Ether

Because the ultimate or supreme reality dwells in the unconscious self, it is the ultimate or supreme reality which directs the individual in conscious life without the full awareness of the individual, unless the conscious has been integrated with the unconscious through knowledge and “individuation.” As Carl Jung wrote: “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” 

Given that consciousness is synonymous with reality, the various levels of consciousness are intertwined with the various manifestations of reality. These various manifestations of reality are then comprised of symbols which also contain symbols within themselves. For instance, the earth represents the “gross manifestation” of reality, whereas the atmosphere represents the “subtle manifestation” of reality. In turn, the sky represents the “formless manifestation” of reality, and the universe represents the “unconditioned manifestation” of reality. 

All these levels of reality or different manifestations of reality are then contained in the unconscious individual self, given that the Atma – or supreme reality – is synonymous with the higher level of the self and in turn constitutes the higher level of the self. It follows that within Atma lies the basic essence or “substance” which constitutes the supreme reality. As Rumi said: “Although you appear in earthly form, Your essence is pure Consciousness. You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light. So come, return to the root of the root of your own soul.” 

It has been argued that: “Spirit is the essence of consciousness, the energy of the universe that creates all things. Each one of us is part of that spirit – a divine entity. So the spirit is the higher self, the eternal being that lives within us.” And as Deepak Chopra said: “Spiritual energy – the energy that comes from pure consciousness – is the creative energy of the universe.” 

Thus, there is a great deal of creativity which emanates from a ‘pure consciousness’ or Atma that results from individuation. This creativity is both manifest in the operations and workings of the universe and is a potentiality carried within the various human faculties that is then brought into actuality through individuation. ‘Pure consciousness’ and the creativity which emanates from pure consciousness is what is carried over into the ether after one’s physical death. Creativity is said to be spurred in large part by “openness to experience” and “increased spontaneity and expressiveness” in order to manifest what is contained within our deeper self.

And as Abraham Maslow wrote: “My feeling is that the concept of creativeness and the concept of the healthy, self-actualizing, fully human person seem to be coming closer and closer together, and may perhaps turn out to be the same thing.” And while most people seek to “staticize the world” and to “freeze it and to make it stable” based on their subjective notions of reality and their limited worldview, creative and self-actualized people actually embrace the fact and the reality that everything is changing in the world and in our universe. Creativity and thus self-actualization result from “a loss of self or of ego, or sometimes as a transcendence of self.” 

And as mentioned before, only about one percent of the world’s population attain this level of consciousness and in turn are able to manifest a kind of creativity which the overwhelming majority of people would deem “superhuman” or “supernatural” when in reality, all of it is humanly possible if one were to access the right methods and techniques and if one were to have the right attitude and the right mentality.