“Why can’t the ego just evolve or wake itself up to the greater realities? Why can’t it just start realizing all this interconnectedness and wholeness?”

In a way, ego does wake up as enlightenment arrives. But the whole derivation and function of ego was to be separate, to defend its position of separation, and to survive there. Once ego realizes its nature, nature overtakes it, and dissolves this function that is no longer fit to survive. An awakened ego must dissolve, and eventually die! It must go the way of the saber-toothed tiger or the stegosaurus.

As I’ve said, natural appreciation draws itself from the Source, infinite and empty, into the form life that is finite and full. Appreciation is essential awareness—before there is any thing to be aware of. This appears an impossible abstraction from the mind’s perspective; hence the separation at ego level. The human mind cannot encompass or comprehend the depth into which consciousness must plunge in order to truly appreciate. The mind rushes up to the threshold of this depth and peers through the ‘glass darkly’, but it can go no further.

The reality of true appreciation is not abstract at all; it is the essence of practicality. It is the natural mechanism for appraisal of any situation, internal or external. It enables the relations of all things among themselves. This is possible because all those things and selves are really just one Self. Appreciation is embedded in the very fibers of manifested consciousness on all planes, binding them as one.

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“I want to go back to something that’s been bothering me. If vestigial egos still exist in your species, what’s to say they won’t make a resurgence someday. They might sneak back and overpower you in your sleep or something. Or how do you know that Conscious Evolution won’t just decide that it’s not quite finished with the great ego experiment? What guards you against that?”

I will answer your question in a way that may sound strange. I am coming to feel that you, and the connection we have established, are bringing a new awareness to my species. Reaching back to humanity is a kind of rear guard, if you will. While vigilans feel no need for defensiveness, we do need to understand the parameters of incarnation. Ever since the Great Storm and Transmutation, we have generally not looked back; nor have we looked into the future. Suddenly we have the opportunity to engage intimately with the past. What this means is that Conscious Evolution is up to something —something more than mere experimentation.

“Wait. Didn’t you tell me, right at the start, that you were not interested in learning anything from us?”

That’s not exactly what I said. But in any case, am I not allowed to change my mind?

“I guess so. Hmm. I keep thinking you’re omniscient.”

I’ve never meant to imply that. I am clearly not so. We are in fact now learning from you in ways none of us anticipated. This is a delight for me and my partners.

Another factor that gives us assurance is our access to Source itself. With that we can sense the trends in evolution, and we would know if a major new direction were emerging. This is the most important role of the Source-gazers. They continuously monitor developments at that level. We have intimate confidence in the compassion of Source to provide just what is needed.

“Say, I have to interrupt here for a moment. You described Conscious Evolution as God once. Is that the same as Source? Isn’t Source really God? Or are there two Gods?”

The truth be told, there are infinite Gods, infinite capacity for the expansion of spirit. There are infinite levels of being. If there is a God above you, as your species conceived, then that God must also have a greater God, wiser and more expansive than it is. We all in turn are gods to the cells in our bodies. The cells are gods to the atoms and molecules within them. This is the basic law of duality—as above, so below. The 82^nd Psalm declares, “Ye are gods…children of the most High.” Every living being is a god, in this light. And every god has a God.

“All right. But what I’m asking about is the distinction between Source and Conscious Evolution.”

Of course. Source is the opening into the dimensionless space of oneness. Conscious Evolution is what comes back through that opening into the manifested worlds. Source is the primal energy and formlessness of spirit. Conscious Evolution is the form and flow of spirit. As the Source of oneness approaches and crosses the threshold into duality, it too becomes two, as all forms do, possessing an inner dimension and an outer, a beginning and an end. Hence, for our world, God is both absolute and manifested, Source and Conscious Evolution.

“Thanks. That helps.

If you have been following the latest debacle in the Senate you know that Senator Jim Bunning, former Hall  of Fame pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies, and the oldest Republican member, has been objecting (or filibustering) to bills that have had a unanimous vote to pass by the rest of the Senate body, including his Republican brothers and sisters. According to the Associated Press, the move had forced some 2,000 federal employees into unpaid furloughs, put jobless benefits in jeopardy for millions and halted more than 40 highway projects. Now I know that this may be an isolated case of a Senator who has lost some of his marbles but, as it turns out, he is not seeking election in November for another term, so what the heck he’ll just vote his conscience.

