The following essay is based on material published in my book A Model of Consciousness. This essay is also available as a video series on my YouTube page.
Energy. What is energy? Energy is a capacity for work, the potential for action. Energy is potential. It’s difficult to grasp as a principle. We generally only appreciate energy in its effects. Energy, at its purest and most primitive, is infinite potential.
Energy is inherently evolutionary in that the very nature of energy is to unfold and grow. It is the very nature of energy to live. Life organizes energy and evolves toward a specific end. That end, the aim of life, is conscious individuality. Life is a process of conscious development. Organic life is the platform for energetic consciousness.
Consciousness evolves in stages. Each stage of evolution organizes energy in a specific way. Each stage embodies a specific Law. A Law is an organizing principle. There are nine Laws of conscious development. The nine Laws explain how the energy of consciousness is organized. The Laws are progressive. That is to say, each Law builds upon the former and leads to the latter, until the objective of evolution is realized, that is conscious individuality, the soul.
A Law is an organizing influence that is innate to the world around us and that also operates within us. There is a logical necessity to the Laws and their arrangement.
The nine Laws are as follows:
The first Law is the Law of Unity.
The second Law is the Law of Polarity.
The third Law is the Law of Synthesis.
The fourth Law is the Law of Consequence.
The fifth Law is the Law of Sacrifice.
The sixth Law is the Law of Attraction.
The seventh Law is the Law of Uneven Division.
The eighth Law is the Law of Resonance.
And the ninth Law is the Law of Regeneration.
The nine Laws define progressively more efficient ways of organizing energy. Higher Laws subsume lower Laws. To subsume means to include within a larger category, to be covered by a greater principle. Higher Laws are more efficient. Nature favors efficiency.
The first four Laws are "mechanical" Laws. The first four Laws (particularly the second, third and fourth Laws) govern the mechanics of the personality and life as the platform for conscious development. Laws five through nine are "conscious" Laws. They govern the development of consciousness and the nature of the soul.
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The first Law is the Law of Unity. This Law is symbolized by a circle.
The Law of Unity states that everything is composed of the same substance. I refer to that substance as "energy." According to the Law of Unity, everything is fundamentally of one body. Within Unity, prior to division, energy exists in a state of infinite potentiality. The circle is the symbol for potentiality. All Laws subsequent to Unity reflect a cumulative refinement and organization of energy. Everything is a modification of energy.
Energy possesses certain inherent characteristics. Oscillation and amplitude are inherent characteristics of energy. Energy possesses the inherent potential for modulation, frequency and resonance. I’ll define these terms.
First, oscillation. Oscillation is illustrated by the waveform, a symbol of energy itself. Oscillation means vibration. To oscillate is to swing or move regularly back and forth. Oscillation is inherent to the principle of energy. The oscillation of energy itself, as a principle, is a true constant. A true constant does not vary. Paradoxically I’m describing oscillation as a constant.
Amplitude is the extreme range of an oscillation. Amplitude is largeness. The amplitude that is inherent to the principle of energy itself is a primary value.
A value is a measure. There are primary values and secondary values. A primary value is a measure from a constant. A secondary value is a measure from another value. Secondary values are variable, exemplifying modulation.
Modulation means adjustment and diversity. It includes duplication and repetition. Modulation is a variation in the amplitude or frequency of oscillation.
Frequency is periodic oscillation. Frequency is the number of oscillations within a unit of time.
And resonance is the effect produced when the amplitude of oscillation of a body of energy is greatly increased by a periodic force at the same (or nearly the same) frequency. Resonance is the selective transfer of energy by applying periodicity. For instance, resonance is the reinforcement or prolongation of a sound or musical tone by the sympathetic vibration of another.
Energy possesses an inherent evolutionary tendency to organize itself, to sustain itself and to reproduce itself. Self-organization, self-sustenance and reproduction are characteristics of life and consciousness. Energy possesses the inherent potential for life and consciousness.
Energy exists in perpetual motion. Energy evolves into more sophisticated forms to emulate perpetual motion. A developmental stage of this evolution is the waking healthy human body.
