A Silver Path

Animism tells us that all things have a ’spirit’ or a ’soul’. This is because all things exist on more than one level. But what of Consciousness, Free Will and Action?

They say every one is psychic, and this is true: we all have a psychic body working to mediate between our physical selves and our spiritual selves. It is merely the degree to which you acknowledge and utilise this which determines the level of apparent ‘psychic ability’ possessed. They also say that Free Will is a delusion. This is also true….and it isnt.

Ok so how does this work? Let’s start with a little more information on the nature of the Holy Trinity of existance. As we’ve already discussed in part one, we’re dealing with three bodies, or levels of existance, here: the Spiritual body, the Psychic body and the Corporeal (physical) body.

The spiritual body resides outside of Time, which is a byproduct of Creation (the physical plane), and experiences individual consciousness on the physical plane via the psychic body’s link to the physical body. This does not mean that the Spiritual Self – nor even the Psychic Self, for that matter – plays such a passive role as mere ‘voyeur’, without influence or intent. In fact, quite the opposite would appear to be true; for here, within the Spiritual Self, is from where true ‘Free Will’ is exercised.

From the perspective of the Physical Self, this idea can be confronting. Droves of Christian Creationists and Pagans alike got their knickers in a knot when, in recent years, science showed that ‘Free Will’ – at least as most understand it – is a delusion. The idea that switches were being thrown in our brains, decisions being made, before we were even consciously aware that there was a decision to be made was just too appalling.

There are two points which, taken into consideration, may soothe any sore nerves a little. The first of these is the fact that, as discussed in part one of this article, these bodies of existance are expressions of a single being, operating on several levels. The urge to view our physical bodies as a vessel for our psyche and our spirit – in control and self-important – is a result of being present (and oh-so-conscious of that presence) in the physical plane. In short, we are self-aware, therefore, we are self-absorbed. (remembering that even the spiritual body experiences individual consciousnesss only through the physical plane via the psychic body’s link.) The second point is that the physical body (like it’s other-worldly counterparts) is not entirely passive in the outcome of any given decision either, as decisions made by the Spiritual Self, sent via the Psychic Self to the Corporeal Self to take a particular course of action may still be modified at the point when conscious awareness of said decision kicks in.

The Psychic Self, unique among the Bodies in it’s ability to move freely between the Spiritual and Corporeal planes (always returning, though, to the psychic plane – that space between spaces), acts as both axis and mediator to the Spiritual and Physical bodies. The Psychic plane is a landscape shaped by deeds, by dreams, by pooling consciousness and by all that is reflected therein. The spiritual body is a kind of spinal cord – ferrying information from the Will (the Spirit) to the Limbs (the physical body) and back again.

We often refer to our Spirit (our spiritual body) as our ‘Higher Self’. Some take this to imply some kind of moral superiority, but morality is of course subjective at best. My own sense of the Spirit as the ‘Higher Self ‘ is that the perspective of the Spiritual Self is like that of a bird or other third party, seeing not only the immediate situation but also the influences surrounding and approaching the situation. Thus the Spirit is able to make decisions and to set into motion the neccessary course of action accordingly. The details are relayed via the psychic self to the physical self. This is the throwing of switches within the brain of which the scientists speak.

Any who would much prefer to wipe their hands of all responsibility for their actions, saying – “I didnt mean it – my brain made me do it” beware. To deny your Will is to deny the macrocosm of your Greater Being: That which is more than the sum of it’s parts (the spiritual, psychic and corporeal bodies), more than the sum of your past – you deny your eternity, your divinity.