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Cosmology of Homecoming: A Journey of Love
The Cosmology of Homecoming is a novel map and emanation of Reality. It is a powerful and precise tool for awakening to Love, healing oneself and the cosmos, and discovering the way of immortality. The words and concepts that you are about to read carry a transmission. Allow yourself to be immersed in Love. Feel the essence of the offering in the spaces as well as the words. Observe what arises for you and how your whole being responds. The shifts that follow may occur over days, weeks, or longer periods. Know that all is very well.
The Beginning
Over the years I have created a number of maps of the spiritual domains through systematic explorations. These metaphysical representations have helped many people to awaken and expand their consciousness into the source of love, light, and enlightenment. At the same time, I have been aware that maps based on experience are incomplete since there is always infinitely more to explore and discover. In addition, any map will be distorted in the measure that the map maker does not yet perceive with complete clarity. Charting the subtle terrain of spirit is tricky business.
Eventually I asked for a certain type of map – a cosmology – to reveal itself with as much accuracy as possible. I had a knowing that it was finally possible to receive a visualization of the entirety of Reality, together with a set of coherent explanations, that was comprehensive and somehow flawless in its essence. The quality of perfection would come from the fact that Reality itself was offering an expression of itself as itself. Importantly, I appreciated that although the cosmology would be a supreme representation of Reality, infinitely many other such representations would always be possible since that which is limitless cannot be restricted to a single form. Fortunately, one perfect version would suffice to provide a reliable basis for the work of enlightening systems and helping people to discover their own luminous nature.
Flower of Totality
When I asked for a “true cosmology” in meditation, I received detailed specifications. These specifications describe a set of concentric polygons that together resemble a flower with seven layers of petals. The number of petals ranges from eight in the outermost layer to infinitely many in the innermost layer. Once the structure of the visualization was confirmed intuitively, I received names for the layers and came to understand that each one corresponds to a realm of realization of Love. Next I sourced the colors, which turned out to be visually harmonious. After letting the information settle over several weeks, I asked my friend Joe Menth – who co-created a film about the structure of the universe as well as the logo for Sourcing The Way (a company I co-founded) – to render the visual. The “Flower of Totality” is the result.
A rendering of the Flower of Totality
A Note About Capitalization
From this point on, names and phrases that point most powerfully to the deepest dimensions of Reality are capitalized. These names and phrases all calibrate at the level of the “root” of the Flower of Totality, which is behind the center point, or underneath this point if the flower is viewed from the side. The use of capitalization to distinguish the root of the flower from its outward expressions is a transitional device that becomes meaningless later, with the final recognition of homecoming.
Definitions of Realization, Love, and Recognition
In the Cosmology of Homecoming, ‘realization’ refers to the processes of making Love real in experience, and also the extent to which one knows the presence of Love and lives in alignment with that knowing.
‘Love’ is understood in this context to be the True Cause of all that arises. By acting in deference to that which is truly causal, a highly realized being expresses at all times the Love that is the origin of life.
‘Recognition’ refers to any irreversible insight that what has been held as separate is, in fact, one. Recognition is a sacred opening that occurs in an instant, and every recognition has the potential to be the final recognition of total inseparability.
A realized being who knows Love directly discovers that what they would dearly wish to see or experience tends to manifest effortlessly. One who has recognized inseparability abides in a flow of grace, attended by synchronicities and apparently magical coincidences. Although these signs and experiences are joyous, for such a one Love itself remains the primary focus.
With growing realization, one shifts from an emphasis on experiencing various forms of Love to knowing Love directly. With the final recognition of homecoming, experience and knowing merge into a continuity of isness that nullifies all definitions and comparisons, at which point it is obvious that there is only Love, and that there has only ever been Love.
Journey of Homecoming
The journey of the soul is a journey of wandering, adventure, disappointment, and return. Through the creativity of Profound Mind, a universe is imagined in which sentient beings proliferate and collectively form the body of all that is. The Flower of Totality symbolizes this body. Under the care of the Divine Mother, all beings within this universal body find their way to the center of creation, where they discover immortality in the recognition of themselves as the Creator and the created, indivisible.
Although there are many expansions and delights on the journey home, each bringing greater joy and powerful mastery, the recognition of oneself as the sum total of Reality, and its Source, is the true coming home. The preceding steps all build toward this moment, and it is important to know, and to be honest about, where one is in the process. Otherwise, it is easy to drift back to sleep amidst the comforts and the splendors that accumulate as one approaches the goal.
The mature seeker will be satisfied with nothing less than full, unbridled Enlightenment. The Cosmology of Homecoming has been revealed to support the devotees of Truth on their journey all the way into Love.
