BUILDING THE BRIDGE

Where is the Spirit realm? I used to think it was far off, “up there” as in the idea of “heaven.” But studying Spiritualism, metaphysics, and magick, I’ve learned that the realms or planes of the Spirit world are right here with us. In fact, they interpenetrate the physical. But how?

I struggled with writing this post for months because it’s so hard to communicate how this all works. The best explanation, although still not easy to understand, comes from Theosophist Charles W. Leadbeater’s A Textbook of Theosophy, chapter 3. I will do my best to summarize and simplify his teaching.

Elemental Matter: Koilon, or Ether

First off, Leadbeater establishes that “what are commonly called force and matter are in reality only two varieties of Spirit at different stages in evolution and the real matter or basis of everything lies in the background unperceived.”

In their treatise Occult Chemistry, Leadbeater and Annie Besant term this elemental root matter “koilon” (also called “ether”).

How the Planes Were Formed

When the universe was formed, Creative Intelligence supposedly set up a workspace the size of a universe. It then expelled force into this sphere like breath, filling it with “tiny bubbles.” (Cue the Wayne Newton background music, please…)

These bubbles are sub-atomic particles infinitely smaller than any particle now known to science. (I envision them as the myriad stars of a galaxy that is only the size of a single atom.) These koilon particles are the ultimate building blocks of which matter in all its forms is composed on every plane. If this sounds far-fetched, consider the concept of “quantum foam” proposed by theoretical physicist John Wheeler.

Into this sphere, the Creator sent forth

…successive impulses of force, gathering together the bubbles into ever more and more complex aggregations, and producing in this way seven gigantic interpenetrating worlds of matter of different degrees of density, all concentric and all occupying the same space.

–Charles W. Leadbeater, A Textbook of Theosophy

The lowest and densest of these realms consists of matter that makes up our physical world. In levels of lessening density are the higher realms that make up the spiritual worlds. (Note that even these “spiritual” planes are material; however, we are in the habit of referring to anything higher than the lowest physical plane as “spirit.” But they each have their own brand of physical matter.)

The Individual Realms and Their Atomic Density

As I understand it, the realm where these particles exist singly is the highest, least dense (first) spiritual plane.

How were the other worlds created?

Leadbeater explains that the deity sent forth impulses of force that created smaller vortices in its workspace. These vortices gathered the bubbles into groups of 49 particles, each which formed a potential atom of that plane. (Realize that my use of “atom” in this post is conceptual only and does not necessarily correspond to the scientific definition of an atom. After all, I’m no scientist!) Each of these 49-particle aggregations created the atomic material for the second spiritual plane.

Another impulse created vortices that gathered these 49-particle atoms into a larger group of 49, or 2041 base particles (49^2). These aggregates created the atomic material for the third spiritual plane. Naturally it is denser than the second and first planes.

This process continued until the seventh plane was formed. The seventh is the densest and lowest of all the realms—the physical world where we live.

We could delineate the composition and atomic density of the planes like this:

Your mind boggled yet? Mine was, but as I thought more about it, it began to make sense. I could see how the higher realms interpenetrate the lower.

Atom Size and Empty Space

The atomic particles of the physical world are huge in comparison to those of the sixth plane—or any of the higher planes. Yet we understand from science that individual atoms are comprised of mostly empty space.

(Orbiting electrons are like the moon orbiting the earth, and there’s a whole lot of nothing in between. I once read that if the earth were compressed so that all the empty space in atoms was removed, the earth would be only about 500 meters in diameter.)

Again, this theoretical explanation is very crude. But we can conceive that, with atoms on the physical plane being so huge, plenty of space is left for finer atoms of the higher planes to interpenetrate and float around them. Perhaps an illustration will help:

Note that these spheres are not to scale. But imagine that 49 of the smallest particles on the left fit inside the next larger aggregate. And 49 of the second largest fit into the third, and so on. One atom on the physical (seventh) plane would actually contain 13,841,287,201—that’s nearly 14 billion—particles of koilon.

How the Worlds Interpenetrate Each Other

Envision an empty swimming pool filled with the largest particles that are, say, the size of golf balls. Is the cavity full? Perhaps its full enough that you couldn’t add one more golf ball. But there’s plenty of empty space in the pool.

