Cosmology of The Self

Course One
Cosmology of the Self

Lesson 1
Dynamics of Existence & The Nature of
Creation
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©Academy of Self Knowledge

Dynamics of Existence & The Nature of Creation
CONTENTS:
1. Learning Objectives
2. Lesson 1: Dynamics of Existence & The Nature of Creation
¾ Introduction
¾ The Human Paradox
¾ The One Essence Î Life is Energy
¾ Patterns in Existence
Gatheredness and Separation
Inner and Outer
Heavenly and Earthly
Meaning and Form
¾ The Rise of Consciousness
¾ Nature of Duality
The Forces of Attraction and Repulsion
Levels of Consciousness
3. Exercises / Assignment / Multiple Choice Quiz
4. Glossary
5. Recommended Reading
©Academy of Self Knowledge 1 Course ONE, Lesson 1

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
The student will gain an understanding of:
• The origin of human beings.
• The relationship between the physical and non-physical worlds and how
they interact.
• The unified nature of all creation.
• The dual patterns of existence.
• The two manifestations of energy that govern physical existence.
• The concept of consciousness.

Introduction
This first lesson lays the foundation for understanding the dynamics of existence and the
nature of creation. It starts by pointing to the longing for eternal bliss and happiness that
is an innate quality within every human being. It goes on to discuss the seemingly
paradoxical nature of human existence, encapsulated by the fact that while we are born
into a physical world of space and time, which is relative (conditioned consciousness),
our true nature and essence is of/from an eternal and permanent source (pure
consciousness). The lesson outlines some of the basic patterns in existence that
characterize this paradox, including gatheredness and separation, meaning and form, and
the heavenly and earthly realms. The lesson shows how reflecting on these opposites can
help us recognize the One Essence that governs the multiple facets of our life.

Exercise One (not to be submitted to your facilitator)
These questions are to help you focus on some of the concepts in the lesson. You
might like to write your answers down. When you have finished the lesson, you
will be asked to reflect on them again.
1. What is happiness?
2. Why do we desire equilibrium?
3. What do all human beings have in common?
Student Notes:

The Human Paradox
Every human being at some time or other has pondered over the creation of the universe,
its sheer unfathomable immensity and power. They have also wondered about the
meaning and purpose of life, what their direction in life is, and how to bring about lasting
contentment and happiness. It is the desire of most people to seek lasting happiness and
contentment. But often this search does not come to fruition because people do not have
the knowledge of what brings about happiness and contentment and they look for it in the
wrong place.
People often tend to think happiness can be found by possessing great wealth, marrying
the perfect partner, buying the latest car, owning a beautiful home, becoming famous etc.
– but all these are allurements of the outer realm.
Happiness within
Through suffering and loss, one begins to discover that lasting happiness does not come
from anything one can acquire in this world. The realization begins to dawn that true and
ongoing happiness cannot be found in the realm of the relative, but can only come from a
source of constancy and permanence which lies within our very selves.
Many who have aspired to and achieved immense wealth have discovered to their regret
that the fortune they had amassed, though it made them happy at the time did not bring
them the lasting happiness they had expected. Rather, in their all-consuming drive for
money and power and the ‘good life’, often what initially brought pleasure turned to
disappointment, and their relationships with their families, loved ones and friends and
even their health suffered.

As seekers of bliss and of the Infinite and the Absolute Truth, we also still have to deal
with the relative, which is in time and space. The pursuit of wealth, power, physical
beauty and rare and priceless objects is indeed a natural instinct through which new
insights - essential to human growth and development – are learnt.

