Human Consciousness

Vehicles of Expression

The Spiritual Self requires vehicles or 'bodies' in order to express itself as thought, feeling and action within the limitations of a personality tied to the physical world. The most subtle of these vibrates with the speed of thought and the densest with the inertia of 'solid' physical matter.

 In fact the human being can be seen as consisting of at least seven vibratory systems. Throughout these theosophy pages it has been suggested that the energy systems of the human being, which vibrate at frequencies higher than those of the physical body, continue to survive after its death and disintegration.

The Physical Body

Since physical matter is the densest and furthest from the Divine Source, it is not surprising that our physical bodies are the heaviest and least respon­sive instruments of awareness and action. Yet they are capable of dealing with a stable exterior world in an exact and precise manner.

However, the physical body is not as stable as it seems. All its billions of cells are replaced every seven years. The replenishment of these cells and the whole repair and maintenance of the physical body is the result of the operation of the energy field at the next highest level of vibration - the etheric.

The Vehicle of Vitality

It is the vehicle which, by energizing the senses, gives awareness in the physical body. It is sometimes called the etheric or bioplasmic body and its energies are the 'chi' of the acupuncturist and the 'prana' of the Hindu. It is most important to our health because it energizes the whole nervous system, the meridians and energy points used in acupuncture, the endocrine (ductless) glands which control body functions, and the seven main centers or chakras (wheels) which link with the superphysi-cal. The thyroid is a typical example being both a ductless gland and a chakra.

This etheric counterpart also provides an archetypal growth pattern for the whole body.

When a group of cells departs from this life-giving pattern, cancer results, and when the vital body is withdrawn from the physical at death, decomposition inevitably sets in.

Force lines of the psycho-magnetic field surrounding the human head. According to Babbit these curves of force can be thrown around people at a great distance in order to influence, attract or heal them. (Babbitt, 'Principles of Light and Color'.)

The Etheric Brain

You can see from this diagram how the brain provides a link between physical and superphysical consciousness. The etheric energies in the brain which provide this link are electro-magnetic in nature and although very weak can be measured in hospitals by means of an instrument known as the E.E.G. (electroencephalograph).

The complex of neurones, synapses and nerve ganglia in the brain works like a computer but the programmer, mind or consciousness is not there.

Memory, which is accepted as a function of consciousness, was investigated by a remarkable brain surgeon, Wilber Penfield of the Montreal Neurological Institute. Performing open brain surgery on con­scious patients (pain is not felt in the brain) he used mild electric stimula­tion to produce in the patients a reaction or memory response to find the exact area of the brain to be operated on. He and other neurologists found that large sections of nearly any part of the brain can be destroyed without disturbance of the memory function.

In spite of a lot of trying they were unable to locate a center of consciousness.

Some investigators are now convinced that consciousness has no location in the physical - which indicates (as Theosophists have always suggested) that it functions in superphysical energy fields which, howev­er, have the power to affect the physical through the etheric link.

When Memory Fails

Our thought and feeling activity in these superphysical worlds is far more extensive than in waking consciousness because the brain trans­mits selected information only. We can see this happen in the case of memory which, except in the short term, is stored in the superphysical. You cannot remember a well-known telephone number but later recall it clearly. It was in your mental vehicle all the time but in the brain the lines got crossed and the information did not come through.

The Personality of Thought-Feeling

The above diagram shows how the personality, enclosed by the diamond, lies between the physical and spiritual worlds. We have just seen how, at the lower level, the etheric brain links the personality with the physical body. Earlier, we saw how the upper level, the 'bridge of mind’ links it with the spiritual levels of consciousness. The thought-feeling vehicles of men and women therefore form the tense field between the poles of spirit and body - the battle­ground of life where spiritual qualities are developed.

The Vehicle of Feeling

The vibrational field of emotion and feeling, sometimes referred to as the 'astral body’, automatically responds to our environment. We often feel an atmosphere of peace in a church and a hostile atmosphere some­where else. Both the feeling and thought vehicles also reflect internal changes. Those gifted with extra-sensory perception see them as vehi­cles of light, the colors of which change with the thoughts and emotions being experienced.

Our consciousness is always active in the vehicles of thought and feeling and when we go to sleep or are unconscious under anaesthetics it withdraws, temporarily, to the freedom of that subtler world, leaving the body to look after itself. However, if during sleep there is an emergency, it returns and we wake up.

Balancing Thought-Feeling

The emotional nature provides the drive while the mind organizes memories and ideas. But they interact closely with one another. When emotionally disturbed you cannot think through a problem until you settle your feelings. This balancing of thought-feeling is essential in any spiritual endeavor.

The Vehicle of Thinking

The high vibrational rate of this vehicle explains the speed of thought. How easy it is to cut the lawn in our imagination!

Free of the physical brain consciousness at this level, we can expand into a world not limited by time and space. From here come our dreams which, although usually distorted, can sometimes be meaningful and even prophetic.

The occult tradition asserts that the powers of the human mind are seemingly endless - a view which is supported on the next page.