THE UNIVERSAL DISCIPLE &
THE LIGHT MAGICIAN.
IN THE BEGINNING...
What if the Big Bang, that great event that marked the beginning of time, was not just the birth of the Universe but also the birth of a Divine Child? Born in Darkness and ignorance but sensing that it could develop wisdom and understanding by transmuting this Darkness into Light.
Since then, this Child has been an odyssey of self-discovery, a journey to understand what, who, and why it is. Every star that twinkles, every galaxy that swirls, and every event of cosmic consequence is The Divine Child exploring, experimenting, and learning about itself.
This Universe, seen in a holistic way as a sentient being threading on the spiritual path of evolution towards perfection, could be called The Universal Disciple.
Just like the Human body is formed from smaller parts, from organs to cells to atoms, this Universal Disciple would also inhabit separate parts - galaxies, stars, and planets, where each unit is on its personal evolving path yet still part of the evolution of the greater Universal Life.
Humans, at a certain stage, become aware of their spiritual path. They are independent spiritual beings and part of the collective human consciousness. Humanity as a whole would also constitute a Disciple.
The planets, too, would be Disciples. The Sun, The Solar Logos, would be the encompassing Disciple of the solar system, and it goes the whole way up, ever-increasing in size, evolution, experience, wisdom, and responsibility.
And it goes the whole way down too.
Every smaller unit is an evolving Disciple in its own right -having its own problems and experiences to overcome-but simultaneously is a participant of the bigger evolving Disciple that lies above it. The drop is in the ocean, and the ocean is in the drop, as they say.
And as each separate unit enlightens itself, it enlightens that which is below it, while also adding to the total enlightening of that which is above it, until eventually, we reach the final perfection of wisdom where the Universal Disciple becomes the Universal Master.
And after that, the cycle continues with the fresh-faced Universal Master now becoming the Spirit that combines with Matter to give birth to a new Universal Disciple who in turn transforms the Darkness into Light, continuing an endless system of Divine Reproduction.
THE DIRECTIONALITY
For me, more than many other ideas about the purpose of existence, this is the one that resonates most with me. Why? Because the directionality feels correct. The movement is evolving and expanding forwards rather than a push to go backwards, as other philosophies would have us do.
Unlike these other philosophies, there's no notion of a "fall from Grace". We didn't start as perfect beings; we started with ignorance and have been transforming that into wisdom ever since.
It's about growth, not redemption. Evolution, not atonement.
And while this view of Creation may ultimately not end up being the Truth™, I feel that the philosophy of how to live our daily lives that emerges from this outlook, though often extremely hard to do, is worth embracing.
A VISIT FROM GOD
One night, I had a unique experience - I had a chat with God. It sounds crazy, I know. But hear me out.
It's funny. Even after talking in public about this sort of stuff for years, it's still hard. It's hard because it sounds ridiculous when I say this stuff out loud. I probably wouldn't believe someone if they told me it happened to them - hell, I don't know if I believe it and it happened to me.
I've mentioned it in a few places since it happened, but I spoke about it at length in this episode of TaSTA.
But here's the story, take it or leave it. It's just something to consider.
On October 2nd 2021, God, the big man himself, walked into my sitting room.
It was a Saturday night, everyone else in the house had gone to bed with the vomiting bug, and I had been drinking some new fancy cans of Guinness - not loads, but enough that I was drunk. Enough to shut my mind up a bit.
I had watched a documentary called God Knows Where I Am, in which a woman with mental illness hides in an abandoned house waiting for God to save her. It's a heartbreaking and beautiful documentary. Afterwards, I began watching a Christian-based documentary about how God is just but also very angry, or something along those lines.
I had been watching a lot of documentaries at the time as we talked about a different documentary every week on the TaSTA podcast back then, and I was always on the lookout for something interesting to talk about.
I was zoning out, and then I noticed that the atmosphere of the room started to change. If you've had any sort of Woo experience, then you probably know the feeling I am talking about. If you haven't, I can best describe it as the room seems to feel more expansive, and the air pressure changes. The room "sinks" in a way that is unmistakable when experienced but next to impossible to describe.
And then he walked in.
By that, I don't mean he physically walked in; it was in my mind, but also, it wasn't just in my mind. There was a physicalness of sorts to it. I knew where he was in the room, I looked at him when he talked, and at the end, he held my hands.
He looked like how I imagine an ancient Greek would look- short curly hair, not too tall but solid and broad. He wore sandals. But man, did he exude Love, compassion and wisdom.
WHY WOULD GOD FORGET HE WAS GOD?
Around that time, I had been struggling with the idea of "Awakening". It is suggested that an Awakening is nothing more than becoming aware of something that has already been the case, namely that we have just forgotten we are God. This is presented in various spiritual teachings, but it never really agreeably sat with me. It just feels utterly pointless.
So I asked God, "Why would a God forget who he was just to remember who he was?"
He explained that although we are Divine, we are not God -though we do have God in us. We didn't start off knowing everything at all. In fact, the opposite is the case. We started in total ignorance.
Instead, what we are is a creation of God, who is learning the nature of what Divinity is, and how to become Divine through the experience of Creation. Through Creation, we become what he is. Through Creation, we get to know what he knows.
He also mentioned that is the process that He also went through, that "this was the place where he woke up too," and that the Mystery has always been here.
It's interesting to think that at least at one stage, the great Mystery was a mystery even to God. And funny too, "It was like this when I got here, bro." isn't something you'd expect to hear from God. But if we look at Creation as a reproduction cycle rather than a one-off event, what is being suggested here makes sense: the God of this Creation is the Child of the previous one.
