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Three "Planes" of our planet - Mental, Astral and Physical - are currently the field of evolution of a number of different Kingdoms of life, which are at different stages of development. There are four main groups: minerals, plants, animals, humans. Recognition of this fact radically changes our relationship with the environment and makes us look a little differently at our own nature.
In order to live and act on any of the "Planes", it is necessary to have a "body" consisting of the substance of a given level. Turning to the "Mental Plane", we find that, unlike humans, minerals, plants and animals have no "subtle body" that would connect them with this level. Man is individual, he has a developed self-consciousness, while animals, plants and minerals are deprived of such consciousness. Perceiving the surrounding world, none of the representatives of these Kingdoms is able to oppose the external world with their own "Ego".
It is interesting that in the process of ontogenesis such opposition does not appear immediately in humans. Only by the end of the first year of life, the child begins to realize the differences between the sensations of his own body and those sensations that are caused by objects outside. Then, at the age of two or three years, the child separates the process that gives him pleasure and the results of his own actions with objects, from the objective actions of adults. In psychology, this phenomenon is referred to as "self-discovery".
Each person has an individual spirit that dictates thoughts and actions to each individual human being. While for animals, plants and minerals there is only one group spirit, common to all representatives of a given species. Termite behavior is an excellent illustration of this statement.
As you know, thousands of insects are involved in the construction of a termite mound, the most complex "architectural" structure. But what is interesting is that not a single termite, taken separately, has information about the construction of the termite mound. Here is what the French entomologist Louis Thom writes about this: "Take two or three - nothing will change, but if you increase their number to a certain "critical mass", a miracle will happen. As if having received an important order, the termites begin to create work teams. They are accepted put one on top of the other small pieces of everything that comes across, and erect columns, which are then connected by vaults, until you get a room that resembles a cathedral."
Scientists conducted such an experiment: a termite mound under construction was divided by a partition, completely isolating insects in one part of it from insects in other parts. And what? The construction of the termite mound continued according to the same, extremely complex scheme, and all the passages and rooms, separated by a partition, turned out to be exactly one opposite the other.
The key to understanding the states of consciousness of the various Kingdoms is the following fact. "Subtle bodies" are emanated by the spirit for the sake of acquiring the appropriate experience with their help. The better the spirit can contact with this or that "subtle body", the better and more fully it expresses itself at the appropriate level. Of the four Kingdoms existing at the present moment on Earth, only Man has a full set of "subtle bodies" connecting him with all levels - Mental, Astral, Physical. An animal lacks one link - Mind (mental body), a plant has two links - mind and emotion (mental and astral bodies), and a mineral has as many as three - mind, emotion and the ability to metabolize at a biological level (etheric body).
The reason for this state of affairs is that Man has behind him the longest path of development of all the Kingdoms represented, while animals, plants and minerals are the expression of later evolutionary waves. Over time, the three waves, which are currently spiritualizing the three lower Kingdoms, will reach the human stage, while Man will move to a higher stage of development. That is why, when the material (physical) universe arises, the representatives of the mineral kingdom are the first to descend into it, then the plant and animal kingdoms, and only then the Man - the more perfect the form, the less time it takes for it to gain the appropriate experience from being on denser, "lower "levels.
In Man, each "Plan" of the World Substance corresponds to a certain "subtle body". To the dense layer of the Physical Plane - the physical, to the etheric layer - the etheric; To the Astral plane - the higher and lower astral bodies, to the Mental - two mental bodies, etc. In the awakened state, all seven bodies are together, interpenetrating each other, which allows our "Ego" to act in the physical world.
We ourselves, as "Ego", function in the subtlest substance of the Domain of Abstract Thought (the highest Mental). In the process of development, the "Ego" descends into the dense layer of the Physical "Plane", where, having united all its bodies, it reaches the degree of awakened consciousness. Here the "Ego" learns to master its "instruments" (bodies). In the overwhelming majority of people, the organs of the astral and mental bodies are still undeveloped. However, this does not mean at all that the penetration to the corresponding levels of the World Substance is closed for them. By working hard on oneself and developing the necessary abilities, any (!) Person can learn to control his "subtle bodies", which gives practically limitless possibilities for the implementation of his goals.
