We continue our exploration of the bigger picture in this second part of our Ask the Panel question.

If you haven't read part one yet, please do: The Bigger Picture.

In part two, Denise Stoner and Rebecca Hardcastle Wright explore consciousness aspects of the bigger picture.

Denise Stoner

The picture as a whole might include reincarnation, subtle realms, and a conscious connection that perhaps ties these together in ways that we are just beginning to look at. If we ask people what their thoughts are on the subject, the various responses are so different from one another that connecting the dots in an attempt to join this subject matter together seems impossible. How do we bridge the gap? I have spent a great deal of time looking for ways to sort this out so the puzzle goes together smoothly. I find much more comes into play. Many branches of each segment can be added such as Near Death Experiences and Out of Body Experiences.  Where do they fit into the picture? Are they subtypes of the main trunk or can they stand alone.  Still, the differences in thoughts may just spread the distances even further.  Some of these areas send us spiraling into a place of more and more questions as the floor drops out from under us and we drift into this unknown territory.  I have chosen a few statements, thoughts, and ideas from both friends and suggested study then tossed in a few comments of my own.  This could have been a novel as the sources of information and discussions are literally unending. I believe they all do culminate in one huge stepping off point where the search continues.  I have attempted to define some of the main thoughts on the matter beginning with a statement made by a friend, psychologist, and very intellectual individual. I must give credit to Melanie Barton, LCSW, Ed.D  for giving us some food for thought. She writes:

“What does the bigger picture look like”?

The word ‘picture’ narrows the focus of this question.  A picture represents a person, place or object one has seen, envisioned, or may be seeing for the first time. It includes the creator of the picture either visually, auditorily hears it described, or reads it themselves has an individual reaction to it.  It may conjure up memories of a past event or person.  This then shapes how the person views similar things in the future. For those who have been fortunate to have a Near Death Experience, many describe a light at the end of a tunnel. Is this just a projection of what one has been taught to expect from previous “pictures”? Those who have had contact with angels, demons, and or extraterrestrials report similar descriptions of what they look like.  Is this because of what they have seen in pictures or heard described? Meditation has many health benefits, but it is also a gateway to encountering contact with entities outside our third dimension.  A group of people led in meditation may all have an experience, but it will probably be different from one another. It does not make anyone’s less valid. Are their experiences based on “pictures” they have seen? Perception is an individualized “picture” of what we believe we see.  We know that the world is simultaneously existing in different time zones, living different lifestyles, observing different customs, and we may not be knowledgeable about any of it, but that does not stop it from existing. We may not understand how people, extraterrestrials, angels, and demons can co-exist without understanding or crossing paths daily with one another. That is the mystery of this creation. We do not have to grasp it all to believe it is bigger than we can comprehend at this moment, but the more we are open to embracing it the more will be unveiled to us.  One person learning how to connect to the world beyond their comfort zone can open a door for others to follow and to answer the question “what lies beyond what we think we see and know”?  

Next I needed to consider Consciousness, what it means, or what do I consider consciousness.  I went on a search and found this one word expands in so many directions, I was dizzied by the possibilities.  Someone said that consciousness is sentience or awareness of internal and external existence. There have been years of analyses, definitions, explanations along with debates by philosophers and scientists, this one word remains puzzling and controversial. It is both somewhat familiar and a most mysterious aspect of our lives. One thing agreed on by many is there seems to be an intuition that consciousness exists. How do we explain it as consciousness and how can this be studied. In the past, it was one’s “inner life”, the world of introspection, or private thought, imagination, and finally volition.  In today’s world any kind of cognition, experience, feeling or perception are included. Is it continuously changing? Are there different levels of consciousness or just one kind? There are so many questions but each one is necessary to the discovery of exactly what this word means. Lastly, does this involve only humans, all animals, or even the whole universe? The enormous level of research and speculations does raise doubt about whether the right questions are being asked.

I have been swimming in a virtual soup of words that’s may help so decided to dive deeper by taking a look at just a few of those such as reincarnation, the Source, our souls, the over-soul.

I have always wondered if we are all connected and if so, how is that possible? Well, let me describe some of the qualities of consciousness I read about.

  • It largely determines the types of everyday thoughts
  • it impels one towards creative or destructive behavior
  • it colors our life experiences with positive or negative events
  • it can be altered
  • there are several different levels/states of conscious to be experienced
  • its growth is measured by how much a person perceives and can do

Now let’s add in three things that could help join us all together in a mass consciousness if you will. 