Bodily awareness, our sense of being present, is an internal organization of subtle energy that is mechanically generated by the waking healthy body. Bodily awareness establishes the frequency of consciousness. Bodily awareness is an organization of energy that oscillates at a specific frequency (at or close to constant) but with low amplitude. What I define as attention is the intentional act of sustaining our sense of being present and thereby increasing the amplitude of that frequency. Full consciousness is achieved when the amplitude of the frequency reaches primary value. That is the aim of the evolutionary cycle of the nine Laws.
Bodily awareness grows by the act of attention into an even more sophisticated organization of subtle energy, the energetic body. The energetic body is like a second body that can grow within the physical body. The energetic body is the potential for the evolution of the immortal soul. The soul is the most sophisticated organization of energy that perfectly emulates perpetual motion. The soul is the fulfillment of the potential for self-sustenance and reproduction.
An organization of energy within our four-dimensional world cannot self-sustain, according to the second Law of Thermodynamics, entropy. Energy must be continually fed into a four-dimensional system to maintain the system. However, there are more than four dimensions. In higher dimensions, energy is organized more efficiently. The ultimate organization of energy is nine-dimensional. That is a perfectly efficient organization, a perfect system. Nine dimensions are necessary for the complete evolution of energy, the perfect emulation of perpetual motion, an emulation that permits not only self-sustenance but also reproduction.
Energy resides in three levels of an ordinary human being: the vital, the emotional and the mental. Each of these levels can be said to contain a specific kind of energy: vital energy, emotional energy and mental energy. It’s the same energy operating in all three levels, only the energy is organized differently in each level. These levels of energy correspond generally to three different areas of the physical body. Vital energy resides between the genitals and the belly. Emotional energy resides between the solar plexus and the upper chest. Mental energy resides between the throat and the head.
Vital energy relates to sexuality and diet. Emotional energy relates to personal possessions and relationships. Mental energy relates to creative expression and thought.
The different levels of one’s being correspond generally to different dimensions. We experience all three levels of being, and operate with all three kinds of energy, from the fourth dimension in which we live.
In higher dimensions, energy oscillates at a higher amplitude. By applying conscious Laws, the amplitude of the frequency of consciousness rises. The energy of which we consist enters higher levels of our being and higher dimensions. Attention progressively establishes the frequency of bodily awareness within vital energy, emotional energy, and then mental energy. Attention rises in that sequence through the levels of our being.
Attention is our ability to modulate the oscillation rate of the energy of which we consist. Modulation only becomes possible when energy is differentiated, beginning with the next Law, Polarity.
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The second Law is the Law of Polarity. This Law is symbolized by a forward slash with a dot at either end.
The Law of Polarity states that energy has two aspects: attraction and repulsion. According to the Law of Polarity, energy is divided into two parts: positive and negative. Everything has both positive and negative aspects, masculine and feminine characteristics. Any given thing is predominately either positive or negative and possesses its appropriate counterpart. According to the Law of Polarity, objects remain apart from each other and counteract each other. This Law reflects the repelling aspect of electromagnetism.
The Law of Polarity is not merely a balance of attraction and repulsion. It establishes an inherent separation which temporarily gives repulsion the upper hand. The separation inherent to Polarity allows for differentiation, modulation, diversity and variation.
The Law of Polarity governs the distinction between self and environment, the distinction between internal and external. Polarity provides the context for the division of objects within space and for sensory awareness.
The Law of Polarity is further exemplified in conceptualization, the mental pairing of impressions. No concept is independently complete. Concepts only make sense in contrast to other concepts, including opposites. A concept is a combination of separate impressions. This brings us to the next Law, Synthesis.
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The third Law is the Law of Synthesis. This Law is symbolized by a triangle.
According to the Law of Synthesis, the two aspects of energy established in the second Law interact as a process consisting of three parts. It is the process by which the two interact to produce a third, thereby forming a triad. Positive and negative interact to produce a third (neutral) aspect that stabilizes them, comparable to a man and woman producing a child.
The three parts of the Law of Synthesis can be defined as formative, active and stabilizing. Form, motion and balance. A process in itself can also be said to consist of a beginning, a middle and an end, in that sequence.
The Law of Synthesis governs the mechanism of the personality. The personality consists of three parts: vital, emotional and mental.
Thought is a process consisting of three parts: memory, conceptualization and the association of concepts. Through the natural development of the personality, the thought process is vested with more and more energy. Thought becomes chronic, compulsive and seemingly involuntary. Chronic thought generates our concept of "self," the self-reference and our identification with it.