You could fill the space between the golf balls with particles the size of marbles. Again, is the pool full? No, still more empty space.

You could fill those spaces with particles the size of peas. And then particles the size of BBs. Then pin heads. Then grains of sand. Then talcum powder.

Would the pool be full? You could still add water to fill the minute empty spaces.

Through this crude analogy you can see how particles of different densities can fill the same space. How does this create material reality in the individual worlds?

The Differentiation of Matter Between Worlds

Each of the worlds has its own types of matter, arranged into substances unique to that world. Although composed of the same basic building blocks (the tiny bubbles of koilon), substances between the various worlds are as different as molecules of water are in its various states of ice, water, and vapor on the physical plane.

Each plane and its material vibrate at different frequencies, the physical at the lowest end of the spectrum. So all worlds and their contents are composed of the same elemental substance in varying degrees of density, vibrating at different frequencies. The atomic aggregates for each plane are arranged in different forms to create the molecular compounds for various chemical substances.

The inhabitants of each world can perceive only the material substances of their own plane. This means that someone standing by the swimming pool in their world would see it filled with only golf balls, or only marbles, or BBs, or water. And they would not see the inhabitants of the other worlds who saw the pool filled with the material of their home plane.

This may seem strange, but we experience this phenomenon in our own world, in a sense. Let me explain.

When you look at the sky on a clear, sunny day, although it seems empty, it is not. It is filled with air molecules made of the atoms of the physical plane that are simply too small to see with the eye. But you can feel them if you stick your hand out the window while driving down the highway. Yet these atoms contain mostly space, which is filled with the particles of the successive higher realms.

Seven Bodies for Seven Planes

The higher planes of spirit/matter interpenetrate and coexist with the lower planes. The astral realm where the departed live exists in the same space as your living room and workplace and backyard. Your loved ones on the “other side” are actually right here with you.

Each of us as physical/spiritual beings is also comprised of interpenetrating energy bodies on each of the seven planes. When we die physically, our 49^6 seventh-plane atoms return to the physical environment (ashes to ashes, dust to dust), but our higher bodies remain and continue to exist in the upper spiritual planes:

Each Plane Operates in Its Own Range of Frequencies

In addition to particle size, each realm operates at a higher frequency than the denser realm below it. Unless you are “tuned in” to that frequency, you cannot see, hear, or sense objects, beings, or events on the higher planes—it’s as if they don’t exist. Leadbeater explains:

Each of these worlds has its inhabitants, whose senses are normally capable of responding to the undulations of their own world only. A man living (as we are all doing) in the physical world sees, hears, feels, by vibrations connected with the physical matter around him. He is equally surrounded by the astral and mental and other worlds which are interpenetrating his own denser world, but of them he is normally unconscious, because his senses cannot respond to the oscillations of their matter, just as our physical eyes cannot see by the vibrations of ultra-violet light, although scientific experiments show that they exist, and there are other consciousnesses with differently-formed organs who can see by them.

A being living in the astral world might be occupying the very same space as a being living in the physical world, yet each would be entirely unconscious of the other and would in no way impede the free movement of the other. The same is true of all other worlds. We are at this moment surrounded by these worlds of finer matter, as close to us as the world we see, and their inhabitants are passing through us and about us, but we are entirely unconscious of them.

–Charles W. Leadbeater, A Textbook of Theosophy

I like to think of the various realms as radio waves. In the physical world, we are oblivious to the invisible bombardment of radio waves passing through our environment and even our own bodies. Country music, rap, pop, advertisements, talk shows, and the signal for the Emergency Alert System are all penetrating our property and persons. And we are unaware of it… unless we have a radio.

Tuning In to the Other Realms

You can contact and interact with these realms by altering your consciousness.

As you can tune a radio to various frequencies to pick up different stations, you can raise your vibrational frequency to connect with the higher realms. This communication manifests through abilities such as clairvoyance and clairaudience. As a medium, I seek to do this for myself and others.

Although a bit cerebral, I hope these words help to explain how the higher realms interpenetrate each other.

If you would like to contact these realms of Spirit, why not contact me for a session today?