Denial
Paradoxically however, if we deny the desires of the relative, we will be denied access to
knowledge of the Absolute, which is timeless and permanent. If, for example, we deny
and totally suppress our love of money and power, which is in the realm of the relative,
we will be denied access to the greater knowledge that our true desire may actually be for
infinite wealth and power, and this can never be attained in this limited realm of time and
space. When we realize this, it may lead us to be content with our more modest portion of
wealth and power, which in turn may help weaken excessive drives or desires within
ourselves. We then benefit and society, as a whole, benefits, by our acknowledgment of
something higher than ourselves.
To illustrate further the dynamic between the relative and the absolute, if, for example, I
think that I will be content as an executive with a fancy car, a smart office and several
secretaries, then that image enslaves me. Rather than focusing on the true contentment
that lies within the heart, I pursue the ephemeral “imagined” contentment that is no more
than a construct of my mind. Pursuit of the relative, then, will not bring about lasting
contentment and happiness, because true contentment comes from access to a zone within
us all that is constant and permanent, and that gives us the joy of being alive.
Higher self
We are influenced in who we are by a range of factors, for example, our parental and
family background, our educational and economic opportunities, and social and cultural
exposure. We are also influenced by our past experiences, both positive and negative, and
our expectations and desires, and all these taken together have a major bearing on our
emotional, spiritual and mental make-up.
Although one or more of these factors may have been a constraint in our lives, within us
lies what we refer to as a higher self that can guide us to overcome the limitation of these
influences.

According to this cosmology, the self is understood as our identity as a person. It is what
we mean when we say “I” and which includes our personality, cultural conditioning and
biological make-up. This “identity” refers to our conditioned consciousness. Our essential
reality, however, is represented by a singular “entity”, which is the soul from which we
all emanate, and is pure consciousness―non-delimited, boundless awareness without
content; a silent state of inner wakefulness with no object of thought or perception. (See
Glossary) In other words, the "I" in us spans a spectrum; at one end it is pure light – what
we refer to as the higher self, which is also equated with the soul – and at the other end is
the lower self, which represents the baser tendencies.
The self changes and progresses through numerous stages, much like climbing a ladder.
The lowest rung rests upon the earth and the highest rung reaches to the heavenly soul,
which is unchanging and eternal.
Awareness
Through awareness and reference to the higher self, we recognize that ultimately access
to lasting contentment and happiness lie not without but within. We then are able to
transcend what we often perceive to be our limitations.
So what the above discussion illustrates, then, is that the human being is a paradox,
representing the intricate connection between the ever changing material and physical,
and the non-changing eternal soul. The mystery is how the earthly and heavenly meet
within the same person. This is what we will be examining closely in this program.

Exercise Two (not to be submitted to the facilitator)
Consider something you desired very much, which you imagined would make
your life happier, and which you eventually obtained.
1. Did you feel happier?
2. How long did this feeling of happiness last?
3. Do you still feel the same way today?
Student Notes:

The One Essence
In order to understand the human paradox and its subtle connection with the outer earth
and the inner heavens, we need to consider the origins of the human being from its
source, the One Essence.
The Absolute is the One Essence from which all existence manifests. The Absolute is
also referred to as the Absolute Truth, or Reality, which is permanent and not subject to
change. It is boundless and timeless, whereas all creation and discernible existence has a
beginning and an end in time and space. All creation is unified by its relationship with the
One Essence.
Emerging from the timeless zone into creation and returning to the same zone after death,
human beings are bracketed into this intermediate phase called ‘life’. This phase is a
manifestation of infinite varieties of creation, all energized by the One Essence, which is
their source. Again, paradoxically, the human being is the inter-space, timeless in essence
but living and embodied in this temporal world of movement and change, which is
nothing other than energy (See box and exercise below).

Life is Energy
Everything we experience in this existence is based on energy. We know through physics, for
example, that the more energetic a thing is, the hotter it is, until it becomes plasma. The inside of
the sun, for example, is plasma. In the extreme heat of plasma, there is constant movement and
there is no longer a stable balance of electrons. The opposite of this state is absolute zero, which is
–273C, known as the Bose-Einstein Condensate, where all atoms behave the same. There is
uniformity in every atom, as though no distinction exists between one atom or molecule and
another, because at absolute zero, they have been reduced to a phase of pre-energy, in which
everything is uniform. This plasma- Bose-Einstein Condensate dynamic illustrates that there is an
underlying unity out of which emerges the movement and activity of life.
Life, then, is experienced in this constant flux of energy. We seek to function at optimal levels of
energy. At a physical level, we like to be fit, vital and dynamic; at a mental level, we like to be
sound, focused and alert. At a spiritual level, we like to experience the stillness and calm to enable
a clear reflective heart so that the light of the soul within illuminates instantaneously what we have
not seen before. It is through the stillness beyond the noise of the mind that we see clearly things
as they are. Freshness of insight and new knowledge brings forth appropriate action. Ultimately,
we cannot but desire to exude appropriate energy towards others and ourselves.

