and truly “see.” The electromagnetic force, which can reach right up through our brains, can relate to and touch the very frontier of our consciousness. Without it, we would not only not have the capacity to contemplate the idea of its immanence and much less experience it, but we would also not be able to realize ourselves as the conscious culmination of the biological evolution that has taken place upon Earth.

This entire process of evolution, from the assembly of molecules that form the bacteria cell, then the plant kingdom, the animal, and finally human beings, has occurred through the agency of the electromagnetic interaction of light. As we now head toward becoming a global organism with an attendant awareness of the possibility of a global consciousness, we find the explosion of communication and information technology a crucial part of making all of this possible. Yet, underneath it all, light and the background Purposiveness itself are the essential physical mechanism that drives this potential unification.

Light thus provides a logical point of reference for theologians in their efforts to reconcile and harmonize the idea of God as Creator, Lord of Nature and Humankind, and God as immanent and transcendent. Yet, God is not light. God is not electromagnetism, and electromagnetism is not God’s immanence. Instead, electromagnetism is the primal physical mechanism provided by God for us to have access to that immanence. It is the very vehicle for Purposiveness to exert its desire upon the evolutionary process and cause us to evolve.

Seven Substages Of The Kingdom Of Light

This kingdom is not well understood by science and is difficult to classify.

LEVEL 2 – THE SUB-ATOMIC PARTICLE KINGDOM

Level 2 is all about motivation—an intangible, non-physical concept that is difficult to define since it lives more in the psychological domain of the mind than the body.

The 2nd kingdom of the Arc introduces the energy of time and creates nuclear particles with substance but no identity. With only one constraint (time), locating or defining identity without one more dimension is impossible.

In the 2nd kingdom, we find what scientists call a probability fog. It is here where the magical becomes actuality. In the symmetrically opposing kingdom (the 6th kingdom of animals), one of the significant purposes of that kingdom is animation. Attraction brings about the fall of light into matter, and the controlled use of the same force of attraction provides for animal mobility. It is the endowing with attraction that induces the animal to pursue its quarry or seek out a mate, and it is the nucleation through attraction that allows the condensation of energy into nuclear particles, which in the 6th sub-stage of the human 7th kingdom represents the condensation of psychic energy into archetypes.

The animal kingdom gives birth to the group soul, and projecting our symmetry across to the 2nd kingdom, the kingdom of particles, emerges from light (which is whole and one). It brings into existence the concept of duality, resulting in the quality of otherness. It is the very emergence of duality that best describes the kingdom of particles. It is otherness that this kingdom explores and gives rise to a probability fog rather than a fixed existence.

The battle in the 2nd kingdom was to conquer the compulsive nature of desire that precipitated the fall. Desire is dynamic as opposed to static form. Motive is the only constraint that gives rise to duality, and the motive of the original Purposiveness is very much at work within the 2nd level to give rise to an infinite number of possibilities – none of which are fixed or yet determined.

7 Substages Of The Kingdom Of Sub-Atomic Particles

This kingdom is not understood by science at this time and is difficult to classify.

LEVEL 3 – THE ATOMIC KINGDOM

The 3rd kingdom, that of atoms, introduces the possibility of identification, location in space, and a clear definition of being-ness. The rational and determinable properties of atoms allow us to see this kingdom as the place upon the Arc where the concept of formation occurs. It is here where form in an etheric realm first manifests the coming shapes of the physicalness of molecular matter.

In this superbly determinable level of creation, there are only about one hundred-plus kinds of atoms.

The atom has no angular momentum in its most basic ground state. It is attracted to the nucleus like a moth to the flame. Its dash toward the nucleus generates such velocity that it bounces off, is tossed back to its original position, and then dashes repeatedly. It cannot escape from the nucleus unless it receives a unit of angular momentum to give it circular motion and allow it to choose to leave instead of being caught in an endless in-and-out motion.

