Lesson 14 – Introducing 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
Founded the Theosophical Society

THE 7 KINGDOMS AND THEIR 7 SUBSTAGES

The evolution on the left side of the Arc of Creation is a descent where Spirit has become more and more involved in matter and hence takes on greater degrees of constraint. On the right side of the Arc, evolution is moving in the direction of taking on higher forms of organization, which are more and more evolved and freer in terms of becoming truly conscious.

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

The 7 kingdoms of evolution include light, particles, atoms, molecules, plants, animals, and humans. However, there are 9 numbers and not just 7 as original archetypes that existed at the time of creation.

To account for all 8 numbers, it’s important to view the kingdom at the bottom of the Arc, kingdom 4, as consisting of 3 levels – inorganic, the turn, organic.

When re-numbered as positions along the way in the movement through the Arc, there indeed are then 9 separate spheres of influence and not just 7. It probably is appropriate to number these areas, however, as 4A, 4B, and 4C. No matter how you approach this, however, you will find that there really are 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 purpose or the seeking of the goal of the Original Purposiveness.

The first step in the evolutionary process is the creation of the kingdom of light which provides the purposiveful 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”. It was represented by the point at the center of a circle.

Monism is the metaphysical and theological view that all is of one essence, principle, substance or energy. It also well describes the basic 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 that surrounds 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 the spiritual and religious lives of all people throughout all of human history. Light has been a central figure that has been shared by those who have gone through either profound spiritual experience 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 has had such an impact upon life and our experience of it that it can be considered a true physical representation for God’s indwelling Purposiveness and a representation of the very Source of life.

Quantum physics now tells us that at the moment of the birth of the universe, there was one single unified force. 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 one most prominent in our world today and it 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. The whole of 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 of 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 has been used as a symbol of holiness as well as a metaphor for representing a spiritual presence, an indwelling.

In the first book of Genesis which 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 world and the spiritual but 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. It is the indispensable physical medium that underlies our ability to sense that immanence and to truly “see.” The electromagnetic force, which can reach right up through our brains, can relate 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, the essential physical mechanism that drives all of this potential unification is light and the background Purposiveness itself.

Light thus provides a logical point of reference for theologians in their efforts to reconcile and harmonize the idea of God as Creator, God as 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. Rather, electromagnetism is the primal physical mechanism provided by God for us to have access to that immanence. It is the very vehicle for the Purposiveness to exert its desire upon the evolutionary Process and to cause us to evolve.

7 substages of the kingdom of light:

Not well understood by science at this time and 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 rather than the body.

The 2^nd kingdom of the Arc introduces the energy of time and the creation of nuclear particles having substance but no identity. With only one constraint (time) it isn’t possible without one more dimension to locate or define identity.

In the 2^nd kingdom, we find what scientists call a probability fog. It is here where the magical becomes actuality. In the symmetrically opposing kingdom (the 6^th kingdom of animals), one of the major purposes of that kingdom is that of 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 6^th sub-stage of the human 7^th 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 2^nd kingdom, the kingdom of particles emerges from light (which is whole and one) and brings into existence the concept of duality and as a result, the quality of otherness emerges. It is the very emergence of duality that best describes the kingdom of particles and it is otherness that this kingdom explores and which gives rise to a probability fog rather than a fixed existence.

The battle in the 2^nd kingdom is to conquer the compulsive nature of desire which precipitated the fall. Desire is dynamic as opposed to form which is static. Motive is the only constraint which gives rise to duality and the motive of the original Purposiveness is very much at work within the 2^nd 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:

Not understood by science at this time and difficult to classify.

LEVEL 3 – THE ATOMIC KINGDOM

The 3^rd kingdom, that of atoms, introduces the possibility of identification, of location in space, and of clear definition of being-ness. The absolutely 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 physical-ness of molecular matter.

