We will take one more side path concerning the nature of our reality before we delve deeper into our consciousness. Here is another segment of my journal about my Samothraki mystical experience to shed some light on the dark: "All people are creating their own realities and timelines, and it's designed in such a way that there's both Dark and Light. Because they need each other to progress and grow, to continue spiraling out. But behind the physical facade, it's all the same thing. And there's only one thing that can happen in the grand scheme of things because of it: further progression, unfoldment of the cosmos. All of this co-created reality, in my current physical experience, is just one of the infinite ones, so none of it matters!" Let’s dissect this piece by piece. ### Creating Our Own Realities and Timelines Everybody has a choice in how they deal with the things happening to them. We often don't think we have a choice because we are taught to respond the same way our parents or immediate environment do. But once you become consciously aware that there are different ways to react to things, you start to get control over your own experience, your own reality. By the choices you make and the actions you take as a result, you influence the events you experience. A timeline is simply the sequence of events that follow each other, with one event being the consequence of another. You can gain control over it by becoming consciously aware of the choices you make. We have free will to make choices, take action, and influence the events that happen to us. ### Why Evil Is Essential for Progress We need the bad experiences in our lives to learn from and grow through. This is not something we can always see at the moment when it is happening to us, but often, when a certain amount of time has passed, we can make sense of it in hindsight. It becomes clear how that bad thing contributed to something good. When we zoom out, a similar thing is happening on a co-created collective scale. They're all just repeating patterns on different levels. Just as bad things help us grow on a personal level, the evil we see in the world propels us forward as humanity. Without it, we would stagnate as a civilization. ### Remaining in the Eye of the Storm When we zoom in through the onion model, we see how things are fragmented fractal expressions of the same source. Both good and, seemingly, evil people are just fractal expressions of the same thing. From this perspective, we can start to overcome black-and-white thinking and become what the Buddhists call non-dual. The dark and the light are simply two sides of the same coin. They will always be in balance. So whenever a very bad thing happens, an equal and proportionate good thing happens in response. Some bad things just take more time to build up, and consequently, take more time to see the good result. The periodicity is simply larger. Becoming aware of this perspective and reminding yourself frequently will make it possible to remain in the eye of the storm, just being a conscious observer, admiring the infinite intelligence and beauty behind it. That's what it means to be enlightened! But don’t take my word for it. Take it from Master Tsjeng. ### Master Tsjeng on the Secret of the Original Spirit In the rare short booklet *Master Tsjeng on the Secret of the Original Spirit*, the Zen master is invited to speak to Buddhist monks in a monastery. 2500 years ago, Gautama Buddha had his awakening underneath the Bodhi tree and formulated his "Four Noble Truths." He gave insight into The Way (The Tao) that led to the liberation from the "small spirit" and could show you the "original spirit," which you could replace with "fractal expression" and "Source," respectively, in the words we’ve used so far. In his unique way, Master Tsjeng describes that the original spirit is always here. It expresses itself through everything. You don’t have to look for it through complicated practices, worshiping gurus, or excluding yourself from society. ### First See, Then Believe Often, humans need to see things before we believe them. This is why people pursue enlightenment—a momentary state of experiencing the core of the proverbial onion, which goes by many different names in many different philosophies and religions: - Nirvana in Buddhism - Samadhi in Hinduism - Da'at in Judaism - Tawhid in Islam - Union with God in Christianity This state of being is simply not possible to put into words, which is why people need to experience it to truly understand. Through doing so, you will have a magnificent realization of how everything is connected. It will make you appreciate and love life more. But you will come out of this state eventually and return to the physical layer. You’ll realize exactly what Master Tsjeng mentioned above through the experience. This is the beautiful, paradoxical nature of the entire phenomenon. Only once you’ve experienced it will you realize that it was always there to begin with. That’s why it’s important to remember that reaching these divinely blissful states is not the end-all, be-all. We need to integrate the wisdom these experiences give us and live life accordingly. The more we succeed in doing so, the more easily these states will become accessible to us because we’re aligning ourselves with Source and how it wants to express itself through us. This gets us closer to it. But it’s not necessary to have an experience of enlightenment to start aligning ourselves. No, we can start to make ourselves whole again, and the mystical experiences will come as a result. You just need to believe that it’s all inside yourself to do so. ### The Three Layers of Our Unconscious Mind Psychosynthesis is a theory developed by the Italian Roberto Assagioli. Assagioli was a psychologist who lived around the same time as Carl Jung but was not as famous, and most of his work was tragically lost in fires, preventing it from reaching the same depth as Jung's work. Within his work, he developed a very useful framework for the three layers of our unconscious mind. This offers an excellent frame to map these concepts of "evil" and "enlightenment" so that we can better understand how to work with this polarity. Let’s cover these three layers through Assagioli's model. ![[Three Layers of Unconsciousness.png]] #### The Middle Unconscious This is the area of the unconscious that has the opportunity to become conscious through expanding our field of perception. Through journaling or other forms of self-examination, we make revelations about why certain things about ourselves are the way they are. Through such exercises, we gradually expand our sense of self, our field of consciousness, and will, until it starts to flirt with the boundaries of the higher and lower unconscious. #### The Lower Unconscious These are typically any experiences, insights, behaviors, traits, or other imaginings that would threaten our essence. The wounds of non-being, issues of annihilation of identity or reputation, or literal destruction of life. Also, repressed emotions through intense conscious or unconscious trauma. The things we experience and label as "evil." This is the area we explore when we do shadow work. #### The Higher Unconscious On the flip side, we have the higher unconscious, which is about demystifying the everyday with a new sense of understanding. Seeing more beauty in what already was. Revitalizing the middle unconscious territory with a sense of otherworldliness, or "divine inspiration." A new buzz that is difficult to put into words and labeled as an experience of "enlightenment." We could also define this as our golden shadow territory. Let's continue exploring how to dig into these deeper levels of our unconsciousness and expand our personal field of consciousness.