This motion is a power that the atom takes on, and it is through this power that the element of control emerges, allowing it to become organized so the basic hydrogen atom (periodic number 1) can take on higher levels of organization and create additional atoms. Through this process, angular momentum does not create energy but conveys it instead. Through this power of conveyance, the aliveness of the atom as an individual entity comes into being. Thus, angular momentum is a primary power in the realm of the atom, and unless carried by angular momentum, it cannot be transported from one atom to another.

The 3rd kingdom is all about concept formation or intellect.

Within the 3rd stage, the kingdom of atoms, we find added a 2nd dimension (space), hence the basis for defining identity. The atom acquires identity through the taking on of a nucleus. This unchanging center continues to exist while its periphery electrons constantly shift and move in and out of existence.

In the kingdom of atoms, we find that there indeed is a consciousness contained in an atom. This “intelligence” represents the natural consciousness of dense matter before an individualized living entity applies the force of will. These tiny electrical charges are forever weaving backward and forward with tremendous activity in the matter’s background, forming its underlying foundation.

Everything that we know as matter (molecules) builds upon this groundwork. Electromagnetic waves from the Sun are received and reflected in the realm of atoms, which are in an ever-changing state of flux and reflux. The waxing and waning of the Moon’s electromagnetic forces also create a 28-day cycle, which regulates life and its reproductive cycles.

The 7 Substages Of The Atomic Kingdom

The atomic kingdom unfolds most rationally and predictably by assembling various atoms. This variety is due to the number of proton-electron pairs constituting the respective atoms. The periodic number that classifies the atoms creates the rows of the periodic table, divides the one-hundred-plus atoms into seven sub-stages, and exhibits, to some extent, the properties of the grand stages of the process involved in the design of the Arc of Creation. Understanding this classification is not essential; it is only necessary to realize that it can be made and is knowable.

LEVEL 4 – THE MOLECULAR KINGDOM

Level 4 is about the physical world and the containers of consciousness that make up its creation.

In the molecular kingdom, an organizing principle first became visible and operative.

The 4th kingdom of the Arc of Creation, the realm of molecules, is more completely understood by science than the other kingdoms, and hence, much information is held within its nature that we can pull out to build our cosmology. It is here where there are no exceptions to the determinable laws of physics – everything is fully revealed and completely determinable, 100%. Even though molecules are made up through an accumulation of atoms, it is not this aggregation that gives this kingdom its qualities but rather the bonds between and amongst them that allow atoms to become molecules.

Atoms organize proton-electron pairs and combine through various bonds (metallic, ionic, covalent, and ionic and covalent). At level 1 of this kingdom, the process begins by creating properties typically associated with matter (density, hardness, conductivity, etc.). As it develops, these properties undergo a subtle change where molecules begin to assume a form of responsibility and can “control” their evolution rather than be subject to the randomness of Nature in the preceding kingdoms.

Ultimately, in the 7th level, molecules (in the form of DNA) have risen to such a complexity that they can communicate with each other, control a short-wave radio signal, and coordinate cell growth.

As we move into the realm of molecules, there is also a state of flux and reflux, but due to electromagnetic activity, it now operates within a 24-hour cycle. The physical plane on Earth has a 365-day cycle, the phases of which are marked by the Equinoxes and the Solstices. The interaction of these tides of background forces allows us to manifest our desires and intentions (when we learn how to direct them consciously).

When we examine the realm of molecules, we must first consider that atoms provide the form-giving principle and act as a precursor (or what might also be called an etheric representation) of the actual forms that come into being as molecules. Because of the ectoplasmic power within the atom, atoms tend to draw the conditions and qualities of material expression to themselves when congregating.

Material (molecular) particles, however, are incredibly resistant and unresponsive due to the nature of their bonds, and it is only through the most potent and tenuous aspect of matter (that of the electromagnetic force) that we can shift and change and “sculpt” molecules into other forms. Four specific forces act upon molecules on the material plane, referred to as the Four Elements – Fire, Air, Water, and Earth – which provide the four modes of manifestation on the physical plane.