Ah, there’s the rub. His conscience. It’s amazing how many egos on this planet have consciences of unwavering stupidity.  Many people are afraid of entitlements because they will have to pay for it with their hard earned, sweat laden tax dollars – and why can’t the bums just get off their butts and find a job, or pay for health insurance or find a place to live. It’s a ‘not in my back yard’ mentality. Should these well off folks find themselves one day to have lost it all, and part of the society of the needy, they will be the loudest ones begging for help.

Do we have any inkling of the pain that people may suffer at the hands of others selfish motivations? Can we honestly stand by while they go hungry or homeless? There is something wrong in the human psyche with this equation and we must try to understand where it comes from and work on changing it.

There is a commercial on TV where a good samaritan helps a woman with her baby stroller on a rainy street corner. Then she gets the notion to help someone and does so and on and on it goes, passing it forward. Well let’s stop and think about our place among all others on this planet. Let’s offer gestures that might help someone else, no matter how small. Once we start this thread of oneness with our fellow travelers we might just change the consciousness of the world. As difficult as it may be for us humans to change this one quality let’s give it a try.  It’s just another step toward enlightenment and we seem to be getting closer every day.

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And now let’s explore Appreciation.

“You used the words ‘exploring appreciation’? What do you mean by that? Is it just an expression? What could there be to explore?”

Appreciation is a vast, living, spacious presence. It is certainly not just a quality of the mind or emotion. When we feel it, we identify with it; we enter its being. We superimpose our beings onto its being. But this is only the beginning. There is much more; in fact there are infinite degrees of appreciation. There is no end to how deeply we can follow it within. Most vigilans do not go to extraordinary lengths, however. We leave this task to the Source-gazers.

Let me also discuss for a moment, the role of the mind in appreciation. The mind can participate in it quite usefully, leading us to the edge of the threshold. But it cannot ever cross over; nor can it govern the process. The mind will never understand what appreciation truly is. Mind is more like a conduit and recorder of the findings, just as the brain, nervous system and the five senses are. These are not anything more than mechanical devices, instruments. It is the soul that drives the process. Thus, appreciation is a meditation on core essence. Its empowerment comes directly from Source itself.

I use the word ‘explore’ because it connotes discovery and engagement. The Latin origin of the word is ex plus plorare. It means ‘to cry out’. Eureka! It can, therefore, be a delightful, impassioned experience. Here are just a few of the levels of appreciation we continue to explore: gratitude, wonder, awe, insight, inspiration, compassion, reverence, adoration, bliss, and surrender. There are many others I could list, some with words that do no yet exist in your vocabulary. Nothing is more exciting to us than to discover new depths and features of appreciative realization. It is an ongoing process of discovery.

“If it’s so exciting, why do you leave it just to the star-gazers?”

[Chuckle.] To go so deeply requires training, talent and dedicated time. Our entire species has the appreciative faculty, for sure, but not all can be Source-gazers. Also, these priest-scientists use collective energy to empower their focus. The work demands that a much larger group be available to channel their forces through the specialized explorers. They reciprocate by bringing their findings back for all to enjoy and ponder.

“Where does it lead?”

Only to the very frontiers of our being! It generates new and wonderful experiences of joy, knowledge and participation with the Cosmos. The Source-gazers report back continuously. We are also internally aware of their progress. This results in endless dialogues and congresses and participatory revelations for everyone. It is truly one of our major pastimes. Many of our favorite scenari have been created around this.

“Please give me an example of something they’ve found recently.”

Here is one example: We have recently found that there is a dimensional quality, like an aura or corona, around the dimensionless space of the Source that both radiates out and sucks energy in. You recently encountered it as the threshold to the Void. This corona provides nourishment to our planes of existence. It also works in the opposite direction, subtracting waning and obsolete forms that need to be recycled. The used-up psychic projections and patterns of creation, such as the ego, are sucked back in and dissolved into the Void.

We have come to realize that our awareness and existence spring forth out of this vital, breathing threshold. We just never knew how perpetually interactive it is. Monitoring all the dynamics at this level is now fundamental to the management of our civilization. The coronal threshold is the essential edge of change and creation within the entire Cosmos, as well as within our daily lives.

“I must confess that I’m finding this fascinating. I’ve never heard of such a thing before, much less contemplated it. Yet it seems quite natural for me to accept. This is starting to feel like an aptitude for me, as you pointed out. I don’t know where it will lead, but I’ll stay open.”

Understood. Let that intuition germinate in you. Always be ready to explore such notions when the time is right. Let the instinctual impulse draw you out. If you maintain readiness, without impatience, you will know the right time, and the right action for that time…

Copyright © 2010 by Robert Lee Potter