THE CONSCIOUS OMNIVERSE

The idea of a unified consciousness, or an omniscient God who remains outside of creation, is not going to disappear totally from our belief systems at this point in human evolution. Due to the current way in which humanity perceives its existence, and the manner in which it processes information, the idea of a subjective God, or an all-knowing being who possesses an absolute consciousness, will continue to be an arguable concept.

The Willows insist that spirit energy, or the creative force of existence, is a prerequisite to all life, not only in the physical, but throughout all of creation. This energy which maintains the cosmos is not self-conscious, even though it permeates All Which Is. Self-consciousness can only arise through the individuation of this energy into countless life forms, a process which will continue into infinity, in all dimensions, all spaces, and throughout all times.

All of us, here and now, who are physically conscious in this moment exist as one of the offshoots of this dispersed energy. We are it, and it is us. Even though every self-aware being experiences its self-consciousness as apart from the whole, at the same time, all are contained within That Which Is. In this sense, we are God, and as such, exist as minute components within that oneness. In reality, there is no differentiation amongst anything in creation. Divisions are created by self-awareness, the capacity to experience a separate identity by individuating from the whole.

It is our own thoughts, beliefs, and imaginings, which give rise to an all-powerful, self conscious, and self-willed being, a God who is above and beyond us and the controller of the universe. According to The Willows, it is only humankind which harbours such distinctions regarding a greater or lesser beingness. By imagining a supreme being to whom each person is accountable, humanity, of all the higher intelligent life forms inhabiting the physical universe is the only species which diminishes itself by subjugating its existence to an omniscient, self-conscious superior being. The Willows are not suggesting that we embrace a philosophy of agnosticism, atheism or nihilism, but merely pointing out that the search for the origins of consciousness should begin within each individual’s very own self, because within each individuated life form resides That Which Is.

One of the greatest difficulties that The Willows encounter is the attempt to describe immateriality to material beings because our terminology and reference points are almost exclusively based in physicality. There are few words in human languages which define or describe states of consciousness which are not founded upon a sentient experience of reality. Our physical actuality is a perceptual one. It is grounded in information received by the five senses. Data, which is processed by a physical brain and nervous system, provides the substance for our conceptualizations, and it is through that commonality of physical experience that we communicate through spoken and written languages.

To comprehend a non-physical state of being, no word referents exist which could even begin to convey a non-material mode of existence in terms which would be comprehensible to our present understanding. The Willows have attempted in a variety of ways to provide glimpses of non-corporeal reality by adopting the only tools available - humanity’s own vague terms of reference for non-physicality. This is complicated further because words such as soul or spirit have different meanings in the ways they are used and understood by various belief systems and religions.

Consciousness beyond the third dimension is radically different to what we experience here on the physical plane. The Willows caution the reader to be aware that an entity, whose sole reality is derived from a human state of consciousness, would have to join them and enter fully into their realms of existence to comprehend their state of being. Throughout this book, The Willows have provided several key exercises to assist readers in releasing their consciousness from its hold on the physical. When all is said and done, however, The Willows point out that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and therefore, words can never replace direct experience.