Life-Force, Power, and Perception

Exploring the Dynamics of Life-Force and Consciousness.

Introduction

This is the first installment of an ongoing series of articles, each offering concise yet uncommon insights for dedicated spiritual seekers. Recognizing that few have the time and heart-space to absorb extensive teachings in written form, these articles are designed as bite-sized reflections to inspire your inner journey.

Within these articles, you will find complex concepts, often appearing deceptively simple, nestled within a sentence or two. For brevity, I may refrain from elaborating on every idea, trusting that your heart and spirit will provide elucidation. If immediate understanding eludes you, know that life often reveals its secrets in cycles, and some topics may be further clarified in subsequent articles.

The words that follow are intended to arouse and inspire certain forces within you—forces that are often forgotten in our modern upbringing. They pertain to the emergence of consciousness and a felt sense of your true nature as Spirit. It is about reconnecting with the imaginative realm that our modern education has largely neglected within the ecosystem of the human soul.

With rare exceptions, all of us have, since conception, been subjected to a kind of spiritus-cidium—the equivalent of genocide for the spirit. We have lost touch with our original state of being, and our self-awareness and functioning resemble that of an over-sized child. We each have a responsibility to recover from this onslaught and the deep forgetting it induced. In modern societies, many "adults" are barely mature, having forgotten something as significant as their original state of being.

In traditional indigenous societies, reaching adulthood was not solely determined by the passage of time. While the biological body matures naturally, the development and maturity of the soul require input from the spirit, from Consciousness. This input was once carefully woven into the fabric of society through initiation rituals that guided individuals toward self-realization. In our modern world, we must actively seek out such genuine initiation, as it is not something our society readily offers.

I encourage you to relax into the following words and allow them to shed light on mysteries that may evoke a sense of recognition. You may find yourself thinking, "I've always known these things, but never truly reflected upon them." These are the whisperings of the now vague figures, spirits, and archetypal images living within the metaphysical backdrop of our collective and individual existence.

The Tracker/Investigator

In previous writings, I've explored the archetype of the tracker or hunter. In modern terms, we can think of this as the investigator—a role model for our spiritual journey. The Path of Freedom demands that we approach life as investigators, much like Sherlock Holmes, but with ourselves as both the investigator and the subject of investigation. The natural world reflects that creatures are either hunters or hunted, and often both. On our path, we cannot afford to be the hunted for long. We must ensure we are actively tracking and investigating, for what we seek is intimately connected to our power.

Power

Power is a product of perception, an attribute of consciousness. Perception depends on the availability of life force and gives rise to both personal and impersonal awareness. Our reciprocal use of life-force nourishes the living system we are part of. From the perspective of the tracker, this dynamic of power is observable by anyone with keen attention to the ceaseless interplay of forces within and around them.

We constantly derive power from our use of life-force in the act of perception. When we fail to utilize this power intentionally and life-affirmingly, we risk becoming a source of power for others, both physically and spiritually. Remember, you are first and foremost a living spirit. When we consistently fail to manage power in a life-affirming way, we become susceptible to predators. Are we staying ahead of them, or are we being captured and captivated?

The Oasis

Consider this illustrative metaphor: If you place an open vessel of water in a desert, life-forms will eventually gather around it. If you continuously pour water, a lake will form, and a flow will begin, detectable by creatures dependent on water. The tracker recognizes that Man is a vessel into which life-force flows. Where does it go? Into what is it invested?

Life-Force

We have a responsibility to remain impeccable in our use of power, which is synonymous with our use of life-force. At the most fundamental level, life-force is the currency of life on Earth, constantly flowing and underpinning the emergence, balance, and maintenance of both the seen and unseen aspects of Life. For reasons beyond the scope of this article, Man stands out due to our unique ability to consciously harness and direct extraordinary amounts of life-force. According to my spiritual ancestors and my beloved mentor, the Spirit of Man is even more powerful and impactful than the sun.

As a seeker embarks on their path, they realize that in every moment, they are the recipient of precious life-force, which holds the potential for extraordinary power. Power can be used in ways aligned with or misaligned with Life. In China, to some, Life is known as the Dao (or Tao). In the ancient Hindu, Tantric, and yogic traditions, She is represented by a pantheon of Goddesses, and ultimately the Divine Mother, one name of which is Aditi. In Buddhism, She is also known as Prajanaparamita, primordial wisdom. Globally, a great many cultures (especially the indigenous) refer to Life as the Mother, Great Mother, or Mother Earth. Some traditions call this power God.

It should be apparent That which I am calling “Life” is more than the typical reference to existence, or a condition, a biography, the opposite of death, or the period between birth and death. Life encompasses all these, and much more. She is intelligent, organising, loving, and the supreme source of all. Life is exceptionally intelligent; her most primordial nature is pure wisdom, pure and total consciousness.

Similarly, the concept of life-force is universally recognized, with names like chi, prana, ether, mana, prakriti, and many others. What's crucial is the realization that we are the recipients of life-force, and when focused within consciousness through perception, life-force equates to Power. In its simplest terms, Power is the means to effect change, either in ways that are life-affirming or life-degrading.

I'll leave you with that thought as we continue our exploration in Part II. Remember, the words shared here are meant to inspire and arouse certain forces within you, forces that are often forgotten but essential to your spiritual journey.