Questions and Answers from the Ethereal Plane
John: So where do the people of planet Earth stand in relationship to the spiritual worlds?
Azrael: Well, at this stage in the evolution of the species, although of much greater intellect, their issues are still at the level of the higher animals.
John: What is holding up their progress?
Azrael: Their awareness of the higher realms is limited by the sensory input of the physical world.
John: But they have attained a high level of intellectual knowledge of the microcosmic and macrocosmic universe.
Azrael: Indeed, nonetheless, that still limits their knowledge of the greater reality of the spiritual worlds and the meaning of life in respect to it.
John: And what is that all about?
Azrael: Very simply, they have yet to determine why they are here, and for what purpose.
John: Can you throw some light on what that involves?
Azrael: Obviously human beings are here for a reason, but their priority is to pursue their personal interests and ambitions. Hence, conflict is inevitable, and among nations that can be dangerous.
John: Well, yes. They seem satisfied to accept that. Conflict is a historical fact of life, so why should things change?
Azrael: In the end it is not a self-sustaining principle, and the citizens of this world need to understand that it can be a perilous path to take if not checked.
John: Okay, shall we get back to the spiritual aspect of life, and how that works?
Azrael: Sentient life here, and in numerous other niches throughout the heavens, is an integral part of a chain of events that perpetuates the birth of stellar systems, and the formation of galaxies within the population of universes. Not to mention maintaining the balance and status quo between what is ultimately nothing and what is paradoxically something: namely, the ongoing replenishment of sentient universes in the eternal void. This statement is highly theoretical, and not an easy thing to contemplate without understanding the scaffolding that the construct rests upon.
John: Why is life the perpetuating force?
Azrael: Life is a meld of mind and matter with unique qualities. In the higher realms, soul, in a personal sense, and spirit, in the general sense, is the power giving rise to intellect or thought expressed through the persona or ego while housed in the cranium. Aside from living entities, the ethereal substance filling the universe is often referred to as the aether, or quintessence. It has even been called ectoplasm.
John: So, besides thinking entities, where does this strange substance come from?
Azrael: It was the cognitive aspect of the energy that spawned the universe initiating and ensuring that there will always be a future, i.e., a time continuum allowing for matter. This energy continually reinvests itself in various ways. Spiritual domains manifest in sentient structures held in stasis by material forms hosting the energy. From the ethereal heavens to a single soul, life makes it all possible while enabling and sustaining the process. Embodied souls have chores and challenges that build character and stature. Ultimately this translates and transforms into higher universal protocols establishing access to platforms where work is ongoing from lower to higher levels of existence. Existence is not a given; it is more like a constant. Living things create more living things, and in evolving cycles universes form as the aether channels the power. The philosopher Plotinus first outlined the basic process at work in the solar system.
John: Could this ethereal substance be what scientists and astronomers are calling Dark Matter? They have discovered that without this stuff physical matter cannot be properly explained, in most popular models of the universe. They have to assume it's out there and calculate for it, some call it the Higgs field.
Azrael: That is a good possibility, especially since Dark Matter is associated with gravity, and gravity controls how matter works.
John: So where do we go from here?
Azrael: Looking into the future is murky business, even from the other side. There is one inviolable rule that can never be forgiven or forgotten. Higher sentient entities on this planet, and others, are responsible for their own destiny, or salvation. Even at best, there are many unknowns, and it's possible that fate will take its own course in ways we might not expect.
John: Is there a worst case situation or problem that would prevent mankind from moving into a more enlightened future?
Azrael: Unfortunately, there is. Its name is Ignorance, generously seasoned with a plenitude of hatred.
John: Oh really, could you be more specific?
Azrael: One should not answer a question with a question, but here goes: Would Christians and Muslims give up their religion if a better explanation came along? The answer is no.
John: What does that have to do with anything?
Azrael: Because to accept that life has a cosmic purpose, and understand how it works and why, is not consistent with their concept of God – unfortunately.
John: Please go on.
Azrael: In Christianity and Islam God is the spiritual entity that created heaven, Earth, and you and I. This is a problem because in reality there is no such entity, and it is not how the universe came into being. Furthermore, one religion is bent on destroying the other. Mohamed believed Jesus had failed in his angelic mission because idolatry was still rampant in the Arab temples. He came to believe that God had handed him the sword to fix the problem permanently. So heads began to roll. The conquest of Islam to convert the world was stopped in France by Charles Martel at the battle of Tours in 732, but is clandestinely still going on today.
John: What about Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism?
Azrael: For the most part they are at peace with themselves and everyone else, although, like most humans, they tend to squabble about everything. Their problems with other religions, and hostile countries, tend to be territorial not theological.
John: So what you're saying is that humanity is in a sort of limbo about its future.
Azrael: That does indeed seem to be the case. The species is evolving, and until people learn to live together and work out their mutual problems no one wins. In that case, the best scenario will find human beings living in caves hoping for a better future. The question is, will they succeed where we failed? Time is of the essence. The Earth and solar system are stable now, but not forever.
John: I am not even going to ask what the worst case scenario could bring.