Exercise Three: You as Energy (not to be submitted to the facilitator)
Take one day in your life and monitor the quality, quantity and use of your energy
in the morning, afternoon, evening and nighttime.
1. How does your energy fluctuate?
2. What is the source of your energy?
3. What external and internal factors affect your energy, e.g. food,
exercise, people, events, moods? In particular, notice the
connections between you and your environment.
Student Notes:

Patterns in Existence
All existence is created in pairs of opposites. These opposites are complementary, and
they are the patterns, or imprints, by which all of existence is experienced. These pairings
include gatheredness and separation, inner and outer, heavenly and earthly, and meaning
and form. All these concepts will become clearer as we proceed.
So divinely is the world organized that every one of

us, in our place and time, is in balance with everything else.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 — 1832),

German scientist & dramatist
Gatheredness and Separation

All existence may be experienced within the dynamic of gatheredness and separation. In
fact, as human beings we are both gathered and in separation. Gatheredness is unity,
inseparability. It is that pre-creational state of pure light, or what we refer to as pure
consciousness.
Before creation (human or cosmic), there was absolute gatheredness, or unity; there was
only the divine Light of lights – the One Essence ― with nothing beside it. From this
source, separation began with the emanation of movement and energy, then patterns
emerged, all of which generated the archetypes of all that exists in creation. Further down
this arc of creation, energy, matter and form interlinked. At yet a further stage in this
process, separation took place when the opposites in creation, such as day and night, hot
and cold, and wet and dry, became clearly distinguishable one from the other.
Human beings came into existence from the gatheredness of the pre-creational source

into this world of separation and diverse identities. As we know, every human being is
biologically different from another, although there is a common genetic connection going
back through time. Even in our personal experience, deep down, we can all discern a
shared sense of sameness in what matters most in our life. Our form or color may differ
but we all unite in our desire for contentment and happiness. We are the ultimate
example of how difference, or separation, meets in sameness or gatheredness.
Connected
With regard to the outer world, then, we are compelled to connect with and relate to the
thread of unity that permeates all existence. At the very instant that separation occurs
(that is, the cosmic Big Bang or human inception), what comes into being is seeking its
gatheredness or original unity. The source of our desire for gatheredness is the soul
within us, which replicates the original primal gatheredness and unity. The self, which is
shadow to the light of the soul, drifts away to experience separation, insecurity,
restlessness and all the opposite qualities beamed out from the soul, such as tranquility,
contentment, joy and bliss.
The shadow/self imagines that by acquiring wealth and worldly reputation, for example,
it may increase its status and honor. The self imagines this because the acquisition of
wealth and reputation is a small reflection of what the soul already has, which is being
totally honored and loved by its Creator. The self in its waywardness spends a lifetime
trying to imitate the soul by striving to acquire fame, wealth, knowledge, security, and so
on, with a modicum of success that is always short-lived and never ultimately satisfying.
When and if the self truly surrenders to the soul, it realizes the folly of its years of being
the prodigal child. It sees that people may reject us, but never our soul or our Creator.

Inner and Outer

Human beings have both ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ aspects. Everything – a person, atom or
fingerprint – has an outer identity of unique characteristics. Our genetic code shapes our
identity, and each of us is different in the outer and earthly sense. In the inner and
heavenly sense, however, we are the same as we have all emerged from the One Timeless
Essence. Nature interacts with nurture in such a way that we come to realize we are
comprised of both heavenly and earthly aspects, and far more besides. For example, the
child’s early experiences are primarily with the outer earthly and physical environment.
Later on, as the child grows and develops, it may then come to discover its inner
heavenly nature, which is vast and limitless.
Generally, we all seek the truth and yearn to know the truth. But where did this longing
for the truth come from? According to an oft-quoted Islamic tradition, it was revealed
that God was a hidden treasure who loved to be known. Therefore, He created humankind
and the world so that He could be known. That treasure, that Truth, is latent in every soul
– a divine spark within us – and calling to itself. The light of that Truth emanating from
within us energizes our experiences and realities. For example, the love of beauty drives
us to seek beauty in everything around us, including in our fellow human beings. In truth,
what we are seeking is Absolute Beauty itself, which is a divine attribute within the soul.