What our senses perceive as material objects are phenomena attributable to activities of different forces, usually in organization and combination. Only through understanding these forces can the nature of matter be understood. Science has been dealing with an attempt to understand life by refining it so that no substance is left in it.

What physicists now consider matter is very far removed from its most basic underlying quality (teeming with consciousness and forces). In truth, matter and mind are but two sides of the same coin, and as we begin to realize the significance of this, we also find that we can describe forces and forms in terms of the psychology of the mind as if they are conscious and purposive they are.

THE TURN INORGANIC/FREEWILL/ORGANIC THE 3 DIVISIONS IN LEVEL 4

The material world is a reality-based upon fully determinable laws, and an adverse reaction can occur through an incorrect turn or action. It can be viewed to contain three separate portions, each with a different purpose.

For every action, an opposite and equal reaction must occur sometime within the physically manifested universe to balance out the original forces. Energy and matter are entirely equivalent, and this relationship is expressed in Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc2 (where energy and matter are convertible).

The portions of The Turn are also described further through the first thermodynamic law of physics, where the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant (there never is a loss). Consequently, all of our actions ultimately must be accounted for, and their reactions must be received back in some form within time.

Suppose we try to escape the fully determinable and absolute laws that form the basis for the discipline of the matter before we have mastered an understanding of the lessons. In that case, matter provides, we will not advance in our evolutionary journey but instead suffer from arrested development. This is the realization and self-awareness challenge that the “ah ha” moment, the satori realization, of “The Turn” is about.

Suppose we attempt to run from the harshness and the challenges of the material world and escape into one of many wildcat uplift organizations. In that case, we will find ourselves immersed in inadequate idealism that temporarily allows us to escape life’s rigorous demands. This, however, is not an advancement as many organizations will have you believe. Instead, you have retreated from life; sooner or later, you must face and clear this barrier. For those who will no longer meet life as healthy, robust co-creators, life will begin to dissociate, and dissociation is the prime cause and root of most of the ills of mind and body today.

You must also realize that on the descent side of the Arc, Nature descends randomly, and the containers do not have conscious control. Only at the ¾ point of the 4th level (the molecular world of the seven kingdoms) can inorganic matter exert free will, and evolution from then forward becomes controlled by the container of consciousness. At the same time, the forces of Nature now form a backdrop for its evolution. Actual Turn moves from the inorganic side when free will occurs and then can transfer to the organic side. It is here where life begins. It is also here where duality comes into being. Our evolution requires a dual spiritual/material approach without considering either polar opposite bad.

Suppose our evolutionary development is to continue to create ever more complex organizations. In that case, we cannot slide back to the olden days when we were allowed to focus mainly on the spiritual aspects of life. If we try to revert to those more straightforward ways of living, we will be caught in primitive times where survival becomes our most significant focus. A more primitive standard of life also comes with a more primitive standard of death. A primitive culture can only support a sparse population. If we return to Nature, she will deal with us in her un-softened way, which is not very pleasant for conscious man.

Our most significant task on the physical plane and within the aggregation of molecules is to create great beauty. When money and profitability are our goals, beauty rarely appears. Inspiration for great beauty comes from the inner voice of our higher self, whose source is the Spirit. If we create less than great beauty in our works, our ego and the satisfaction of our lower desires, not Divine Will, come into play.

What is most interesting about the fourth kingdom is that it consists of two separate domains—one inorganic, where formed objects possess limited consciousness, and the other, where organic containers become highly conscious and learn how to become active co-creators with the Force that accompanies the underlying Purposefulness.

The demarcation point between the two is the original “The Turn” moment, where the first conscious cell was formed. Since that historical moment, life has been in an ever-increasing chase toward greater complexity and ultimately complete control of its destiny. At “The Turn,” human consciousness shifts from the profit-seeking of the ego to soul satisfaction and fulfillment by creating great beauty in our actions.

