As within, so without?

The desire to escape our mundane reality may be something many of us experience at some stage during life. Perhaps, for some, it's experienced quite often. When we think of escaping, we may try to transcend the human body. In this sense, we literally try to break free from the body, as if it might be some sort of prison for our soul, some lesser form not worthy of our divinity. This might include lofty notions of ascension, astral projection or meditations that attempt to move the soul out of the body in a bid to merge with 'the All' - Divinity, Great Spirit, God, Source, Oneness - however one wishes to define it. This notion has perhaps been further embedded in our minds over recent centuries, as orthodox religions teach that God is outside of us and our Universe, being the Creator of all and that heaven, paradise, the afterlife or whatever, is also out there, up there, somewhere, beyond the expanse of space itself.

What if it's not all out there though? What if, this whole time, it's been in here, the origin of everything, inside each one of us?

By travelling deeper within our being, we can discover the so-called divine spark. This is basically our direct connection to Source. It can be found at the solar plexus (centered between the bottom ribs), the heart centre or a point in between. During meditation it might appear as a bright, shining light or indeed a star; relax and be open to seeing it rather than trying to force a visualisation (slowing and deepening the breath helps here). Once found, consciously travel towards the spark of light and merge with it. Continue to move through the light, as if you're whole being is folding in on itself.

Once through the spark of light, one emerges into eternity, a sort of paradox for everything is essentially inside of us or on the other side. But what does that make everything outside of us? What of the vastness of space and the entire Universe? Where is heaven and God, if not out there? We return to the adage as within, so without; everything we perceive around us - including the entire Universe out there, actually comes from within each of us, individually and collectively. It might be easier to think of the outside world as a giant mirror, the Universe like a huge screen waiting for light to be projected onto it so that we can see a movie playing. But what or who is the projector? Is it us or Source or are we one in the same, projecting everything from within, from the place of origin, through our light?

When we move through the divine spark and emerge, the other side is basically the place of origin and all possibilities; it's Source or Divinity or God. Everything outside of us is what's being projected from this place, in order to be observed and experienced. Perhaps the Universe appears to be expanding because we're pushing it out there, as our collective consciousness expands. In other words, our curiosity, our desire to know and understand more, is effectively pushing the boundaries of the Universe further. Essentially,  Divinity/Source/God is the origin of this curiosity, this drive for expansion and expression, as it seeks to understand existence and Itself (through us and all other sentient beings). And that might be never-ending for when will Its curiosity ever be satisfied? 

Some scientists purport that the Universe began as a single point and a 'big bang' explosion caused everything to start expanding out into space. What caused this big bang event? Could it have been the origin of Source starting Its journey of exploration? Interestingly, the Universe is continuing to expand, it's not slowing down but speeding up. Is that because the initial explosion is still in effect? Will it eventually loose steam, slow down and stop? Some believe that this could eventually happen and then the Universe will began retracting, collapsing back in on itself in reverse gear until everything out there comes back to that one single point - the point of origin, the first divine spark? Perhaps when Source/God/Divinity has finally discovered everything there is to discover, it will return to Oneness, to the place of origin, which may just be another dimension. But can there ever be such a time? As more of us are born, more conscious minds appearing on this plane of existence, the Universe continues to expand faster; additional minds lead to more curiosity and more drive to discover. 

Everything we see and experience with our body is basically energy, vibrating at different frequencies, taking on different forms, reflecting light (the light from within) in a myriad of ways. What's more, the energy out there is malleable, it's always changing, taking on new forms, being perceived differently, evolving. There's so much dark matter out there, strange material that we cannot see (hence dark), but it does exist, it is there. Perhaps this dark matter is the stuff that is used to create things, to take form? Like play-do, it's waiting for us to mold into shape through our desire to know and experience.  

We only need to look at the world around us to see that not everything is well. We don't always create joy. Source is perhaps indifferent, not like a individual conscience, a deity with morals that knows 'right' from 'wrong' and judges accordingly. Source allows for anything, as part of the quest to experience existence. This means fear as well as love can also be the driving force. Much of the pain and suffering and conflict we see around us is a result of fear. But is this not also a part of the grand experiment, the cosmic game? Is it not also a valid way of exploring and understanding self? We don't like to experience fear and its consequences, just as we dislike pain and suffering, but it cannot be denied that these experiences make us stronger and help us learn faster. So be kind with your pain, strive to understand your suffering and embrace your conflicts as a means to understanding self.

During meditation, we can connect with our divine spark, travel through to the place of origin and begin to choose what we wish to project out there. After all, it's largely a blank slate waiting to take form, dark matter waiting for our light to shine upon it so that it may grow and take shape. Of course it won't be instant, but the more an idea is projected from Source and the stronger the desire, the sooner it will begin to materialise. Furthermore, if many minds share the same idea and simultaneously project it, taking collective action in this plane, the manifestation can occur quicker. 

Another benefit of connecting to our divine spark is helping to manage pain and suffering, to heal. This is an issue that speaks to all of us. When our body hurts, we might want to escape it. We might feel it has turned on us, is attacking us or failing us. When we've had enough, we can get angry at the body, we might want to get out, to abandon it. Does this perhaps originate from the idea that peace and relief can be found out there, by our soul leaving our body? It would make sense. Except when we take the notion that our own 'heaven' can be found within then attempting to escape the body is pointless. All we do is reject it and thereby cause more suffering. Through meditating on our divine spark, we connect to the light within, to Source and the place of origin. We can then learn to find peace within our body even when it's suffering and we can begin to self-heal by bringing what we need through the divine spark. In this way, we're staying with our physical body, not trying to abandon it; we're bringing what it needs through our own light. We can imagine this light expanding out from the divine spark to fill the body, to be directed to the places of pain and allow relief and healing to commence. Because the light comes Source, the place where everything originates, allowing us, in a state of meditation, to focus on bringing through healing. It may not be instant but with practice and repetition, relief can be obtained. 

When we shine our light, the light from our divine spark, from the place of origin within, we illuminate the darkness out there, the dark matter of space. And it begins to take form. So what desires and ideas will you bring through from Source? What will you choose to project out there to help create through your actions, willpower and love? 

Discussions welcome.