Our search for Absolute Beauty is Truth seeking itself within us.
…Each thing in the universe is a vessel full to the brim with wisdom and
beauty. It is a drop from the river of His beauty. It is a hidden treasure because
of its fullness. It has exploded and made the earth more brilliant than the skies―
Jalaluddin Rumi (1207 — 1273),

Persian Sufi master, born Balkh, modern Afghanistan

Heavenly and Earthly

As mentioned earlier, human beings comprise both ‘heavenly’ and ‘earthly’ aspects. The
heavenly aspect is subtle and lies within the domain of the unseen and non-material. It is
indiscernible. Its rules and patterns contrast greatly with those of the earthly aspect. It is
in the earthly domain that things happen based on cause and effect, and due to opposites
meeting and either complementing or opposing each other.
The human being, whilst earthly in the outer sense, constantly tends to look towards the
heavenly, seeking answers to the purpose of life and the meaning of existence. Angels,
however, are heavenly in essence yet focused on the earthly. We can see in this example
that existence manifests as one of two opposite aspects whilst intrinsically containing
both aspects.
Our tendency to look towards the heavenly is ultimately a desire to experience durable
peace that is beyond time and space. We have the inner ability to momentarily freeze
movement and thought, which enables us access to that zone of peace within, which is a
state we all yearn for. We tap into that timeless zone, which is within us and has no
movement or flux, no beginning and no end; it is a state similar to deep sleep. It is in
sleep that we have a taste of this. This deep inner peace is part of a pre-creational pattern,
which is imprinted within the soul.
The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness. Only when there is stillness in
movement can spiritual rhythms appear, which pervades heaven and earth.
Ts’ai-ken t’an,
A First Zen Reader

Meaning and Form

In the way that we, as human beings, constitute ‘heavenly’ and ‘earthly’ aspects, we are
also both ‘meaning’ and ‘form’. We must accept our form – which is the human body –
and its limitations. At the same time our physical form embodies that which has never
ever been subjected to any limitation – the soul. This is why many people love extreme
sports that take them to the very edge of safety. It is because in truth there is no edge –
the soul is forever free, without limitations, and the self wants to imitate the soul.
Soul language
Our meaning, as humans, is conveyed by the soul within, which is our true nature or
essence. The soul of the human being, as we have discussed, is a light that originated
from the One Source, or One Essence, and as such, just as a droplet of water contains the
entire ocean, so is the soul a holographic image of all existence. In other words, the
meaning of the human being is that s/he is a reflection of the entire universe and further
has the potential to manifest all of the qualities and attributes that we associate with the
soul’s perfections.
A rose, for example, radiates its meaning through its vibrant color, its perfumed scent, the
velvety touch of its petals, and its generosity of simply being, as a source of beauty and
pleasure to the beholder. Gazing upon a rose can evoke in one a deep sense of beauty,
serenity and joy.
Heavenly and earthly, inner and outer, meaning and form, they all meet within us, and by
these opposites we experience gatheredness or separation. In order for us to realize this
gatheredness or unity in us, we have to experience the opposite, which is separation and
disunity. Absolute accord is in us, but it can only be realized or attained by experiencing
its opposite, which is relative discord.

Being human
Regarding our human qualities, we swing in varying degrees between two extremes:
generosity and meanness, peace and violence, love and hate, virtue and vice. These
extremes are like two arms projecting from, and yet part of, one torso. The soul is one,
and we can manifest in varying degrees or shades – either as a reflector of that soul, or as
a deflector of that soul.