Seven Substages Of The Molecular Kingdom:

As we continue to examine the seven stages of the evolution of the 4th kingdom, we find that molecules aren’t just clumpings or congregations of atoms. Instead, what makes molecules particularly unique is the bonds that form between them. When we examine these bonds, we find seven sub-stages of the molecular kingdom:

1. Monatomic molecules – metals

2. Ionic compounds – salts, most acids and bases

3. Nonfunctional compounds – the paraffin series

4. Functional compounds – compounds of compounds

5. Nonfunctional polymers – chains 100,000 units long

6. Functional polymers – proteins that are chains with side-chains

7. DNA and virus – double helix, self-replicating

LEVEL 5 – THE PLANT KINGDOM

In the plant kingdom, the organizing principle extends beyond the physical border of the cells to organize multicellular growth.

On the symmetrically opposite side of the Arc, in the 5th stage and kingdom of plants, we find the reverse of what is going on in the 3rd stage. The plant gives up the power of unlimited self-increase by shifting its attention toward producing progeny instead. This is not a limitation to continued evolutionary expansion but instead paves the way for a substantial increase.

All of a plant’s cells descend from one another, and their directive is the same for each through the expansion of identical DNA. The organization of cells in plants is much more cohesive as a collective than the organization of people in society in the 7th stage. The great potential for conflict due to differences is part of the human kingdom’s characteristics. Life is much simpler in the plant kingdom, with minimal differences between and amongst plants.

Plants form the 5th kingdom of the stages of evolution and gain one degree of freedom when contrasted to the molecular kingdom at the 4th stage. This freedom manifests not just through the growth principle contained within the plant kingdom but also through plants’ ability to throw off seed or progeny to conquer time.

The exciting thing about examining the plant kingdom is that it is here where consciousness becomes active and ensouled within conscious containers whose continued organization eventually gives rise to the human kingdom (and probably one stage beyond). The plant is a living “creature” with an organizational principle that goes far beyond the chemistry of cell division and can guide the plant’s growth. The plant is closely connected with all other plants within its kingdom, and similarity tends to rule where cells keep creating neighboring cells ad finitum if not checked by the balance of nature.

The growth of the plant is exponential and provides the first evidence of the existence of intelligence in Nature, which makes sure that the production of progeny is virtually guaranteed and robust enough to populate the Earth without the premature risk of its Kingdom becoming extinct due to a lack of interest in the process. The plant has a choice throughout its life. As an alternative to continued self-expansion through continual and uncontrolled growth, it can produce fruit and seed and give off progeny while surrendering itself.

This choice is an intrinsic and critical principle of the 5th stage. It is here that we find the self-determinism of the 3rd stage giving way to self-surrender in the 5th stage when we check out the symmetry of the two sides of the Arc. The difference between these two principles is like the difference between the creation of a nucleus, which allows the taking on of a center, and a seed, which makes reproduction and continuation of life far into the future possible.

The goal of evolution is to take on a center and for this center to become fully aware and conscious of Spirit until one day, the consciousness, which forms the foundation of all of life, becomes that of Spirit carrying with it the history and experience of the evolutionary process it has gone through.

In the 5th sub-stage, plants are becoming connected with this voice of evolution. Because of their lack of difference between and amongst the species, they are very easily manipulated since they tend to always grow toward light and can grow in great abundance. They have an exceptional place in evolution, and I would like to take some time to describe that.

The great benefit that the 5th stage of evolution, the plant kingdom, provides for our survival is the plant’s ability to grow and to throw off seeds.

We can learn much from this process since this is our subsequent evolutionary development. For us, our growth is more of a satori moment where we wise up to who we are and what life is really about and begin to change our ways, guided by great creativity that throws off beautiful creations that form our human-built environment.

Seven Substages Of The Plant Kingdom:

There are seven definable sub-stages within the plant kingdom.

The first is the one-celled bacteria.

The second is the many-celled algae.

The third includes the first embryophytes (such as liverworts and mosses).

The fourth is psilophytes, which contain vascular tissue.

The fifth calamites and segmented vascular tissue.

The sixth gymnosperms (such as cycad, ginkgo, and red pine).

