On the Emergence into Life

On the descent of the soul into body, the Philosopher Plotinus explains the reason for our emergence into life. He holds to the notion that the universe is filled with souls in order to make it complete. It is here in the sense-realm that the soul is to manifest its powers, ‘which if they had remained dormant in the spiritual world would have been of no use because they would never have come into actuality.’

So while we reside in this world our mission is to participate in a work fitting to our nature; that is our enlightened nature which remains unscathed and unperturbed. But how do we know if this is true? Plotinus boldly expresses his opinion by stating that in some way our souls remain connected with its source. According to him ‘our soul does not altogether come down, but there is always something of it’ that remains in ‘the spiritual world’.

But take a good look around? Why are there so many people opposed to this kind of relational orientation? Plotinus gives an intelligent answer to this question: When the part of the soul which remains ‘in the world of sense-perception gets control and is therefore thrown into confusion, it prevents us from perceiving the things which the upper part of the soul contemplates.’ In other words the disorientation comes about like an Actor who becomes strongly fixated on his theatrical role and forgets his former self. Simply put we lose ourselves in the drama.

So the question we may have to ask ourselves is whether or not some aspect of our psyche is able to commune with a higher power. What needs to take place for us to accept such a notion? Either way, what does our upper soul do? According to Plotinus it ‘maintains the beauty and order of the whole in effortless transcendence…’

So in that spirit here is my natural and spontaneous interpretation of such art. Click on the image above to access my video On the Emergence into Life.

Love & light,

JY