Identification is our sense of being separate. It is a contraction of our subtle internal energy. Identification is the opposite of consciousness. In a state of identification we lose our sense of being present, our bodily awareness. The personality remains caught in identification and relatively unconscious.
Identification is the root of the human dilemma. Our dilemma is a process consisting of three parts: fear, desire and antagonism. Identification is the hallmark of chronic thought. Identification generates emotional reactions. We experience fear within our sense of being separate. Our fears give rise to desires. We desire to avoid separation and death. The very movement of desire, however, reinforces our identification, our sense of being separate, thereby maintaining our mortal condition and inevitably resulting in antagonism and sorrow. Sorrow eventually turns back into fear and perpetuates the process of our dilemma.
The perpetuation of this threefold process is governed by the next Law, Consequence.
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The fourth Law is the Law of Consequence. This Law is symbolized by a square.
The Law of Consequence states that the process established by the third Law repeats itself. According to the Law of Consequence, every effect is the result of a prior cause that itself is the result of a prior cause. The Law of Consequence is the chain of causality. It is the inexorable forward motion of Time. While the third Law provided a single link, the fourth Law establishes the chain.
The Law of Consequence provides the opportunity for lasting results. This reflects a developing characteristic of perpetual motion. The Law of Consequence is what makes things stick. If there were no consequences, nothing would get done. However, what gets done within the Law of Consequence is predetermined. Actions are utterly determined under the Law of Consequence.
The Law of Consequence governs mechanical development. It governs the development of the personality. The personality provides the scaffold for conscious development.
The Law of Consequence governs conditioning and the mechanical behavior of the personality. The Law of Consequence governs the repetition of the process established by the Law of Synthesis. The Law of Consequence governs the repetition of the cycle of the human dilemma of fear, desire and antagonism. The Law of Consequence can also be recognized in chronic thought as the repetition of thought.
Consequence means repetition, not reproduction. Repetition is a preliminary stage in the development of reproduction. Consequence is imperfect reproduction. It’s reaction rather than original action. There may be modification and variation but no radical alteration.
Inertia is a regressive aspect of the Law of Consequence. Inertia means that if an object is going along at a certain velocity in a straight line and has nothing acting on it, then it will continue along in a straight line and at the same velocity.
Without the Law of Consequence nothing much would be going on. However, under the Law of Consequence nothing happens in terms of conscious evolution. The Law of Consequence governs unconscious action, not conscious action. Only with the next Law, Sacrifice, does conscious evolution begin in earnest. Mechanical Laws are mastered by conscious Laws. We master the Law of Consequence with the next Law, the Law of Sacrifice.
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The fifth Law is the Law of Sacrifice. This Law is symbolized by a pentagram.
The Law of Sacrifice states that an aspect of energy can be increased through the process of decreasing another aspect of energy. To acquire one form of energy another form of energy must be relinquished. In other words, to gain something you must lose something, and only by losing something can you gain something. It’s the principle of displacement and redistribution. Progressively the Law of Sacrifice reflects the conservation of energy, and regressively it reflects entropy.
By applying the Law of Sacrifice we may increase attraction at the expense of repulsion. Attraction increases while repulsion decreases.
The Law of Sacrifice is a "push," whereas the next Law (the Law of Attraction) is a "pull." The Law of Sacrifice is what "pushes" energy from one aspect into another. The Law of Sacrifice utilizes the principle of repulsion to redistribute energy from one aspect into another.
Conscious energy is attractive energy. Conscious energy circulates in the circumference of one’s being. Unconscious energy is repulsive energy. Unconscious energy contracts within one’s being and dissipates. Attractive energy circulates and expands. Repulsive energy contracts and dissipates.
The Law of Sacrifice initiates the process of attention by divesting energy from contraction and reinvesting energy into circulation. We apply the Law of Sacrifice by intentionally getting a feel for being present. When we pay attention, we redistribute subtle internal energy. We apply the Law of Sacrifice. We utilize repulsion to increase attraction and thereby generate conscious energy.
The Law of Sacrifice deals with vital energy. Generally speaking, we apply the Law of Sacrifice with the energy between the genitals and the belly.
Consciousness is a living being and it possesses the ability to feed itself. The intentional act of paying attention is a form of internal modulation that feeds consciousness and grows consciousness.