The seventh contains the angiosperms, which are seed-bearing plants of over 350,000 species, the most stunning of which are the flowers. The centerpiece is the rose – the ancient symbol of truth and beauty in many myths.

LEVEL 6 – THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

In the animal kingdom, this organizing principle extends even further to provide a basis for interaction with the environment, the development of senses, and reach-and-withdraw animal activity, which could also be called animation.

In the 6th kingdom of animals, evolution incorporates the power of organization and growth, which it inherits from the plant kingdom. The goal of the consciousness represented by the many forms of animals is voluntary, conscious motion or mobility, or what could also be called animation.

Plant evolution and growth involve moving toward an indefinitely remote goal in a constant direction, either against gravity or toward the light. Plants are anchored and do not have many choices for movement. Because of mobility, an animal can choose specific, definable, and varied goals (food, water, procreation, shelter, etc.) and move in any direction – it is not anchored, as is a plant.

As we look back across the Arc to the 2nd kingdom of particles, the symmetry that appears shows us that the uncertainty of position and velocity is a property common to both nuclear particles and animals.

Concerning the animal kingdom, whose purpose fulfills the principle of motivation or animation, we see that the projective quality of this principle allows for a considerable amount of exploration and is demonstrated in many different ways. In the animal kingdom, the animals take on many other bodily shapes to explore and seek an ideal body for the next kingdom: humans.

Animals appear to be trying on body shapes, and each species seems to have a specific purpose, like a specialized tool for a particular task. When the human kingdom emerged, man became a user of tools, and the body was no longer an evolutionary concern. Instead, becoming conscious became a critical task.

Motivation is shared by both the animal and human kingdoms, yet when we try to account for the difference in motivation used within both kingdoms, we can’t. Motivation is a projective principle, not an objective one. Because of this, we arrive at the notion of an organizing field that extends beyond the boundary of the physical body. We can’t see or touch this organizing principle; the evidence is the creature itself.

The animal body is not objective since it seeks something and varies the body as it progresses. A dynamic of many urges pulls, and other invisible forces are going on. These dynamics could be considered a field, and in the animal kingdom, they could be used to describe a sphere of influence or interaction extending beyond the animal’s body that determines the animal’s orbit of interest.

Seven Substages Of The Animal Kingdom:

The seven sub-stages of animal development begin with:

The first is a single microscopic cell, very much alive but limited in the size of the radius of its action.

The second: in the 2nd sub-stage, it becomes multi-cellular.

The third: once size has been attained in the 3rd sub-stage . . .

The fourth: It acquires identity in the 34d sub-stage by creating a stomach and other coordinating organs—heart, liver, intestine, etc.

The fifth begins its transformation in the fifth sub-stage through mesmerization, where the body is laid out in a chain of segments, with the organs in sequence like an assembly plant (the earthworm).

The sixth: In the 6th sub-stage, the genuine possibility of mobility through the articulated foot (arthropod) is added.

The seventh: The seventh sub-stage (Chordata) incorporates a central nervous system that extends along the animal’s back and is encased in a protective bony spine.

Just as attraction brought about the fall of Spirit into matter, so does the controlled use of the same force of attraction provide for animal mobility. The force that endows with attraction is powerful enough to induce an animal to pursue its quarry or seek a mate. At stage 2, in the realm of particles, this attraction is compulsory, in which there is no choice.

Within the animal kingdom on the opposite side of the Arc, instinct is a primary developing factor, allowing a choice. Instinct is a tendency to act in a way that leads to attaining some goal natural to the species. Although it is virtually automatic, it is not necessarily compulsive. Instinctual behavior can be learned by interaction with the environment. Animal behavior or instinct is perfected by trial and error through the experience of all species, yet the individual animal does not learn instinctual behavior.

Level 1 of the Arc is outside of time. Level 2 exists in time but has no beginning or ending since its energy is transformable yet indestructible. Level 3 covers forms – its entities can be constructed and taken apart. Their existence, in time as well as space, is finite. Since the 6th stage or animal principle is positioned at Level 2 of the Arc, it is not finite. Like energy (E=mc2), it may change form but cannot cease to exist.