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

In its most basic ground state of existence, the atom has no angular momentum. It is attracted to the nucleus like a moth to the flame and its dash toward the nucleus generates such velocity that it bounces off and is tossed back to it’s original position and then dashes back – over and over again. It cannot escape from the nucleus unless it receives a unit of angular momentum to give it circular motion and to allow it the option of choice to leave instead of being caught within 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 that allows 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 rather it conveys it. It is through this power of conveyance that 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 3^rd stage, the kingdom of atoms, we find added a 2^nd dimension (space) and hence the basis for defining identity. The atom acquires identity through the taking on of a nucleus, an unchanging center, which continues to exist while its periphery electrons constantly shift and move around in and out of existence.

In the kingdom of atoms we find that there indeed is a consciousness contained in an atom and this “intelligence” represents the natural consciousness of dense matter prior to the application of the force of will by an individualized living entity. It is these infinitesimal electrical charges which are for ever weaving backwards and forwards with tremendous activity in the background of matter and which forms its underlying foundation.

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

7 substages of the atomic kingdom:

The atomic kingdom unfolds in the most rational and predictable manner through the assembly of various types of 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 process involved in the design of the Arc of Creation. It’s not important to understand this classification and only to realize that it can be made and is knowable.

LEVEL 4 – THE MOLECULAR KINGDOM

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

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

The 4^th 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 that exist between and amongst them that allow atoms to become molecules.

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

Ultimately in the 7^th level, molecules (in the form of DNA) have risen to such a complexity that they are able to communicate with each other and radiate a short-wave radio signal which is under their control and which co-ordinates cell growth.

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

When we begin to examine the realm of molecules, we must first consider that atoms provide the form giving principle and 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 contained within the atom, when congregated, atoms tend to draw to themselves the conditions and qualities of material expression.

Material (molecular) particles, however, are extremely resistant and unresponsive in their nature due to the nature of their bonds and it is only through the most powerful and tenuous aspect of matter (that of the electromagnetic force) that we are able to shift and change and “sculpt” molecules into other forms. On the material plane, there are four specific forces that act upon molecules and these four forces are 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 really the phenomena attributable to activities of different types of forces, usually in organization and combination with each other. Only through an understanding of these forces can the nature of matter be understood. Science has been dealing with an attempt to understand life by refining it to such an extent that there is no substance 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 are able to describe forces and forms in terms of the psychology of the mind, as if they are conscious and purposive – in fact they are.

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

The material world is a reality that is based upon fully determinable laws and which through an incorrect turn or action, an adverse reaction can occur. It can be viewed to contain 3 separate portions each with a different purpose.

For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction that must occur sometime within the physically manifested universe to balance out the original forces. Energy and matter are completely equivalent and this relationship was 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 received back in some form within time.

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

If we attempt to run from the harshness and the challenges of the material world and escape into one of a multitude of wildcat uplift organizations, we will find ourselves immersed in inadequate idealism that temporarily allows us to escape from the rigorous demands of life. This however, is not an advancement as many organizations will have you believe. Instead, you have retreated from life and sooner or later, you will be required to face this barrier and clear it. For those who will no longer face life as healthy, powerful, 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. It is only at the ¾ point of the 4^th level (the molecular world of the 7 kingdoms) that inorganic matter is able to exert free will and evolution from then forward becomes controlled by the container of consciousness while the forces of Nature now form a backdrop for it’s evolution. There is an actual Turn involved that moves from the inorganic side when freewill occurs and then is able to 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.

If our evolutionary development is to continue to create ever more complex organization, we cannot slide back to the olden days when we were allowed to focus mostly on the spiritual aspects of life. If we try to revert back to those much more simple ways of living, we will find ourselves caught in primitive times where survival becomes our greatest focus. With a more primitive standard of life also comes 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 own un-softened way which is not very pleasant for conscious man.

Upon the physical plane and within the aggregation of molecules, our greatest and most important task is to create great beauty. When money and profitability is our goal, 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 comes into play, not Divine Will.

What is most interesting about the 4^th kingdom is that it consists of two separate domains – one inorganic where objects that are formed 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 Purposiveness.

The demarcation point between the two is birthed as the original moment of “The Turn” where the first conscious cell was formed. Ever since that historical moment, life has been in an ever increasing chase toward greater and greater complexity and ultimately full control of its destiny. It is at “The Turn” that human consciousness shifts from the profit seeking of the ego to soul satisfaction and fulfillment through the creation of great beauty in all of our actions.

