This chapter explores the Divine in relationship with the natural intelligences and energies of the Earth, and also the Divine in our human self as well. But in brief preface to this chapter, the basis of geomancy and its practices do not depend on any belief in God or in a transcendental Divine Intelligence or Creator. This qualification is felt to be needed, because many people interested in or practicing geomancy will not share this sort of perspective and might be turned off by the terminology used here – such as Divine, God, Creator, or Being. For some people, the connection between this subject of geomancy and God is important, but for others it is not. Many of those especially interested in geomancy will be more inclined towards a earth centered perspective or a kind of earth religion as foundational to geomancy.
So, this is the author's apology to those who do not vibe with or mentally relate to the ideas as follows. I just wanted to say that to believe in any of the following ideas is not fundamental to the geomancy perspective. So always take what intuitively and experientially feels to be real, and ignore what does not. By stating this, I feel more at ease in bringing forth ideas and connections that some people will relate well with, while others won't.
Nature is a fairly vague term and can represent a number of things to us. When one speaks about “the nature of things”, they are calling attention to the underlying truth or law of that, or the inherent essential character of it. Sometimes we speak of nature as that which is outside us and around us in the environment. It is true that nature is outside and around us, but nature is also inside us, the essence of ourselves. We are as natural as anything around us. So too, our own being can reveal the nature of things.
In some religious terminologies, one speaks of nature as opposed to, or separated from what is termed Divine or Spiritual. There is nothing wrong with separating and juxtaposing certain terms, in order to explain the truth, but the Unity must also be acknowledged. One can speak of divine vs. natural, or heaven vs. earth, or yin vs. yang, and look at the distinct differences in their opposition to each other. But opposing or polarizing terms does not literally mean that they fight or are un-related. All polarities and all divisions exist within the Whole Unity, and cannot even exist without each other.
Some people have fought to rid the world or themselves of 'earthly' or 'natural' characteristics, hoping to replace these with 'heavenly' or 'divine' characteristics. This is impossible! How can a natural being rid themselves of nature? It's possible to suppress one's nature, but our nature will still be who we are. We will still have the earth in us.
Then, there are those people who are fed up with all that heavenly, Godly, spiritual stuff, as talked about by mystics and religious devotees. So they say we don't need that stuff and it's all irrelevant to life anyways. So for them, only the 'nature of earth' exists, and only what is earthly has relevance to life. But this throws out something important to human experience, which is our heart and mind relatedness with the absolute spiritual Mystery of all existence.
Acknowledging the Heavens and Spiritual Energies gives recognition to a deeper higher Purpose in living, with unlimited creative potentials and a Unifying Presence in all life. As well, an added 'spiritual dimension' in our earthly experience opens up a conscious relatedness with inter-planetary and other cosmic energies, to supplement our relatedness with earth energies. But the Spiritual only becomes significant in our lives, when it relates to and is found within the nature and experience of our earthly life.
Nature is the manifestation of the Divine. It reveals the Laws of life and the Knowledge of who we really are in essence. Humans are not separate from this Divine Nature. We are a part of nature. We are as natural as the birds and flowers. Yet many people experience a separation from the natural world, or at least they think of themselves as separate from nature and the natural environment. Yet this kind of thinking, or this kind of experience, is a false illusion. This illusion is partly because of our cultural education or our cultural way of understanding the human being as both separate from nature in opposition to nature; though not all cultures think this way. Also involved here is an human-ego illusion that we could live just fine in our own artificially made environments; that we could make a purely human-created world and live just fine in it. Added to this illusionary thinking is a socially indoctrinated attitude of treating the natural environment as just something to use and take from, as espoused by those people or businesses who benefit economically by this attitude. All of this false thinking and false attitude has become ingrained in the overall human mind; this false sense of separation from nature and this false idea that we could live in purely human created world, apart from the natural world. The truth is that we are not separated from the natural environment; so at some point people will be forced by nature to wake up from this false illusion of separation.
If one seeks to know The Creator, the greater Power and Intelligence of our existence, this understanding will be found in the natural world all around us. Through study and contemplation of the natural world, this Divine Creation, one can begin to know the Creator, or the greater Divine Intelligence. The qualities and attributes of God are found in the truths and beauty found in nature. The Laws of the universe, the Source of Love, the Truth, the Answers; it's already here. It is in nature, it is the planet, it is ourselves. One finds the Divine Truth in nature’s manifestations.
The Great Creator of all life lives here in the creation, and we live in the very Presence of The Creator. Yet seldom are we awake to this. It is said, “I was a hidden treasure and I longed to be known, so I created the world that I might known.” We are the treasure, life is the treasure, the world is the treasure; and this is the treasure of God. There is meaning to life besides just living, and that is to know and to be known, to consciously recognize this treasure of a world and our own hidden treasure of being within it. This whole magical play in time and space would have no real meaning, if it were not known.
