Living without Conflict

Without conflict! Two simple words. Perhaps we shrug our shoulders and think 'ah well, every now and then there is some conflict, life can't do without, but we should not get too worked up over it.'

According to the creation myth, human decline began with conflict, by eating the fruit of a mysterious tree, a tree symbolising discord, division and conflict.

Eating the fruit of opposites, or, in other words, listening to 'the whisperings of the serpent', was the overture to our current state of life. Although this is considered an event of the past, nothing of this is really over, everything continues. Is conflict not part of our daily reality, at this moment, tomorrow or the day after tomorrow -- unless a flash of insight gives us a thorough shake-up? Day after day, we eat of the tree of opposites. We cannot do otherwise: as human beings, our origin lies in the synthesis of opposites, of positive and negative impulses.

Our thinking and feeling are dominated by choices that we continuously have to make between good and evil, for or against, sympathy and antipathy, my opinion against your opinion; the tree of conflict carries an endless variety of fruits. But the human epic begins with the eating of this first fruit, which makes all other fruit taste the same and have the same effect.

Eating of this first fruit still implies: negation of the divine unity, disregard for the original wholeness, for the paradisiacal state, turning away from what is holy, whole, from the light.

We know the image of the serpent, winding itself around the trunk of the tree. It is the power of the so-called spinal consciousness. 'Spina' means 'spine', or rather 'thorn', referring to the thorn-like protrusions of the vertebrae. This spinal energy curls like a serpent upward along the vertebral column and manifests itself in the head in the form of our mental faculty, of our mind.

The mind, the mental faculty, is divisive and generates doubt, discord and disagreement, discriminates continuously and creates conflict. We daily experience its result in the lives of the peoples and nations of the whole planet, but above all within us. The conflict is in fact rooted within us.

Certainly, the cause of a conflict may lie outside us, but when our thinking faculty would not find a point of reference to this cause within us, no conflict would develop. The cause of our broken life lies in the desperate state of the microcosm; and the possibility to overcome grief lies within us.

Unity in diversity -- diversity in unity

The personality is part of the microcosm; this is where our real task lies. Cosmos literally means order, a combination of several things according to a certain order. Several forces and forms work together in unison; unity in diversity -- diversity in unity. For anyone with enough refined sensitivity, this is where the key to the healing of our broken existence lies.

A microcosm, or 'small cosmos' is, therefore, a combination of different forces, forms, levels of consciousness and bodies. Originally, this system existed in perfect harmony, in which a great disturbance occurred. In the symbolic language of the biblical teachings of wisdom, this is the eating of the mysterious tree. The divine order -- the pure alchemical consciousness fire of salt, sulphur and mercury -- has been disrupted by the serpent with the forked tongue, the two strings, the DNA with the base pairs ATGC, and the unity or wholeness -- being love -- was broken. The paradisiacal tree of the knowledge of good and evil has become a tree of conflict, of which we eat every day. What is the reason for this?

Conflict implies: strife, division, collision -- both on the mental, psychological level and on the physical level. We are unable to live with others without conflict, because we have not solved the conflict within ourselves. 'Love God, the universal order, above all and your neighbour as yourself'. Is this still an impossible task, or do we feel the living heartbeat in these words? To love ourselves on this level means living without conflict with ourselves; and looking for the divine order in deep longing and humility. If we do not do so, we will stumble from one conflict to the next.

The tree of opposites is not a myth from a distant past. This tree is standing within us, we personify this tree. We are no strangers to conflicts: they besiege our heart, occupy our head, determine our actions and pursue us every minute. How often during a day, an hour or even a minute do we not say yes or no, are we not for or against?

And this may concern anything: fellow human beings, opinions, relationships with others, with relatives, with colleagues, work or traffic situations, the situation in the world or the weather -- the list is endless. Many of these conflicts occupy us considerably, activate our feelings and emotions and are the cause of endless mental discussions and discord. We continuously judge and in some cases this no longer even penetrates to our consciousness. Fear, the scourge of human existence, originates from the primordial conflict of the broken divine order within us.

Fear, doubt and insecurity are the faithful companions of conflicts, often expressed camouflaged as attack, aggression, and violence. Then there is also the discord between heart and head, the dichotomy between our thoughts and feelings. Discord is in our bone and marrow, in our blood, in our respiration field, in all the spheres and layers of the microcosm. The divine order has been disrupted -- that is the main theme of our life. This main theme vibrates in our being, not somewhere outside us -- even though the cause may come from outside. Conflict is an activity within us, a feeling of division, and a feeling is of course always within us.

We always look outside ourselves and point fingers at others. Most of the time, we are convinced that the cause of a conflict lies with others. Yet, this cause lies within ourselves, and is the result of the fact that the original balance of the microcosm has been disrupted. The development of self-knowledge and insight by the personality is therefore of great importance. It is the first step towards a free and liberated life.