  • Consciousness = the awareness of being
  • Love = the creative energy of being
  • Soul = the form of being

It is possible that this is all related to a vibration that is raised to a level bringing about an infinite diversity of forms that we call our Universe. Does consciousness use love to create the soul which makes us then aware of the manifestation of creation? God or what some call the Source then experiences the differences of its creation as it is the intelligence, consciousness/awareness, and energy/love that brings life to everything in existence.

Is would help to give one definition of the Source – the possible reason for our “being” and an important part of this topic. This Source is described as “A divine spirit supposed to pervade the universe and to encompass all human souls”. 

This leads to another factor and part of this subject matter. There are truly so many agents, I chose what seemed most important and in the forefront of this writing. That is, Reincarnation. Several religions believe in reincarnation – Hindu for one.

Reincarnation is known as rebirth or transmigration. This is not only a religious but a philosophical concept. It speaks of our physical bodies transitioning to that of a spiritual body at death then at some point taking on another physical form bringing that soul back to life. In most beliefs that involve reincarnation, the soul is seen as immortal and the only thing that is perishable is the physical body. Transmigration means passing of soul from one body to another after death. In most belief systems on this subject, it is felt that the soul comes back to life in a new infant to live again. What makes us think this could be true? There are several young children who have memories of families they are not with in this lifetimes, memories of their deaths along with recall of names and addresses from a previous life. These memories mostly fade as the children grow older.

There are some adults who also remember a past life. That is usually triggered by an event, visits to a familiar location, and more.

Your soul is a unique thread of consciousness that is one of many. There are three parts to us – Ego, Soul, and Spirit.  Must we leave our egos behind when we depart this life or do we need it to carry over with us? 

Further, I must make mention of the Over-Soul. There was an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson published in 1841 on the topic. This carried forward in the SETH books explained by Jane Roberts who channeled the Seth spirit many years later. Briefly, the Emerson essay states:  (1) the existence and nature of the human soul; (2) the relationship between the soul and the personal ego; (3) the relationship of one human to another; and (4) the relationship of the human soul to God. Influence of Eastern religions, including one called Vedantism, is plainly evident, but the essay also develops ideas long present in the Western tradition, e.g. in the works of Plato, Plutarch, and Neoplatonists like Plotinus and Proclus – all of whose writings Emerson read extensively throughout his career – and Emanuel Swedenborg.

Even though there is so much more to this fascinating topic, I have chosen just a few ideas that might help everyone to gain a better understanding what it takes to look at a small portion of this puzzle.  Can any of us tie it all together – not that I could find.  Lastly, I want to mention something called the Subtle Realm.

This can be found under “Studying Intrusions from the Subtle Realm: How can we deepen our knowledge By John E Mack, MD. He presented this at the International Association for New Science Conference in Fort Collins, CO in 1995. I won’t copy it here but give a brief overview of what he said.

He asks the audience – “What do I mean by the subtle realm”? He then proceeds to say he thought deeply about it and soon realized it is not easy to pin down. He states that it has to do with phenomena that seen to come from another dimension. By this he meant a variety of phenomena for instance, information obtained through telepathy, clairvoyance, the whole psi realm; out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences; telekinesis and the alien abduction phenomenon itself – i.e., phenomena that may manifest in the physical world, but seem to originate in another dimension, to come from a place unseen. These events make their presence known more subtly through an opening of consciousness or more receptive perception.

He states that there have to be more acceptance of the possibilities that a subtle realm exists. We need to consider the possibility that consciousness-spirit, self, soul-all have a life, an existence, separate from the physical body.

I say this in closing. There is much to explore and more to search for in this physical world we reside in. I have barely touched on “The Bigger Picture” and invite all the readers to continue on a path that takes us to at least some of the answers before we leave this beautiful oasis of a planet and move on to worlds we have yet to see or perhaps remember.

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Rebecca Hardcastle Wright: Imagine braiding four strands

Rebecca's article is available in PDF format: https://www.jar-magazine.com/media/atp-the-bigger-picture-rebecca-hardcastle-wright.pdf

It includes the following summary:

The Bigger Picture of Contact appears complex and chaotic, yet inherently stable, as sensible forces prevail. The advancement of humans and planet Earth is assured but dependent on human will and the use of newfound powers.

Exoconscious Human evolution balances progress through this era of tumult. Prediction of Armageddon, end times, or ET threat need not be our chosen path. Instead, Exoconsciousness is a grounded, day-by-day awareness of forces within and without us that sustain our transition into a healthy, evolved, space-faring species.

Back to part 1: The Bigger Picture