Exercise Four: Raising your awareness of opposites (not to be submitted

to the facilitator)
Reflect on a day in your life: when did you feel ‘gathered’ and when did you feel
‘separated’?
Student Notes:

The Rise of Consciousness
In order to grasp the subtle concepts of gatheredness and separation and the other patterns
of complementary opposites in existence, we need to consider the story of Adam in the
garden of paradise, as related in the teachings of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In the
story, Adam has no knowledge of boundaries or opposites nor does he experience time,
as he resides in the realm of eternity. In other words, he has no perception of beginnings
or endings, love or hate, or good or bad. Adam was in the ultimate state of gatheredness
as there was no separation or duality. The tree of knowledge represents all the
complementary opposites of existence, whilst its roots are sunk deep in the eternal garden
of unity. Then Adam, who had been in a state of pure bliss, begins to experience both
pleasure and displeasure after having approached the tree.
The exposure of Adam to all the patterns of existence allows him to appreciate the
ultimate treasury of the Creator. His ‘descent’ to the world of separation and duality (that
is, ‘heavenly’ and ‘earthly’, ‘meaning’ and ‘form’, ‘inner’ and ‘outer’), enables him to
recognize and awaken to his origins in the pre-creational realm of gatheredness, for he
can only know anything with certainty by experiencing its opposite. Therefore, the so-
called ‘fall’ of Adam can also be seen as a metaphor for the rise of consciousness in all
humankind.

Nature of Duality
In our own experience, this nature of duality can be seen as complementary. The
opposites in existence may seem to clash in our limited perception but do not at all in
their absolute perfection. All the snapshots of our life show our oscillation from one
opposite to the other – for example, from total darkness to total light―with multitudes of
shades in between. We constantly experience good and bad times whereas we desire
unchanging or absolute goodness and perfection in our lives. Actually, there is only
absolute goodness and there is no such thing as absolute badness. Absolute badness is
akin to non-existence, as anything in existence must contain two opposites. In other
words, no bad alone can exist in this world.

The Forces of Attraction and Repulsion

All existence is energized through movement and change, which emanated from the One
Essence, and manifests as two opposite but complementary forces called attraction and
repulsion, a subject we will look at in much greater depth later on in this course. We have
also discussed how human beings come into this world innately wanting ― generally
―to attract deep inner peace and stability. Equally, we are repulsed by chaos, ignorance
and meaningless activity. Our worldly existence and experiences are shaped to a large
extent by the need to attract what is considered desirable and to repulse what is
undesirable.
Respect for life essentially is an expression of love of the source of life, which begins as
energy: as soon as energy and movement manifest, the force released must be one of two,
either attraction or repulsion. It is only attraction and repulsion that creates movement in
existence
It is creating harmony between the forces of attraction and repulsion that enables us to
achieve that state of inner contentment of the soul that we all so deeply desire. The desire
for equilibrium, in turn, is about wanting to maintain that state of ongoing constancy. In
this quest for equilibrium, we are all motivated by a certain hierarchy of external needs
such as wanting to maintain safety, security, health and wellbeing. This quest leads to a
point when we primarily want to maintain the inner joy that calls to us from within our
hearts.

Levels of Consciousness
Under an overall umbrella of consciousness, there are multiple layers through which
human beings develop. For example, the consciousness of a kitten is not the same as a
fully-grown cat. Nor can the cat exceed its ultimate individual consciousness. It cannot,
for example, become ten times more intelligent or more aware than a cat. Our innate
tendencies and qualities that ultimately define our humanness are stimulated by the
external environment to develop different levels of consciousness; when this
development reaches its optimum level, our humanness looks for the next level of
consciousness.
There is no great mystery in all of this. Life is an infinite variety of resonances and
consciousness, all interlinked, interactive, interdependent and yet totally dependent on the
One Source, or One Essence, which is beyond time and space.
If it were not for the body, soul or spirit could not manifest. The human being is
composed of a boundless light (soul consciousness), embodied within it, in order to
activate and unite the seen (body) and the unseen (heart). The rest is all relative reality
because it does not last; it changes. Now it smells good, now it is wilting, now it is there,
now it is dead. Now it is a flower, now it becomes fertilizer. But the Truth, the One
Essence, is forever.
Truth is eternal, knowledge is changeable. It is disastrous to confuse them.
Madeleine L’Engle,
author
As we develop higher consciousness, we realize that most things are ephemeral and
fleeting, yet we can see beyond the form to its meaning and essence. The beautiful object