The group spirit of animals reached in its descent only the Astral Plane. He has not yet developed enough to enter a dense body. That is why the animal has no individual "Ego" or intelligence. (The rudiments of intellectual activity can only be observed in mammals, and especially in higher primates.) And although the animal has dense, etheric and astral bodies, the spirit governing them is "outside", the etheric and astral bodies are not completely "pulled" into the dense body.
It should be made clear here that the "group spirit" and the "individual souls" of animals are not the same thing. The first belongs to a different evolutionary wave and is, as it were, a "guardian" of animal spirits. He "directs" the bodies built by the animal spirits under his control, helping them to develop. As this development progresses, the group spirit itself develops, climbing the evolutionary ladder higher and higher. (This is one of the basic laws of the Universe - in order to develop, we, willingly or unwillingly, are forced to help others develop). If inside every human being there is a conscious "Ego" that controls the actions of its own body, then the spirit of an individual animal is still rather weakly individualized, is not self-conscious and, as it were, forms a "part of the body" of a self-conscious entity belonging to another evolutionary wave.
The group spirit of the vegetable Kingdom has its lower "subtle body" in the area of the lower Mental "Plane" (Area of Concrete Thought). It is removed two steps from the dense physical body and, as a result, has a consciousness even less awakened than that of an animal. As for the group spirit of minerals (which include not only "stones", but also other solids, as well as liquids and gases), then it has its lower "subtle body" in the area of the higher Mental Plane (the Area of Abstract Thought), then is, removed from the physical body as much as three steps and is in a deeply unconscious state.
All "souls" - minerals, plants, animals and humans - before they begin their descent into denser levels, are on the sixth, (if we count from below), "Plan" of the World substance, in close proximity to the Divine Individuality ... The purpose of the descent "into matter" is the development of potential possibilities into active dynamic forces, the expansion of consciousness and self-consciousness, and an even greater approach to the Absolute.
It is important to always remember that God and other, more advanced than we, essences are not separated from us in space-time relation, but permeate every particle, both of their own spheres, and of more dense spheres. In Them we develop and exist! .. ♾
In order to live and act on any of the "Planes", it is necessary to have a "body" consisting of the substance of a given level. Turning to the "Mental Plane", we find that, unlike humans, minerals, plants and animals have no "subtle body" that would connect them with this level. Man is individual, he has a developed self-consciousness, while animals, plants and minerals are deprived of such consciousness. Perceiving the surrounding world, none of the representatives of these Kingdoms is able to oppose the external world with their own "Ego".
It is interesting that in the process of ontogenesis such opposition does not appear immediately in humans. Only by the end of the first year of life, the child begins to realize the differences between the sensations of his own body and those sensations that are caused by objects outside. Then, at the age of two or three years, the child separates the process that gives him pleasure and the results of his own actions with objects, from the objective actions of adults. In psychology, this phenomenon is referred to as "self-discovery".
Each person has an individual spirit that dictates thoughts and actions to each individual human being. While for animals, plants and minerals there is only one group spirit, common to all representatives of a given species. Termite behavior is an excellent illustration of this statement.
As you know, thousands of insects are involved in the construction of a termite mound, the most complex "architectural" structure. But what is interesting is that not a single termite, taken separately, has information about the construction of the termite mound. Here is what the French entomologist Louis Thom writes about this: "Take two or three - nothing will change, but if you increase their number to a certain "critical mass", a miracle will happen. As if having received an important order, the termites begin to create work teams. They are accepted put one on top of the other small pieces of everything that comes across, and erect columns, which are then connected by vaults, until you get a room that resembles a cathedral."
Scientists conducted such an experiment: a termite mound under construction was divided by a partition, completely isolating insects in one part of it from insects in other parts. And what? The construction of the termite mound continued according to the same, extremely complex scheme, and all the passages and rooms, separated by a partition, turned out to be exactly one opposite the other.