'Love God above all and your neighbour as yourself'. We sense that this is the key, but how should we use this key? Love God, the universal, original order of things, above all. This means: lift yourself up to the divine, link yourself, link your soul with God, the infinite, immeasurable potential, the primordial source of love, wisdom and power. Love is order, unity, it is working together and being together -- our mind cannot comprehend this, because it never expresses itself on that plane. Wisdom is unity and order, and unity and order are manifested in the divine power, in and through the divine spirit. In the love that encompasses everything, the true divine love, everything is one.

Imagine standing on the shore of a small lake and seeing the still water surface, smooth as glass. Then a small stone, or a drop of rain, falls into the water. What do you see? From the point, where the stone touches the water, waves develop in the form of perfect circles. These circles are expanding, becoming ever-larger circles around the point of contact. It is a perfect wave pattern, a perfect order.

At some distance from each other, more small stones or drops fall into the water. Then what do we see? Everywhere perfect water circles are forming, expanding from the point of contact, from the centre. At a certain moment, these water circles touch each other and begin to interfere. A magnificent chaotic pattern develops, a moving, undulating network of expanding and interfering water circles.

It is a fascinating spectacle. As long as it concerns only two, three or four crossing circles, we can still follow the movements with a keenly observing eye. But as soon as tens of points of contact appear on the water surface, we stop our attempts to follow the course of the movements and surrender to the beauty of the interference patterns that set the entire water surface into motion.

What at first sight seems to be a conflict or a collision, or a mutual obstruction of waves, turns out to be a magnificent co-operation, a harmonious coming together, an attuning to each other. We might say that consensus has been reached, an agreement based on an inner order. This consensus is the end of the conflict, to be compared with the re-established consensus in our own microcosmic system, and, consequently, also between people, between striving people on the path to true freedom.

The interference pattern can clarify a great deal. Water is a wonderful element. Interference is a simultaneous effect of two movements, which obstruct or reinforce each other, like vibrations and wavelike movements.

Water can teach us a great deal, but it requires attention. In his Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu also refers to water. In the universal teachings, water is often a symbol of healing, of becoming whole. Drinking of the living water represents being taken up into another, higher consciousness, and because consciousness is by definition always creative and manifesting, drinking of the living water is also: being taken up into a higher state of life.

State of consciousness is state of life

'State of consciousness is state of life'. This statement also contains a key to true life renewal. When the consciousness changes, life changes. When a new consciousness is born, new life is born.

Consciousness is creative, manifesting, because consciousness is energy. He who remains stuck in the old consciousness will also continue to display the old, egocentric life. When the consciousness remains bound to or influenced by the mechanisms or energy patterns of the astrological Ages of Pisces, Aries or Taurus, the expressions of life will correspond to them.

When the consciousness is open to the new energies or waters of the approaching Age of Aquarius, this will be demonstrated in our lives -- in our personal lives and therefore also in our contact with others.

Attuning to each other, agreement, consensus, cooperation, openness, clarity, humility, harmony through reborn order, love -- that is the new spirit of Aquarius. This does not concern a more or less near future, but it concerns the present. Aquarius means forming a wholeness together, in a new energy pattern. This is possible when the wholeness in our own microcosm has been restored, when we allow this new 'spirit of the times' to affect us. It is the overture to the feast of universal love. This overture is resounding now.

Let us return once more to the wavelike image of the concentric water circles, which develop around a centre or point of contact. It is a simple, but apt image of the revivifying microcosm.

There is a point of contact, a radiant centre in the heart, from where the waves expand. This concentration point is the rose, awakened by the incoming light rays from the divine life order, the great cosmos of love expanding in undulating, vibrating light circles that also shape the microcosm.

However, the microcosmic reality is multidimensional. The microcosm living in divine harmony and order is a system of expanding circles of waves and energy that ultimately appears to be in a vibrating contact with the infinity of divine being. When the centre is vivified, a miracle happens, provided the human being attunes himself to this, in other words, when consensus also develops on that level.

That is the end of the broken life within us, the end of the ancient conflict, developed through the whisperings of the serpent with the forked tongue, in the mysterious tree. Then also all outwardly projected conflicts cease. Whenever the divine order in us has been restored, whenever there is love in us again, there is love for all.

That is Aquarius! Love God above all and your neighbour as yourself. Then the tree of good and evil has again become a tree of true harmony, original order and love… the tree of life, erected within our own self.

With You, O bearer of the holy force of life, we are raised out of danger; 
With You, we enter the liberating Life; 
With You, we reach the goal of our new day of manifestation; 
With You, we sail on the new course of life; 
With You, we enter the Eternal Light.

In the radiant light of Your love we discover our guilt; 
In You, we realise our burden of sin; 
In You, the great mystery of our march through the desert is unveiled; 
In Your sanctity our degeneration is obscured.

Through You, we discover our higher Self; 
Through You, we become conscious of our ascent; 
Through You, we are urged towards liberating action, 
And through You, the divine breath of life murmurs in us, in every heartbeat.

O Rose that on my cross unfolds, absorb the Light of God, 
And in this dismal vale of thorns, transform it -- make it free!

J van Rijckenborgh: The Brotherhood of Shamballa (end of chapter 3)

 © Lectorium Rosicrucianum 2007.

Article from Pentagram No 3, 2007