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Spiritual Symbols and Patterns

Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns
Symmetry arises from an underlying pattern of reflection.There are a variety of patterns in the world, that point to the underlying nature of reality. Three primary patterns include 'Many from One', Reflection, and the Hollow. Let's explore these and see how they connect and hint at the unseen reality behind them.
 
We can see 'Many from One' almost everywhere we look. The human body, with its central torso, arms, legs, fingers and toes, shows many from one. A tree branching out shows it. Fork lightning shows it. Rivers and streams from the sea show it. The propagation of animals and plants show it: seeds are scattered and multiply. The evolution of species shows it.
 
We physically see Reflection wherever we look, as that's the way the eye works, inverting light that passes through the lens of the eye. What we see is also a reflection of light off surfaces. We can see our reflection when light rebounds from the face onto a smooth reflective surface. Sounds also rebound and reflect off surfaces. The symmetry of the human body is a form of reflection, where the left side is to some degree a reflection of the right side. This symmetry arises from an underlying pattern of reflection. Reflection underlies the appearance of opposites in the world, where we could say that high is a reflection of low, far is a reflection of near, and so on. Furthermore, Reflection and opposites give rise to fluctuation and vibration.
 
The Hollow is perhaps less obvious. The bones in the body are hollow. The lungs are hollow, as well as reflective, breathing in and breathing out. The throat and mouth cavity are hollow and allow the projection of sound as the voice. The stems of plants are hollow. Bubbles are hollow. Caves within the earth are hollowed out holes. Whirlpools, cyclones, and hurricanes are known for their spinning force around a hollow centre.
 
These patterns are all expressed in the natural world and in the human-made world. For example, in music making we have hollow instruments like the flute, the trombone and the drum, and we have instruments that use the fluctuation of strings (stemming from reflection), such as the violin and the piano. When we listen to a recorded piece of music we can pick out the many instruments sounding within it. Delay and reverb effects are used, giving reflective qualities to the sounds. One recording is made and distributed as many across the world. Actually, the delay effect used in music making demonstrates both the Reflection and 'Many from One' pattern, when it is used to imitate a distant echo, with the sound bouncing off 'surfaces' and seeming to multiply.
 
What do these patterns tell us about the underlying reality of the universe? They reflect the Oneness that is the core nature of reality. The Hollow hints at the Full-Emptiness of reality, where the total sum of all opposites equals zero. The hollow central cavity seems empty but is actually full, whether full of air or water etc. It points to the Singularity that was before the universe appeared, which contained all in an unmanifest unity, when everything was nothing. 'Many from One' is how the universe came to appear as it does now. The One seemed to divide itself into itself and its opposite (Reflection) and this bifurcation multiplied in the 'Many from One' pattern, creating a world of reflection and fluctuating frequencies. Note that 'Many from One' is itself a reflection, where the One reflects itself into its opposite, many. Or so it seems.
 
The crucial understanding is that although there seems to be many coming from one, they never really leave the Oneness. The Singularity that contained all in unmanifest harmony (Full-Emptiness) is still present throughout the appearance and disappearance of the world of opposites. The appearance of what is and what isn't (its reflection) is only a seeming separation of the Singularity, which remains timelessly full and empty. There is only ever What Is. Its reflection doesn't really exist, but reflection is the play of opposites which allows the Singularity to look back at itself, within itself. Reflection makes the world appear within itself.
 
Although space and time seems to divide the Singularity into many, rising out of the Full-Emptiness, the completion of space and time is its returning to unmanifest Oneness. All the while the Oneness remains as it is, seemingly at the heart of the universe, as the Hollow Hole, or rather the Hollow Whole.
 
Let's try to explain that a simpler way. What we call space and time is the seeming division of the primordial Singularity. Full-Emptiness seems to have divided into what it is and what it is not, its reflective opposite. Oneness seems to have divided into many, by aid of reflection. Yet the totality remains the same. The universe, or What Is, is timelessly always what it is. It seems that the Hollow, the Full-Emptiness, remains at the Heart of space and time, but it is the totality of space and time. The Singularity remains timelessly as it is.

Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns

We see bifurcation in the branches of trees, forked lightning, rivers flowing into streams, and in the evolution of life forms.There are patterns in life, in what we know as the universe. Patterns appear because of the underlying forces that create and develop the appearance of the universe. For example, a core pattern is bifurcation, where one splits into two. This stems (excuse the pun) from the moment of creation (or destruction) where the Oneness of the Singularity separates itself to form two. From that separation into two the pattern repeats to create a multiplicity, seemingly ending the Oneness of the Singularity.

So it's not a surprise that we see bifurcation a lot on this planet. We see bifurcation in the branches of trees, forked lightning, rivers flowing into streams, and in the evolution of life forms. Animals develop claws and fingers that separate out from limbs that separate out from a central torso. Branches of trees grow out from a central trunk and continue to separate out, repeating the pattern. In leaves we can see the pattern continue, as the stems separate out. We see it in evolution too, where species branch out from an initial origin.

It's natural that perception would separate itself out into separate senses. It's natural for animals to develop two eyes rather than one. And it's natural for life forms to have symmetry, where the left side is almost a mirror image of the right side. I say 'almost', because the world isn't perfect. Imperfection is natural in the appearance of the universe. Perfection is the unmanifest Singularity before the universe appears, before even space and time appear. The Singularity was perfect as it was. The splitting of the Singularity causes the appearance of opposites, and thus imperfection.

So we can see that the human form is a natural expression within the universe, which itself is an expression of the Singularity in separation. Arms and legs stem from the central torso, and fingers and toes stem from those. These form simultaneously as opposite reflections, creating the symmetry of the human form. Within the head, the senses are separated, with ears on either side, 'pointing' in opposite directions, and vision separated into two eyes. The sense of smell is filtered through the two apertures, the nostrils, and the mouth separates with an upper and lower jaw. We could say this pattern of separation and reflection underlies the development of all life forms. This isn't just due to planet Earth. It's a universe-wide pattern. It suggests that life forms on other planets would evolve in a similar fashion. It suggests that life forms from other planets would also have symmetrical bodies, limbs from a central body and extensions from these, like fingers.

There is another evolutionary pattern - rising from low to high. Humans, as we currently understand them, have evolved from creatures that had four legs and then rose up to walk on two legs. The rising up could be presumed to be the evolutionary result of reaching up for tree branches or food up high. That may be the case, but there is also the underlying force behind evolution that will causes the branching out and reaching upwards from the ground to the sky.

So lifeforms evolve upwards, from a base to a higher level, and outwards from a single point, branching out. This leads to lifeforms that can stand up on two feet and reach out to the world. They rise up from a ground level and take to the air. We see this in birds, but also in humans, as humans have developed the intelligence to lift themselves up from the ground and into the air with ballons, helicopters, airplanes and spacecraft.

Are there alien life forms on distant planets that are similar to the human form? It's very likely. The evolution of life forms isn't an accident. It's a force of nature.

Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns

The four elements are the expression of the reality that underlies the universe.There is some wisdom to be found in understanding the four classical elements: earth, water, air and fire. They may seem a little dated these days when we have classified many elements in the periodic table and we know that water is made of hydrogen and oxygen, and that air contains a number of different elements like nitrogen, oxygen and argon. But there is a simple wisdom in the understanding of the four elements.

You see, the four elements are the expression of the reality that underlies the universe. Earth symbolises stability, unmoving, unchanging solidity. Water symbolises fluidity and continual change. Air symbolises boundlessness, transparency, clarity, being imperceptible but essentially present. Fire symbolises energy, vibration, expression and power. Even from a basic perspective we can see the progression from fire to air to water to earth. It shows the expressive force of fire contracting to air then water then earth. There is a range or spectrum of energy, from the most energetic to the least, from the most unstable to the most stable.