we love may fall and break, yet Beauty will always be there. It is Beauty we seek ― and
majesty, and light, and freedom; we seek everlasting perfections.
Seeking essence
We start with a little passion for clothes or jewelry, pets, cars or houses, money, sex, or
wives, husbands and families. Then comes a time when we realize that these objects of
our desires are transitory and not permanent, and what we found appealing was not the
object itself but its meaning and essence. For example, a loved one may one day suddenly
turn away from us, and then we realize that what we loved were in fact their qualities of
kindness, beauty and compassion – these inner qualities of light. Then we realize that
boundless passion was calling us along these small little steps through the pull of our
desires to awaken us to the higher. Therefore, to renounce desire is unreal. Desire is the
door to higher realization.
In our earthly existence, there is only ‘two’, veiling the One and yet indicating the One.
Every manifestation is one of two, good or bad, virtue or vice, desirable or undesirable.
Nothing can be experienced except by attraction or repulsion, emanating from the One.
So, in truth, there is only One. That’s all it is, and nothing else. The rest is all fantasy; the
fluttering of a leaf in the wind.

Assignment 1
(to be submitted to your facilitator through the ASK website)
Lesson 1: Dynamics of Existence & The Nature of Creation
Title “What drives us to seek bliss? Why must we experience the
opposites?”
Word The assignment should be between 500 and 1000 words.

Length
Criteria for Please refer to the following criteria for guidance in answering
a good the question. The assignment should:
assignment
• Show an understanding of the love for divine and
absolute qualities, and how we can never attain them.
(Give at least two examples of such love).
• Give a brief explanation of heavenly/earthly,
meaning/form, inner/outer, and
gatheredness/separation.
• Explain the drives of attraction and repulsion.
Submission You are encouraged to submit the assignment 14 days after

date having downloaded the lesson. Please contact your facilitator
for further information and assistance.

Instructions on How to Submit Your Assignment
Step 1: Logon to the ASK Website, at http://www.askonline.co.za/
Step 2: Click on the “Lessons” menu item from the menu at the top of your screen.
You will now see a table listing the names of all lessons you have paid for with a
column that has links called, “Lesson Assignment”.
Step 3: Click on the “Lesson Assignment” link for the lesson for which you wish to
submit the assignment. The lesson assignment page will appear.
Step 4: Download the lesson assignment document.
Step 5: Fill in your assignment in that document and then upload it to submit the
assignment. Your facilitator will be notified of the submission.

Please note the following:
1. As long as your facilitator has not downloaded your assignment, you may re-
submit. But keep in mind that re-submitting will replace the previous copy of
it.
2. When your facilitator has reviewed and commented on your submitted
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Exercise Five: Self-assessment (not to be submitted to the facilitator)
Reconsider your answers to the questions in Exercise One. Would you add or
change anything in the light of the lesson?
Student Notes:

Lesson 1: ‘Dynamics of Existence & The Nature of Creation’

Multiple Choice Quiz
In each case choose the best answer according to your understanding of the lesson:
Questions
Q 1: Human beings
A. can never find lasting happiness
B. can only find happiness by dealing with the relative
C. can be happy if they recognize and follow their desires
D. can find happiness through access to a zone of eternal reliability
Q 2: Human beings cannot deny the relative because

A. they have to live with it
B. they need to experience the relative in order to understand the

absolute
C. the relative represents reality
D. the relative is in time and space

Questions (Cont’d)
Q 3: A human being consists of

A. an ever-changing self and an unchanging soul
B. a higher self and a soul
C. consciousness and unconsciousness
D. body and mind
Q 4: Creation
A. only exists in this temporal world
B. comes from a timeless zone and will return there
C. is absolute existence
D. is the only reality

