Birth: Unity Consciousness

We begin with the story of our own creation. At conception, we begin the journey of being drawn into form, and thereby separated from our original Source which is ever un-manifest. Birth is the delivery out of undifferentiated unity. We call this differentiated form our“ physical body”. It is meant to be the“ house” or“ temple” for that part of us that carries the memory, in fact is still connected to Unity. We call this aspect of our being“ Spirit” or Higher Self. Beyond that, there remains the Divine Source from which all things come. The Higher Self is an eternal, ever-present part of us, which contains our purpose, a kind of spiritual DNA, or blueprint of full potential. Our physical body or lower self, is that in us which is wired for survival on the material plane. It is specially designed to“ house” our higher Self and carry out its mission. Our emotional and mental faculties are also part of the design of the lower self.

Like the young innocent who esotericists call“ The Fool”(as a way of denoting“ beginners’ mind”) we step off the cliff into the great unknown, blissfully oblivious to our fate. Stepping into the world of form, vulnerable and trusting, we are eager to venture forth. Because we yet have no sense of being separate from Source, we naturally assume everything we see is part of us and an extension of that Original Oneness. We continue, for a brief interlude as infants, to maintain this state of unity consciousness as our only experience or point of reference.

Within every one of us, as infants, lies contained the potential pattern, or seed, of ego. Whereas Unity Consciousness eternally IS, ego, or self-consciousness has to be shaped into being. It starts out as mere possibility. It simply lies in wait for the forces of the world to birth it.

Somewhere around the seventh or eighth month of our toddler-life, what we come to know as the“ I” begins to emerge. As the ego begins to develop, separation from its surroundings dawns. Suddenly the tiny budding ego realizes;“ I am not my mother . . . my father . . . this bottle. . this blanket”. This stage of development marks the beginning of duality. From that point forward throughout our lives we tend to see the world in polarities . . . we/they, mine/yours, good/bad, right/wrong . . . on and on ad-infinitum.

This can, and most usually is a time of joyful discovery, for everything is a new experience waiting to be relished. As impressionable youngsters, we explore the world around us, all the while becoming more identified with it. However, as we engage more on the worldly level, we simultaneously lose our memory of connection. Our sense of unity with Source fades. We have begun the process of making this illusion called“ reality” our own.

Next Page: Second Stage: Alienation

*This is a condensed introduction to the stages of our life journey contained in“The Seven Stages of Our Spiritual Journey Home” written by Lynne Forrest. Be on the lookout for the book in completion sometime over the next year.