7 substages of the molecular kingdom:

As we continue to examine the 7 stages of the evolution of the 4^th kingdom, we find that molecules aren’t just clumpings or congregations of atoms. Rather 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 which 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 extended beyond the physical border of the cells to organize multicellular growth.

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

All of the cells of a plant descend from one and their directive is the same for each through the expansion of identical DNA. Organization of cells in plants is much more cohesive as a collective than is the organization of people in society in the 7^th stage. Great potential for conflict due to differences is part of the characteristic of the human kingdom. In the plant kingdom, life is much more simple and differences between and amongst plants is minimal.

Plants form the 5th kingdom of the stages of evolution and gain one degree of freedom when contrasted to the molecular kingdom at the 4^th stage. This freedom manifests not just through the growth principle contained within the plant kingdom, but also through the ability that plants have 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” and possesses an organizational principle, which goes far beyond the chemistry of cell division and is able to guide the growth of the plant. The plant is closely connected with all of the other plants within its own 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 actually has a choice throughout its life and as an alternative to continued self-expansion through continual and uncontrolled growth, it can instead produce fruit and seed and give off progeny while surrendering its self.

This choice is an intrinsic and key principle of the 5^th stage. It is here where we find self-determinism of the 3^rd stage giving way to self-surrender in the 5^th 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 5^th sub-stage, plants are becoming connected with this voice of evolution and because of their lack of difference between and amongst the species, are very easily manipulated since they tend to always grow toward light and are able to grow in great abundance. They have a very special place in evolution and I would like to take a bit of time to describe what that is.

The great benefit that the 5^th 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 too is our next evolutionary development. For us, our growth is more a satori moment where we wise up to who we really are and to what life is really about and begin to change our ways guided by a great creativity that throws off beautiful creations that begin to form our human built environment.

7 substages of the plant kingdom:

There are 7 definable sub-stages within the plant kingdom.

The first: is the one-celled bacteria.

The second: is the many-celled algae.

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

The fourth: 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 in excess of 350,000 species and the most stunning of which are the flowers and of course, the centerpiece is the rose – the ancient symbol of truth and beauty contained within many of our 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 and for development of senses and the reach-and-withdraw animal activity or what also could be called animation.

In the 6^th 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 involves a movement toward an indefinitely remote goal, which is in a constant direction, either against gravity or toward light. Plants are anchored and do not have many choices for movement. Because of mobility, an animal is capable of choosing specific and definable and varied goals (food, water, procreation, shelter, etc) and can move in any direction – it is not anchored, as is a plant.

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

In regard to 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, there are many different bodily shapes that the animals take on as an exploration and seeking of an ideal body for the next kingdom, that of humans.

Animals appear to be trying on body shapes and each species seems to have a specific purpose, kind of like a specialized tool for a very specific task. When the human kingdom emerged, man became a user of tools and the body no longer was evolutions concern. Rather, becoming conscious became the key 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 the existence of an organizing field that extends beyond the boundary of the physical body. We can’t see or touch this organizing principle and the evidence is the creature itself.

The animal body is not truly objective since it is seeking something and varies the body as it progresses in that search. There is a dynamic going on that is made up from many urges, pulls, and other invisible forces. 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 body of the animal that determines the animal’s orbit of interest.

7 substages of the animal kingdom:

The seven sub-stages of animal development begin with:

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

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

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

The fourth: it acquires identity in the 3^4d sub-stage through the creation of a stomach and other coordinating organs – heart, liver, intestine, etc.

The fifth: then it begins its transformation in the 5^th sub-stage through the process of metamerization 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 6^th sub-stage, it adds the true possibility of mobility through the articulated foot (arthropod).

The seventh:In the 7^th sub-stage (chordata) it incorporates a central nervous system, which extends along the animal’s back and 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 to seek out 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, we find instinct to be a primary developing factor and it does allow a choice. Instinct is a tendency to actions that lead to the attainment of 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 actual experience of all animals in a species yet instinctual behavior is not learned by the individual animal.

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 6^th stage or animal principle is positioned at Level 2 of the Arc, it is not finite. Much like energy (E=mc2), it may change form, but it cannot cease to exist.