On the contrary, the animal principle positioned at Level 2 of the Arc cannot be destroyed. Instead, we find the existence of an “animal soul,” which not only survives the animal’s death but has also existed throughout the history of the species. Such an entity would account for instinct and provide a sufficiently long period for each animal species to learn from thousands or millions of years of development.

The Emergence Of The Group Soul Is The Focus Of The Animal Kingdom

Within the animal kingdom on the opposite side of the Arc, instinct is a primary developing factor, allowing a choice. Instinct is a tendency to act in a way that leads to attaining some goal natural to the species. Although it is virtually automatic, it is not necessarily compulsive. Instinctual behavior can be learned by interaction with the environment. Animal behavior or instinct is perfected by trial and error through the experience of all animal species, yet the individual animal does not learn instinctual behavior.

Even though an individual animal’s life is finite, the animal principle (as distinguished from the cellular body of the animal) must continue to exist after the cellular organism dies. This implies that the animal principle is quite distinct from the cellular organization with which we usually identify it.

Animal death is abrupt and distinct. The animating principle is gone from the moment after the animal’s death. Plants, on the other hand, are different. It is impossible to say when death occurs if indeed it does. When a tree is cut down, the stump will sprout, and a new tree can grow again. Flower seeds can germinate after many thousands of years. The seed, however, can be destroyed.

On the contrary, the animal principle positioned at Level 2 of the Arc cannot be destroyed. Instead, we find the existence of an “animal soul,” which not only survives the animal’s death but has also existed throughout the history of the species. Such an entity would account for instinct and provide a sufficiently long period for each animal species to learn from thousands or millions of years of development.

Because all animals of the same species have the same instincts, we can conclude that they share the same group of souls. Instinct, thus, can be regarded as a fixed pattern of activity inherited collectively by the species from behavior learned earlier in its history.

In the animal kingdom, we uncover the existence of a group soul to account for the elaborate instinctual patterns created by animals. Because the group soul comes into existence with the introduction of the animal principle, it is level II in essence and hence of the nature of energy, which the principle of energy conservation cannot destroy. The Arc of Creation accounts for the existence of the group soul because the process requires the animal principle to be immortal. The group soul concept does not replace genetic mutation, but it can implement it.

The existence of a group soul provides the mechanism for the inheritance of acquired characteristics. It goes even further to postulate a more ultimate substance, psychic energy, which is the group soul in animals.

LEVEL 7 – THE HUMAN KINGDOM

In the human kingdom, we find that the intellectual aspects of the mind acquired in the 4th sub-stage give way to the inner voice of intuition and form the focus of the 5th sub-stage of the human kingdom. We begin our development at the beginning of the 5th sub-stage filled with fear as we move away from the rational, logical mind and complete determinability into a new realm of uncertainty that requires faith, not logic, to progress.

At the end of our 5th sub-stage development, we finally become filled with clairvoyance and true knowing. We eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and become wise and awake at the end of the 5th sub-stage connected with the voice of God or Spirit. Plants in the 5th sub-stage go through this same process, but their purpose in evolution is very different. During this progressive increase in consciousness, the intelligence revealed toward the end of the plant’s 5th sub-stage emerges as Beauty, the pinnacle principle of the 5th stage or sub-stage development.

If man’s evolution had been directed toward body changes, it would have resulted in our having many different kinds of bodies and shapes – yet in the human kingdom, there is only one species – one body. We are not headed toward becoming part of the group. Instead, the group soul must be operated against to satisfy our evolutionary requirement. Man evolves not only insofar as he can “break away from the herd,” which is our unconscious recognition of the group soul, but also insofar as he “overcomes his animal instincts” and goes against the behavior pattern that for the animal would be an optimal if not necessary solution for its survival.