With the Law of Sacrifice we begin to apply the principle of resonance. By "pushing" energy into the circumference of being, we are modulating frequencies (within the energy of which we consist) to match consciousness and thereby increasing the amplitude of consciousness according to resonance. It’s an imperfect application of resonance, a developmental stage.
Internal energy can be redistributed but only to a limited extent, enough to amplify bodily awareness but not enough to sustain it for a significant length of time. The Law of Sacrifice can give a hint of consciousness but the fulfillment of consciousness resides in the application of further Laws. The Law of Sacrifice provides the initial push that "kick starts" the process of attention. The Law of Sacrifice is what initially generates conscious energy. The next Law, Attraction, is necessary to further increase conscious energy.
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The sixth Law is the Law of Attraction. This Law is symbolized by a hexagram.
The Law of Attraction states that the tendency of attraction is to increase. This Law is symbolized by two triangles, indicating a double process, the doubling of production.
To apply the Law of Attraction is to intentionally increase your feeling of being. To intentionally deepen your capacity to feel results in the experience of an increasing feeling of love. Applying the Law of Attraction means feeling and releasing the contraction of negative emotions. It means intentionally substituting negative emotions with feeling. Feeling in itself is the capacity for empathy and for love.
We have the ability to intentionally feel love. Love is intentional. It’s a characteristic of consciousness. Feeling means love. The feeling of love is what expands conscious energy into an energetic body. The Law of Attraction governs the growth of the energetic body.
Generally speaking, we apply the Law of Attraction with the energy between the solar plexus and the upper chest.
According to the Law of Attraction, the more we feel the more we feel. This Law is also referred to as "the bootstrap Law." Applying the Law of Attraction is how we pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. The Law of Attraction is what "pulls" energy into an attractive aspect. The Law of Attraction utilizes the principle of attraction to increase what is attractive, conscious energy. Conscious energy is attractive. Consciousness thereby grows exponentially.
The Law of Attraction begins to operate in earnest when a majority of energy has shifted out of the center of one’s being and into the circumference. The energetic body grows as the majority of energy has expanded into the circumference of one’s being. The energetic body replaces the center of gravity with the circumference of being.
Regressively, the Law of Attraction reflects gravity. Progressively, the Law of Attraction reflects the attracting aspect of electromagnetism.
The two triangles in the hexagram that symbolizes the Law of Attraction point or move away from each other and symbolize an increase of amplitude. The Law of Attraction is the motion or oscillation that increases the amplitude of the energetic body.
Attraction builds the energetic body. Attraction inevitably becomes greater than repulsion. This leads us to the next Law, the Law of Uneven Division.
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The seventh Law is the Law of Uneven Division. This Law is symbolized by a downward pointing triangle within a square.
The Law of Uneven Division states that attraction becomes greater than repulsion. According to the Law of Uneven Division, energy is unevenly divided into a group of four and of three. Four positive, three negative. According to this division of "four above" and "three below," life is top-heavy. This reflects the fundamentally positive nature of life as energy. It further unfolds the trend toward the ultimate product of evolution, a positive energetic being.
Through Sacrifice and Attraction, the majority of one’s energy becomes attractive rather than repulsive. Sacrifice and Attraction create an imbalance in favor of attractive energy. The Law of Uneven Division keeps this imbalance from toppling.
The Law of Uneven Division is reflected in centrifugal force. Centrifugal force is an apparent force tending to pull a thing outward when it is rotating around a center. Centrifugal force is what keeps a spinning top upright.
The Law of Uneven Division cannot be applied successfully until a sufficient amount of conscious energy has been generated through the application of the previous two Laws (Sacrifice and Attraction).
Applying the Law of Uneven Division means releasing energy from thought and circulating energy throughout the energetic body. We apply the Law of Uneven Division by intentionally quelling thought. Until chronic thought is quelled we remain bound in identification and the process of the dilemma.
We apply the Law of Uneven Division when we engage in self-enquiry. Self-enquiry is an advanced stage of attention in which thought is released. Self-enquiry involves silently posing the question, "Who am I?" Self-enquiry is a means of holding the pose of the question and thereby consciously releasing thought.
The downward pointing triangle is commonly recognized as a "yield sign." To yield corresponds to quelling chronic thought, to holding the pose of the question.