What's this got to do with Non-Duality? It's a way of understanding how the true non-dual nature of Reality is expressed in the appearance of the world. What that means is that the true non-dual nature of Reality is unseen, indivisible, unmoving, unchanging life energy. It's expressed in and through the world in the apparent separation of a Singularity into a spectrum of elements that range from near to far, from high to low, from light to dark, from fire to earth, from life to death. The four elements are the play of the Singularity expressed as an explosion and condensing of frequencies of vibration. In other words, the world of energy, gases, liquids and solids, is an expression of a Singular Reality as if blown apart. High energy is close to the heat, light and source of Life. Low energy becomes cold, distant and dark. Once apparently separated they can then interact as though they are different elements.

But even the most cold and distant of solid forms is not truly impermeably solid. There is only an appearance of solidity. Reality is a Singularity. It doesn't really get blown apart into a range of frequencies. That's just how it appears. The Reality is that there can never be anything other than the Singularity. The four elements are a play of separation that form the building blocks of the world, whilst the world remains timelessly as the Singularity.

The Singularity is the Quintessence. It seems to be the centre of the cross of the four elements, the place from which they have come, the source which separates outwards to form the elements. But truly the Quintessence is timelessly the whole of the elements, without separation. Picture a cross and consider each arm of the cross to be one of the four elements. It's not that the centre is the Quintessence. It is more like the Quintessence is the whole of the cross. The cross is truly undivided. The four elements are never truly separated. They only give the appearance of separation whilst remaining timelessly Whole, eternally One.

Category: Spiritual Symbols and Patterns

The pattern of reflection expresses the nature of the world as a reflection of Reality.The world appears as a reflection of Reality. The common appearance of reflections in the world makes it a pattern or expression of that which can't be perceived. Reflections appear on the flat surfaces of water or smooth objects, such as glass, polished obsidian, or our commonplace mirrors. Reflections occur in the processing of the visible image in the eye, the echo of sounds off walls, light bouncing off surfaces, and in many human inventions such as radar and x-ray imaging.

Reflections appear as opposites or inverted copies of an original. They may appear more or less accurate depending on the pureness or smoothness of the surface they appear in. They're never absolutely perfect, as they can’t truly be the original. The reflection appears as an inverted inferior copy of the original.

Another pattern I've written about is 'the hollow'. It's commonly found in the world and expresses the infinite empty completeness of Reality. Reflection can be considered in a similar vein. The pattern of reflection expresses the nature of the world as a reflection of Reality.

It would be a mistake to think that 'the world is a reflection of me'. That's not it. The world is what appears or is perceived. That incudes thinking and the sense of identity or 'me'. These are perceived and are part of the world that appears.

This all appears as a reflection of that which cannot be seen or known. The world appears as a multiplicity of many separate things. Some things are alive, some not. This is a reflection of Reality, which is pure infinite indivisible Life. Reality isn't seen, as there is not really a separate one seeing something else. There is no real subject-seeing-object divide.

Humans can't really see themselves, only reflections of themselves. The eye can't see the eye. The Infinite One Being can't see itself. All the Infinite One can do to kind of see itself is to use the appearance of reflection and separation. So there appear beings and a world. It's all the Infinite One expressing itself by aid of reflection, separation and opposites.

The world appears imperfect, reflecting the Perfection of Reality. The world appears to continually move and change, reflecting the Unchanging Stillness of Reality. The world appears as separate forms, reflecting the Formless Indivisible Singularity of Reality.

But the world isn't really imperfect. It doesn't really move and change. There aren't really separate forms. Although the appearance of the world seems to be a reflection of Reality, there can never really be anything other than Reality. There is only ever the Infinite One.

  1. The Wheel - Symbol of The Universe
  2. Yin and Yang
  3. Many from One
  4. The Spiritual Swastika