The key to understanding the states of consciousness of the various Kingdoms is the following fact. "Subtle bodies" are emanated by the spirit for the sake of acquiring the appropriate experience with their help. The better the spirit can contact with this or that "subtle body", the better and more fully it expresses itself at the appropriate level. Of the four Kingdoms existing at the present moment on Earth, only Man has a full set of "subtle bodies" connecting him with all levels - Mental, Astral, Physical. An animal lacks one link - Mind (mental body), a plant has two links - mind and emotion (mental and astral bodies), and a mineral has as many as three - mind, emotion and the ability to metabolize at a biological level (etheric body).
The reason for this state of affairs is that Man has behind him the longest path of development of all the Kingdoms represented, while animals, plants and minerals are the expression of later evolutionary waves. Over time, the three waves, which are currently spiritualizing the three lower Kingdoms, will reach the human stage, while Man will move to a higher stage of development. That is why, when the material (physical) universe arises, the representatives of the mineral kingdom are the first to descend into it, then the plant and animal kingdoms, and only then the Man - the more perfect the form, the less time it takes for it to gain the appropriate experience from being on denser, "lower "levels.
In Man, each "Plan" of the World Substance corresponds to a certain "subtle body". To the dense layer of the Physical Plane - the physical, to the etheric layer - the etheric; To the Astral plane - the higher and lower astral bodies, to the Mental - two mental bodies, etc. In the awakened state, all seven bodies are together, interpenetrating each other, which allows our "Ego" to act in the physical world.
We ourselves, as "Ego", function in the subtlest substance of the Domain of Abstract Thought (the highest Mental). In the process of development, the "Ego" descends into the dense layer of the Physical "Plane", where, having united all its bodies, it reaches the degree of awakened consciousness. Here the "Ego" learns to master its "instruments" (bodies). In the overwhelming majority of people, the organs of the astral and mental bodies are still undeveloped. However, this does not mean at all that the penetration to the corresponding levels of the World Substance is closed for them. By working hard on oneself and developing the necessary abilities, any (!) Person can learn to control his "subtle bodies", which gives practically limitless possibilities for the implementation of his goals.
The group spirit of animals reached in its descent only the Astral Plane. He has not yet developed enough to enter a dense body. That is why the animal has no individual "Ego" or intelligence. (The rudiments of intellectual activity can only be observed in mammals, and especially in higher primates.) And although the animal has dense, etheric and astral bodies, the spirit governing them is "outside", the etheric and astral bodies are not completely "pulled" into the dense body.
It should be made clear here that the "group spirit" and the "individual souls" of animals are not the same thing. The first belongs to a different evolutionary wave and is, as it were, a "guardian" of animal spirits. He "directs" the bodies built by the animal spirits under his control, helping them to develop. As this development progresses, the group spirit itself develops, climbing the evolutionary ladder higher and higher. (This is one of the basic laws of the Universe - in order to develop, we, willingly or unwillingly, are forced to help others develop). If inside every human being there is a conscious "Ego" that controls the actions of its own body, then the spirit of an individual animal is still rather weakly individualized, is not self-conscious and, as it were, forms a "part of the body" of a self-conscious entity belonging to another evolutionary wave.
The group spirit of the vegetable Kingdom has its lower "subtle body" in the area of the lower Mental "Plane" (Area of Concrete Thought). It is removed two steps from the dense physical body and, as a result, has a consciousness even less awakened than that of an animal. As for the group spirit of minerals (which include not only "stones", but also other solids, as well as liquids and gases), then it has its lower "subtle body" in the area of the higher Mental Plane (the Area of Abstract Thought), then is, removed from the physical body as much as three steps and is in a deeply unconscious state.
All "souls" - minerals, plants, animals and humans - before they begin their descent into denser levels, are on the sixth, (if we count from below), "Plan" of the World substance, in close proximity to the Divine Individuality ... The purpose of the descent "into matter" is the development of potential possibilities into active dynamic forces, the expansion of consciousness and self-consciousness, and an even greater approach to the Absolute.
It is important to always remember that God and other, more advanced than we, essences are not separated from us in space-time relation, but permeate every particle, both of their own spheres, and of more dense spheres. In Them we develop and exist! .. ♾