4. B
3. A
2. B
1. D
Answers

GLOSSARY1
Consciousness: “Pure consciousness” is non-delimited, boundless awareness

without content, a silent state of inner wakefulness with no object of thought or
perception. “Conditioned consciousness” is a person’s perception, experience
and state, at a particular moment in time. Consciousness is commonly used as
synonymous to “awareness”, but this is a popular rather than scientific usage. A
useful metaphor for consciousness is that of a cinema screen and film.
Consciousness can be likened to the light from a film projector, as it shines onto a
screen. The images that appear on the screen are like our perceptions, sensations,
dreams, memories, thoughts and feelings, which are the “contents of
consciousness.” “Personal consciousness” consists of my self and the outside,
phenomenal world, and the relationship between them as it appears to me. “Self-
consciousness” refers to a form of reflexive consciousness in which the object is
the self or some aspect of the self. “Collective consciousness” is that
consciousness that belongs to a group as a whole, e.g., the collective mind of a
society or culture.
1
Please note that other texts or reference sources may use these terms in different ways to the way in which
they are used here; for example the term self can be used to denote the soul.

Cosmology: Science or theory of the universe.
Energy: Is a measure of ability within the physical realm to manifest change. It

can be quantum (transformative) or Newtonian (cause and effect).
Gatheredness and Separation: Polarities that manifest in our conscious

experience of existence. Gatheredness is the conscious recognition of
inseparability or unity, of the coalescence of all aspects of existence into the
ultimate one essence, the source of creation. Separation is the recognition of the
diversity and specificity, the identifiable discreteness, of creation. According to
this Course’s teachings of self knowledge, any outer physical earthly activity will
be unstable unless balanced with the opposite intention: e.g. a person in a state
of separation or dispersion must consciously balance it with awareness of
gatheredness. In practice this means remembering that one’s present state is only
a flash in time, reflecting one’s origin in gatheredness, beyond time.
Heavenly / Earthly: Heavenly is the unseen, non-worldly, subtle, subatomic or

astrophysics realm, and beyond. Non-discernable; its rules and patterns are in
great contrast to that of the world. Earthly: Realm of duality; based on cause and
effect and the opposites meeting and complementing each other or clashing.
Identity: The personality. The sum of one’s genetic heredity, cultural and environmental
influences. The self is different in everyone.

Knowledge: Can only come from the soul. Divine Knowledge is not
accumulative. “I have a lot of knowledge” is information. Knowledge of the soul
is intrinsic, latent, and potential. As absolute, or universal, knowledge is beyond
time and space, one cannot learn this knowledge. An enlightened person knows
that he/she knows nothing, yet there resonates an echo within that they will
come to know what they need to know at the time they need to know. That is
enlightenment.
Life: The sum of one’s experience. Animate existence, the root of which is
changes in energy.
Lights and Veils: Lights are multitudinous patterns that exist in the soul,
transmitted to activate numerous systems. Some systems are earthly, e.g., the
material world or genetics, and others are heavenly, e.g., the subtle or angelic
realm. The human being is the meeting point of rich and potent lights and
shadows. As the self is a mirror of the soul, when that mirror faces towards the
soul, it reflects harmony and contentment, and one is in unison. When the self
faces away, it becomes veiled to the “light of the soul.” The mirror of the self is
not fixed and, according to its relationship to the soul, it is either veiled in
shadow or reflecting light. Similarly, the relationship of sun and moon; viz. the
brightly lit moon reflects the sun’s light, and when the moon is dark, the sun is
still there, but not evident. The self, like the moon, has no independence, no light
of its own. A pure person is like the full moon.

Person: Encompassing every aspect of the human being. Soul, heart, mind and
ego. A mask, cover, or shell that encompasses the subtle and the gross, the seen
and the unseen. Like a mask, it changes every second, according to one’s moods,
or modes. Expressed as “I”. The “I” of the previous minute is not the same as the
“I” of now.
Pleasure/ Joy: Pleasure is acquirable, sensory, worldly. Joy is extra sensory - to

do with the heavenly realm.
Pre-Creational: The One Source from which we come. Primal consciousness.