There is a lot to like about this sort of God. For one, he earned his godhood. To me, that seems better than a God who was always a God.
Second, he knows what it is like not to be God because he once wasn't God. He has experienced everything that we have and so, so, so much more. That's ultimate compassion sorted out. He has literally been there, done that, and got the T-Shirt.
And in the end, he triumphed. He managed to transmute all the Darkness into Light. He actually did the thing we are aiming to do. So, when he gives advice, it's probably a good idea to listen as he knows what he is talking about.
FATHER-SPIRIT, MOTHER-MATTER, CHILD-SOUL.
There is an idea from the Ageless Wisdom that Creation is the result of Spirit and Matter coming together to form Soul. Spirit is analogous to The Father, Matter to the Mother and the Soul, or consciousness to the Child.
So, as explained above, we are not God forgetting himself. Instead, we are a synergistic combination of Spirit and Matter, creating a third quality: Soul or Consciousness. We are the Divine Child, born of Mother / Matter and Father / Spirit, and created so that we can learn to know what God knows.
And so the Divine Child started just like humans do - in Darkness and ignorance. The purpose of Creation, then, is one of continuous evolution, a progressive quest to become the perfect embodiment of Love, wisdom and experience - a process of trial and error as The Divine Child strives to perfect himself.
Or, to put it another way: to become a God.
BUT EXISTENCE SUCKS!
Our Universe is clearly not free from pain, chaos, and disorder. Why would an omniscience God allow for this? Why would a parent allow their child to endure hardship and pain?
Well, I guess the answer to this is the same answer to why we do this. Why do human parents sometimes let their children make mistakes? Because it's how they learn.
I asked God why the world contained so much sadness, and he told me that "This is the nature of the place in which we find ourselves." It's not that something has gone wrong; it's just where we are. The nature of this place is to constantly present challenge. It's a furnace for evolution.
But He stressed that we should never think that we can solve everything. Once one problem is solved, there will always be another - that is the nature of this place. It's unsolvable.
The Mystery is not meant to be solved - It is meant to be experienced. We are the thing that gets solved.
Rather than viewing the dark parts of life as flaws or something a just God is strangely allowing or Ignoring, perhaps we should understand them as obstacles of ignorance on the path to self-understanding.
Through the manifested Universe, the Universal Disciple is still learning about his nature, capabilities, and potential. Humanity's suffering, for example, is also The Universal Disciple's suffering. As we try to alleviate suffering in the world around us, The Universal Disciple is also learning how to do so.
So, the question is: If we are the instruments through which The Universal Disciple is trying to illuminate the Darkness, how exactly do we do that? A lot of our problems feel way out of our control...
TEND TO THE PART OF THE GARDEN YOU CAN REACH.
It's easy to feel frustrated, helpless, and powerless with many of humanity's Problems. I often do. But rather than despairing, my suggestion at such times is to "tend to the part of the garden I can reach".
If I tend to my personal life and immediate surroundings, I do the things I've been avoiding because they make me confront some of my Darkness. I try to repair strained relationships. Break toxic habits. Make amends where I can. Wrap up the loose ends of my life, and try to be less of an asshole than I was yesterday.
As each of us nurtures our corners of the garden like this, the entire garden will get tended to.
Every atom, every Solar Logos, every entity big and small, and every sentient being in the Universe is part of this divine enlightening process. The journey's Omega Point is a fully self-aware consciousness that understands its fundamental nature and recognises everything as part of itself. The end is when all the Darkness has been transmuted into Light.
Every piece of personal development and every moment of shadow work adds to this grand evolution. By confronting our own shadows and engaging in self-improvement and development, we contribute to this collective evolution. Each time we shed Light on the dark corners of our lives, we do our bit to tip the scales in favour of the Light.
THE WORK OF THE LIGHT MAGICIAN
Though challenging, the work of the Light Magician is clear: Always aim to be the Light in every situation.
Aim for increasing Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds. Strive for kindness in every moment. Always be honest with myself and others. In making decisions, try to act in everyone's best interest, not just my own. Serve humanity and not just myself.
Aim to become less interested in my awakening, my spiritual development, or my enlightenment and focus more on our Awakening, our enlightening and our Spiritual Path.
Aiming to use every interaction as an opportunity to bring more Light into the Universe is the very essence of The Great Work. And while we may often fail at this task, every victory, every glimmer of Light we bring forth is a step forward, never forgotten.
Or, to put it another way, the Light Magician aims to be a House of Light - a Lighthouse, if you will.
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POSTSCRIPT: IS ANY OF THIS TRUE?
Funny you ask that. I asked the same question of God.
Before he left, he held my hands, and tears erupted from within me. They were tears of joy, sadness, relief, love, and peace all combined. I felt I had been seen and acknowledged.
A gift of grace.
I asked, "Is all this true?"
He answered, "It's true enough, but it's not the full truth."
I got the sense that he was suggesting that it was similar to how you would explain something to a child – you'd tell the truth in a way that the child would understand, but while you aren't lying, you aren't telling the whole thing either.
Spud explained it well during the TaSTA podcast mentioned above. He likened it to when your child asks you, "How are babies made?" and you answer, "Daddy puts them in Mammy's belly" – it's the truth, you aren't really lying, but it's an elementary version of the truth.
But in the end, for me, it doesn't really matter if any of this is true or not, it only matters if it has any value. And for me, it certainly does.
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