The human kingdom only has one species and not many like that of the animal kingdom. Instead of many species, humans have developed as many individuals, and it is here where a third type of evolution comes into being. In plants, we find the evolution of the cellular organism traceable to the DNA. In animals, the group soul makes the added behavioral evolution possible. In humans, an entirely new principle comes into play: the evolution of the individual soul. Our unconscious mind governs the group soul – our connection to our instinctual animal inherited instinctual soul. The individual soul that is born is governed by our conscious mind and is the focus of the development of the human kingdom. Our ability to think allows us to be conscious co-creators with Purposiveness as our guide.

This individual soul is not equivalent to a group soul but is similar to the group soul in that it is immortal. Like the group soul, its experience is cumulative, and the individual soul becomes the memory bank drawn from former existence and experiences in which lessons were learned.

The individual soul, however, has a different task than the group soul. It is to transcend rather than to repeat or react to its previous experiences. The animal explores and exploits in the most elaborate ways its instincts allow. Man, on the other hand, takes on more significant challenges and seeks new kinds of experiences for growth and expansion. He may enjoy routine for a while, but it is more typical for him to make many changes during his relatively long lifetime.

For man, the essence of his soul emerges in the 2nd sub-stage rather than the sixth as it does in the animal kingdom. Its presence is involuntary and unconscious in the 2nd and voluntary and conscious in sub-stage 6 of his development. All of man’s evolution includes this process of working with soul essence, 1st through the creation of a powerful ego and gradually through transcending his limited ego in favor of the essence of the voice of unlimited Spirit. The end goal is not the realization of his soul (2nd and 3rd levels of the Arc) but rather the indwelling of his Spirit (1st and 7th levels).

Just as plant evolution requires DNA (level III) and animal evolution requires the group soul (level II), man requires something intrinsic to level I, which is almost better described as the divine light than by words such as consciousness or understanding, for it is the light of recognition that leads to The Turn, just as it is the capture of a photon that procures the negative entropy of plants.

The evolution of the human being in the 7th kingdom possesses similar qualities to the kingdom of light in the 1st kingdom. When light emerged from its formless state, it descended from wholeness to arrive within the physically manifested universe with form. Through the symmetry that governs the Arc, the 7th kingdom is headed back to wholeness, carrying a unique ability for the container to be fully conscious of its heritage and Source.

Even though we are the epitome of a collection of carbon atoms (an exquisite collection and unique congregation), we find the human being more than just a body, more than just a mind, and full of capabilities: intelligence, emotion, intuitive knowing, willpower, and above all, the capability to integrate all of these capabilities and more into a single whole—consciousness free to evaluate, understand, and co-create.

With man’s evolution, the focus is not on the development of the body – he has already inherited his initial bodily form from the 6th kingdom. Throughout the 4th, 5th, and 6th kingdoms, the focus has been on creating and perfecting the vehicle that man has ultimately become. In the 7th kingdom, man becomes capable of being a co-creator. He can go against the random forces of nature and create almost anything he desires (not without consequences, however).

The process is very awkward, so it takes him quite a bit of time to expand fully. Most of man’s evolution is spent asleep and unaware of his heritage, potential, and true abilities—mainly that he has a purpose for being here on the face of the Earth.

Over six million years have been invested to bring man to the gateway of The Turn. How long will it take man to let go of his past conditioning and surrender to move to the other side of the Arc and his ascending evolution? That is the question upon which the survival of the human race is dependent.

Even though man forms his abilities and creates his accomplishments within a civilization and society of other human beings, it is not civilization evolving through his works but rather his self and soul. Man’s success, however, is not the entire goal but rather, it is the fulfillment of the Original Purposiveness which guides life and initiates the whole Process. The goal is not to satisfy man and his being. Instead, it is for the “sleeping giant” within man’s monadic container to rise to a position of consciousness where literally “God can see himself – face to face through his creation.” That is what the Arc of Creation is all about!

Seven Substages Of The Human Kingdom:

This will be covered in detail in another course lesson since it is the key and most crucial substage. Stay tuned!