The spiritual path to Union, to the realization of Being, Love, is an adventure upon this planet. The path is here. It is wherever you are, wherever you are conscious. This spiritual path leads to the realization of God, who is both the Creator and the manifest. If we can walk the path as conscious creators, transformers, lovers and seers; then we will have at least a glimpse of the Divine Being.
The mystical realization of Divine Being affirms that there is nothing but The One Being. There is no real separation in the world, nor is anyone separate from being the One. God is the only Creator and all creation is God. God is the Creator and the Created, the Experiencer and the Experience. Nothing or no one is not God; yet the complete Divine Reality, which is Absolute Beingness and its infinite creative potential, is beyond the limited manifestations of our world. The Ultimate always transcends the sum of manifestations.
This world is the reflection of the Absolute, yet is not the Absolute. One can see God through creation and through the particular; yet this is not the Absolute. We affirm Divinity and Absolute Beingness within nature, nature being an expression of The Creator and manifesting in so many various forms of beauty. Yet any particular natural form, or even all of manifest nature, is not the One Ultimate Reality of Being.
However, one comes to understand and love the Whole, by way of knowing and appreciating the particulars. The Whole can be known by loving the parts, because the Whole is within each part, although each particular form of life has its special qualities and unique attributes. The whole is divided into the parts, the One has multiples of numbers within it, so that the infinity of possible beauty can be appreciated.
To know the One Being and Truth, one would need to know and appreciate the multiplicity, the diversity, the unique, for these are how the One manifests. The One Being is many beings, each being inherently The One, while simultaneously being uniquely different from all the rest and completely inter-related with everyone else. This is the Mystery of creation that the mind struggles to understand, but cannot unless one thinks from the heart, where true understanding lives alive.
Conscious human beings have the same mysterious truth, in that we are of nature, in nature, and reflected by nature, and we are certainly quite natural. Yet we can transcend nature, by freeing ourselves from unconscious instinct. We can transform and permeate nature with our consciousness, or allow nature to permeate us, without being fully identified or loosing our transcending free-beingness.
Our spiritual path is to continually turn toward The One, Unity, while of course recognizing and respecting each particular form of The One. One learns about God through these manifestations, and one learns about oneself, because the many qualities and attributes of The One are known in nature or through our experience of nature. We can truly understand ourselves through contemplation with nature, because nature reflects the Divine Truth and the truth of our self.
The various qualities and archetypes inherently within the human psyche are abound in nature. It is even true to say that nature provides these archetypal experiences, and without certain natural phenomena, such as the ocean, the wind, the sky, the fire, the trees, the flowers, the whales, the bears, the birds and the bees, etc., some experiences of being alive would actually cease to exist for us on this planet. We come out of nature, we are natural beings and the attributes of our being are reflected by nature, the womb of our lives. We need the mirror reflections of the One Being as found in nature to symbolize and give archetypal meaning to our existence.
The natural world can teach us about the Divine Truth and the many attributes of this Truth. Natural phenomena provide us the signs of Truth. We can gain inspiration, guidance and love from nature, and when we know this we will have a deep reverence for the natural kingdoms. The great Church of God is in nature and the great book of God is revealed from nature’s works, and we can give our love to God, The Creator, through our contemplation upon and appreciation of the Divine Gifts of Beauty within the natural world. Nature can provide us with all that we need, guide us to the Truth and give meaning and beauty to our lives.
Some teachers have said that nature is the Mind of God. This is certainly true, for within nature and all life is an intelligence greater than we can fully understand, and the laws of nature reveal the Divine Truths of the universe. Nature is the expression of the Spirit, the One Being. Nature is the Divine Mind in action. Earth, though being one in herself, exists as a complex multitude of forms, patterns and relationships. The Divine Presence is the Unity pervading the multitudes of life, and the cause or purpose behind all things.
Who we are is Spiritual, and what we are is natural. When we know who we really are, we know the Divine Truth. When we experience the nature of living, we experience The Divine Truth in manifestation. All is Divine and all is natural. The purpose and aspirations of life for this planet are revealed through the workings of nature. Nature is the Will of God, the One Being. The Heart and Mind of God is expressed through nature and our life on earth. Each is a Divine example, a unique expression of Divinity.
The Mind of God is seen in nature, as nature holds the perfect Ideas of Truth for us to contemplate upon in order to realize our own Natural Divine Perfection, and in order to live perfectly within the Perfection. The Great Intelligence, creative of and in nature, is the Same Great Intelligence that is creative of and in thyself. The same Great Consciousness within Nature is the same One in thyself.
This consciousness can come forth now with all of its perfect Intelligence to create perfection in thy life. Discover thyself in the reflection of nature and contemplate the natural perfection of thyself. From this discovery and contemplation of thyself in nature and nature in thyself, comes the realization of who you are and the perfecting of your reality within and without.