Allah. Potential energy. The singularity.
Self: The nafs (Arabic); our identity. Ego. Personality. Ever changing. Different
levels of consciousness. The self develops along different stages; the further away
from the soul and the One Source, the baser the self is and, conversely, the nearer
to reflecting its pure origin in the One Source, the higher it is. It is the self that
has the potential to transform itself by reflecting attributes of the soul.
Soul: The ruh (Arabic); our true entity. Beingness. The Divine Breath within us
which bears the imprint of pre-creation and all Divine attributes; it is boundless
and cannot be seen or defined – only aspects of its qualities may come through
the self.
Truth: Reflects that which is eternal and everlasting – therefore a virtue. Its
opposite, or vice, is falsehood, a lie.

Unity: Foundation of all existence is unity, or gatheredness. Truth is absolute

gatheredness. As dispersion occurs, the further away from that moment of
creation, the less easy it is to see unity of the origin. The heart is the centre
wherein resides divine truth. If one refers to the heart, one sees only unity in the
midst of chaos, e.g., love at the peak of violence.
Virtue: All desirable qualities that have durability. Qualities that are universal
and self-evident. Virtues can be seen as reflections of the perfect Divine, or soul,
attributes. Capability and Power are divine attributes. Wealth, too, is considered
virtuous, since God possesses the ultimate treasuries and is thus wealthy. The
perfections of these qualities are desirable, therefore, to be wealthy, powerful and
capable is virtuous, and brings with it responsibility and accountability to use
these qualities virtuously.

Recommended Reading
Haeri, S. F. (1989). The Journey of the Self. San Francisco: HarperCollins.

Cosmology of The Self

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Cosmology of The Self

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Course One

Cosmology of the Self

©Academy of Self Knowledge

2. Lesson 1: Dynamics of Existence & The Nature of Creation

¾ The Human Paradox

¾ The One Essence Î Life is Energy

 Gatheredness and Separation

 Inner and Outer

 Heavenly and Earthly

 Meaning and Form

¾ The Rise of Consciousness

 The Forces of Attraction and Repulsion

3. Exercises / Assignment / Multiple Choice Quiz

©Academy of Self Knowledge 1 Course ONE, Lesson 1

The student will gain an understanding of:

• The origin of human beings.

• The unified nature of all creation.

• The dual patterns of existence.

• The two manifestations of energy that govern physical existence.

• The concept of consciousness.

©Academy of Self Knowledge 2 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 3 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Exercise One (not to be submitted to your facilitator)

2. Why do we desire equilibrium?

3. What do all human beings have in common?

©Academy of Self Knowledge 4 Course ONE, Lesson 1

The Human Paradox

©Academy of Self Knowledge 5 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 6 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 7 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 8 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Exercise Two (not to be submitted to the facilitator)

1. Did you feel happier?

2. How long did this feeling of happiness last?

3. Do you still feel the same way today?

©Academy of Self Knowledge 9 Course ONE, Lesson 1

The One Essence

©Academy of Self Knowledge 10 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 11 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Exercise Three: You as Energy (not to be submitted to the facilitator)

1. How does your energy fluctuate?

2. What is the source of your energy?

©Academy of Self Knowledge 12 Course ONE, Lesson 1

So divinely is the world organized that every one of

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 — 1832),

Gatheredness and Separation

©Academy of Self Knowledge 13 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 14 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Inner and Outer

©Academy of Self Knowledge 15 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Jalaluddin Rumi (1207 — 1273),

©Academy of Self Knowledge 16 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Heavenly and Earthly

©Academy of Self Knowledge 17 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Meaning and Form

©Academy of Self Knowledge 18 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 19 Course ONE, Lesson 1

Exercise Four: Raising your awareness of opposites (not to be submitted

©Academy of Self Knowledge 20 Course ONE, Lesson 1

The Rise of Consciousness

©Academy of Self Knowledge 21 Course ONE, Lesson 1

©Academy of Self Knowledge 22 Course ONE, Lesson 1

The Forces of Attraction and Repulsion

Gatheredness and Separation

Inner and Outer

Heavenly and Earthly

Meaning and Form

The Forces of Attraction and Repulsion