We apply the Law of Uneven Division mainly with the energy between the throat and the top of the head, although this Law also applies to energy throughout the body. The knot of chronic thought is located in the center of the head.
The Law of Uneven Division is associated with the idea of rhythm. Rhythm means measured motion. The modulation or measured motion of the Law of Uneven Division begins to emulate the logic of creation. Emulating the logic of creation means reproducing the primary oscillation of energy itself. That’s what conscious energy does, circulating in the circumference of one’s being. Energy in every area of life is made to oscillate at the frequency of consciousness.
Applying the Law of Uneven Division means modulating the frequency of the energy of the mind to match bodily awareness (the energetic body). The next Law, Resonance, takes effect when every level of one’s being oscillates at the frequency of consciousness.
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The eighth Law is the Law of Resonance. This Law is symbolized by a figure eight.
The Law of Resonance states that attraction ultimately subsumes repulsion. Conscious energy is attractive, not repulsive. The world at large is also attractive. The conscious individual ultimately repels the world at large the same way that two "positive" poles of a magnet repel each other. Attraction subsumes the role of repulsion when the energetic body of the individual is identical to the world in its "polarity." The individual becomes a Microcosm within the Macrocosm.
The Law of Resonance governs how energy rises from lower to higher dimensions. Attention is the ability to modulate the various oscillations of subtle internal energy to match the frequency of bodily awareness. When multiple levels of energy oscillate at the same frequency, they resonate with each other, increasing the amplitude of that frequency and sustaining that frequency.
The act of attention establishes the frequency of consciousness in multiple levels of one’s being. The resonance established by sustained attention increases the amplitude of the frequency. By increasing the amplitude, energy rises from the lower levels to higher levels.
The application of the Laws of Sacrifice, Attraction and Uneven Division progressively develops the ability to pay attention. With the Law of Resonance, consciousness becomes self-sustaining.
By applying the Law of Resonance, the amplitude of consciousness rises to the dimension in which it constitutes a self-sustaining organization of energy.
Resonance is characterized by the formula, "As below, so above; as above, so below." The ordinary definition of resonance corresponds to the first part of that formula ("As below, so above"). Ordinary resonance is the effect produced when the amplitude of a body of energy increases by a periodic force at the same (or nearly the same) frequency. What I refer to as "spiritual resonance" corresponds to the second part of that formula ("as above, so below"). Spiritual resonance is the effect produced when the amplitude and oscillation of one body of energy is modulated and increased by the presence of another body of energy that oscillates with the frequency of consciousness at higher amplitude.
Spiritual resonance is one of the functions of a conscious teacher. It’s how a conscious teacher can temporarily elevate a student to a glimpse of higher consciousness. Teaching is both a science and an art whose aim is the reproduction of full consciousness. This brings us to the final Law, Regeneration.
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The ninth Law is the Law of Regeneration. This Law is symbolized by a clockwise swastika.
The Law of Regeneration states that the ultimate organization of energy is self-sustaining and reproductive. With the ninth Law, the two aspects of energy are perfected. Self-sustenance is the perfection of the principle of attraction, and reproduction is the perfection of the principle of repulsion.
The eighth and ninth Laws are the most conscious Laws. They govern the qualities and functioning of the soul. Organized energy becomes perfectly efficient and self-sustaining according to the eighth Law, Resonance. Organized energy is also perfectly efficient according to the ninth Law but includes a surplus as well, the basis for reproduction.
The Law of Regeneration governs creative genius. Regeneration means creativity. Reproduction is the creative act that replicates the very potential for creative action. The Microcosm possesses the potential to become a Macrocosm and thereby renew the evolutionary cycle.
The ninth Law is Love. Love is the feeling of full consciousness. Love is the highest amplitude of energy and occurs in the highest dimension, the ninth dimension. The ninth dimension subsumes all the lower dimensions. Love subsumes all the previous Laws. Love governs how consciousness relates to the lower dimensions. While Resonance rises, Love descends and rises. Love reciprocates.
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Finally, the product of the creative action of the ninth Law is "the Tenth," a "law unto itself," the achievement of the Great Work, a work of art, the epitome of Beauty, a new Unity. This is symbolized by a cross within a circle. It is "the squaring of the circle." It is the birth of a new evolutionary cycle. Cycles within cycles.
Copyrighted by Michael William Bennett
