Every day throughout recorded history millions of people cry out daily or in the silent anguish of their broken hearts, “Where are you, God? Why don’t you answer me?” Philosophers, religions, and atheists alike have posed the same question over the ages: if there is a God, why is it so well hidden?
My study, experience, and reflections over four decades indicate to me that God is indeed hidden—in plain sight! I draw my conclusion partly from spiritual traditions, partly from science, partly from psychology and biology but mostly from validation of my inner experience.
Inner experience—let’s take our starting point from Jesus of Nazareth, a figure some believe was God incarnate, others an enlightened spiritual adept. That question is not what’s important. What is important is his repeated revelation that the kingdom of God lies within. If only people had not buried that simple truth with reams of dogma, hierarchy, and agendas, the world would be a different and better place today.
So let’s look inward, not just to the mind but to the body for possible clues as to what Jesus meant.
Divisions of the Body
Our brains have a triune character consisting of distinct but overlapping evolutionary layers. The three layers are the reptilian, the limbic, and the neocortex. In evolutionary order of oldest to newest, the reptilian is the instinctual brain governing basic sensory reactions, the limbic is the seat of feeling and emotions while the neocortex governs rational or abstract thinking,
We further possess distinct brain hemispheres that seem to delineate, focus, or express qualities of the abstract mind associated with the neocortex. The left brain is rational, logical, and analytic. It is mathematically oriented and uses factual knowledge. The right brain uses feeling, intuition, and imagination. It is oriented towards symbols and imagery and is visionary.
Divisions of the Mind
To make matters more complicated, psychologists have identified differing levels of mind function called conscious, subconscious, and unconscious. Many add a layer above these called the superconscious or higher self. The subconscious handles basic bodily functions and appears to be the source of both basic creative but also potentially negative impulses.
The subconscious is the middle level where impulses for the unconscious can be processed in raw form and made available to the conscious mind, which is the everyday waking and working conscious under which we operate. The superconscious or higher self is a kind of transcendental mind realm containing the archetypes or the blueprint patterns out of which the perceptual world is formed. Each of these mind levels has discernable corresponding brain wave patterns called Alpha, Beta, Theta, and Delta.
In the Realm of Illusion
At this point, you might well be thinking, wow, all these mind-body divisions seem like such an obstacle course how do we function at all? Well, you’re on to something there. It could just be that this bio-psychological maze is serving the purpose of keeping something hidden at its center.
If we go by the creation story common to most major spiritual traditions, it’s about a kind of smoke and mirror game to allow conscious or spiritual energy to experience the perception of materiality. It’s what the Hindus called Maya, modern science calls simulated reality, and pop culture calls the Matrix.
To be continued …
Peter Canova
The author of the 25 X award-winning First Souls Trilogy and has contributed to the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series. His latest publication, Quantum Spirituality, received 4 titles in The American Book Fest’s 2023 Best Book Awards.
https://www.petercanova.com/