The animal principle, on the contrary, positioned at Level 2 of the Arc, cannot be destroyed. Rather, we find the existence of an “animal soul” which not only survives the death of the animal, but has also existed throughout the history of the species. Such an entity would account for instinct and would provide for a sufficiently long period of time for each species of animal 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, we find instinct to be a primary developing factor and it does allow a choice. Instinct is a tendency to actions that lead to the attainment of 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 actual experience of all animals in a species yet instinctual behavior is not learned by the individual animal.

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 normally identify it.

Animal death is abrupt and distinct. From the moment after the death of the animal, the animating principle is gone. 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.

Because all animals of the same species have the same instincts, we can conclude that these animals all share the same group soul. Instinct thus can be regarded as a fixed pattern of activity inherited by the species collectively 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 an energy which, by the principle of conservation of energy, cannot be destroyed. The existence of the group soul is accounted for by the Arc of Creation because the process involved requires that the animal principle 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 and goes even further to postulate a more ultimate substance, psychic energy, which in animals is the group soul.

LEVEL 7 – THE HUMAN KINGDOM

In the human kingdom, we find that the intellectual aspects of mind which were acquired in the 4^th sub-stage of the human kingdom are giving way to the inner voice of intuition and form the focus of the 5^th sub-stage of the human kingdom. We begin our development at the beginning of the 5^th sub-stage filled with fear as we move away from the realm of 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 5^th sub-stage development we finally become filled with clairvoyant and true knowing. We literally eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and become wise and awake at the end of the 5^th sub-stage connected with the voice of God or Spirit. Plants in the 5^th sub-stage go through this same process but their purpose in evolution is very different. During this progressive increase in consciousness, the intelligence that is revealed toward the end of the plants 5^th sub-stage emerges as Beauty, the pinnacle principle of the 5^th 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 really is only one species – one body. We are not headed toward becoming part of the group. Rather, the group soul must be operated against to satisfy our evolutionary requirement. Man evolves not only insofar as he is able to “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 instead, 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, there is the added behavioral evolution that is made possible by what we call the group soul. In humans, an entirely new principle comes into play, that of the evolution of the individual soul. The group soul is governed by our unconscious mind – 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 The Purposiveness as our guide.

This individual soul is not equivalent to a group soul, but is similar to the group soul in that it too 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 from that of the group soul. It is to transcend, rather than to repeat or react to its previous experiences. The animal is exploring and exploiting in the most elaborate ways that its instincts allow. Man, on the other hand, takes on greater challenges and seeks new kinds of experiences for growth and expansion. He may enjoy routine for awhile, but it is more normal for him to make many changes during his relatively long lifetime.

For man, the essence of his individual soul emerges in the 2^nd sub-stage rather than the sixth as it does in the animal kingdom. Its presence is involuntary and unconscious in the 2^nd and voluntary and conscious in sub-stage 6 of his development. All of man’s evolution includes this process of working with soul essence, 1^st 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 (2^nd and 3^rd levels of the Arc) but rather the indwelling of his Spirit (1^st and 7^th 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.

Evolution of the human being in the 7^th kingdom possesses similar qualities to the kingdom of light in the 1^st kingdom. When light emerged, from its formless state, it began a descent from wholeness to arrive within the physically manifested universe with form. Thru the symmetry that governs the Arc, the 7^th kingdom is headed back to wholeness carrying with it a unique ability – for the container itself 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 amazing 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, to understand, and to 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 6^th kingdom. Throughout the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th kingdoms, focus has been on creating and perfecting the vehicle which man has ultimately become. In the 7^th kingdom, man becomes capable of being a co-creator and is actually able to go against the random forces of nature and create almost anything that he desires (not without consequences, however).

The process is very awkward and as a result, he takes quite a bit of time to fully expand and the majority of man’s evolution is spent asleep and unaware of his heritage, potential, and true abilities – particularly the fact 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 many more years will it take man to let go of his past conditioning and surrender so he can move to the other side of the Arc and his ascending evolution? That is the question and one upon which the survival of the human race is dependant upon.

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

7 substages of the human kingdom:

This will be covered in detail in another course lesson since this is the key and most important substage of them all. Stay tuned!