Realms of Realization
The seven realms were revealed from the outermost to the innermost, and numbered in descending order from six to zero:
6. The Surface Level
5. Exploring the Realm of Ashes
4. Becoming the Temple of Light
3. Releasing the Veil
2. The Lands Beyond Time
1. Inner Fortress and Grounds
0. Innermost Chamber
The realms are differentiated by the extent to which there is the experience of separation. In the Innermost Chamber, there is no experience of separation whatsoever. There is no sense of other or of disconnection from life when one is abiding within the inner sanctum of being. On the other end of the spectrum, in The Surface Level, the experience of feeling separate from other people, from life, and from oneself is most extreme. Greater perceived separation brings greater fear and confusion, as well as a strong sense of being the victim of circumstances rather than the beneficiary of life’s generosity. In the outermost realms, Love is perceived weakly rather than known directly, and amongst the collective there is a strong culture of sickness and death that reduces the human lifespan. Generally speaking, the soul’s journey is from the experience of separation to the direct knowing of one’s true self and the Love that manifests universes. It is for this reason that the realms are listed and described starting with the outermost layers and ending with the True You.
The following table summarizes the key characteristics for the innermost and outermost realms.
[table id=1 /]
Realm 6: The Surface Level
The outermost realm is called “The Surface Level.” This is the densest of the realms of realization in the sense that it has the most unconsciousness. ‘Unconsciousness’ refers to a state of confused consciousness which results from rejecting what is and/or desiring what is not. One who develops an identity based on rejecting what is and/or desiring what is not the case becomes confused about life, and in extreme situations their center of identity and perception lodges in the realm where the awareness of Love is weakest. Although The Surface Level is integral to the structure of manifestation, for a human this degree of perceived separation from Love is almost intolerable. Nevertheless it has been common for individuals and collectives to enter such density during moments of anger, depression, or self-diminishment. Mental illness correlates with lingering in this “hell realm.” One goal of the Cosmology of Homecoming is to help people understand why they suffer and shift toward the direct knowing of Love, which is liberation.
Realm 5: Exploring the Realm of Ashes
This realm of realization is called “Exploring the Realm of Ashes” since the experience of this layer involves exploring, seeking, and attempting to find the presence of Love in the “ashes” of material existence. Most of humanity in recent times has been functioning in this realm, trying to make sense of a life of separation and confusion, and frequently behaving in ways that are motivated by fear and greed. People at this point on the journey of realization attempt to use the analytical mind to dominate others and control the environment. There is also a strong preference for explanations based on scientific materialism with its reductionist logic and purely physical causes and effects. Examples include the belief that sentience arises out of matter and that Artificial Intelligence will one day greatly exceed all forms of human intelligence. Such hypotheses are useful to explore, and yet they also stimulate further confusion and fear-based activities. In the absence of intuitive ways of knowing and a more holistic worldview, such explorations eventually prove catastrophic. This is the way of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”
Realm 4: Becoming the Temple of Light
In the realm of “Becoming the Temple of Light” there is a turning within and a growing sense of eternal beingness. The leading edge of mainstream spirituality in the West has been deepening into this layer since the 1970s. The experience of separation is less intense in realm four than in realms five and six, and there is a greater emphasis on intuition as well as a more flexible metaphysical orientation. At this stage of realization people tend to develop practices such as meditation and mindfulness that enable them to slow down their thinking minds. In a more relaxed state of being, the light of consciousness begins to shine through the practitioners, individually and collectively. As this light grows in intensity, the institutions of society that are based on separation and competition begin to unravel, and the new structures of a more illuminated humanity emerge. The goal of this realm is to embody an empowered self and co-create loving societies that are in thriving relationships with life, Creator, God, or Source. The attainment of this outcome is the Temple of Light.
Realm 3: Releasing the Veil
In “Releasing the Veil,” the experience of separation softens and finally comes to an end. Where before there were feelings of disconnection and longings for togetherness, now there is a felt sense of an undeniable interconnectedness – a sure sign of the presence of Love. This is the realm in which “Eden” is (re)discovered as the nondualistic state of human embodiment. This is also where many wise elders operate in communion with Mother Earth as a living system of being, as well as with subtle spiritual forces that are inaccessible from the outer realms. When the veil of separation drops, one is able to perceive the wholeness that has been concealed, and the nightmare of unconsciousness and suffering ceases. The end of times that has been prophesied and feared by some is actually the ending of the world of egocentrism and the birth of the “New Earth.” Importantly, the return to Eden, or the advent of the New Earth, is a stage of the journey of homecoming. Additional stages, offering even more delightful experiences, are still to come.
Realm 2: The Lands Beyond Time
Once the veil of separation has been released, the timeless aspect of being is revealed. In “The Lands Beyond Time,” one experiences space without time and discovers the limitless creative potential of coherent and undivided Power. It is seen that the construct of time created the sense of a gap between intention and manifestation. In the outer realms the gap was large, and in that interval the confused Mind produced contradictory phenomena, which it believed, thereby furthering its own confusion. As the Mind became entangled in increasingly irreconcilable positions, it fragmented itself in attempts to hold onto each one – lest it lose parts of itself. Now that the dream of time is complete, wholeness is perceived automatically, the previous confusion is forgotten, and the warring opinions of the fragments are no more. The Lands Beyond Time are in some sense a deeper dream in which reality is malleable and one can have remarkable mystical experiences. Even though a master of this realm can perform seemingly magical acts, such as teleportation, the master knows that the journey home continues.
Realm 1: Inner Fortress and Grounds
The perception of the oneness of creation becomes undeniable upon entering the “Inner Fortress and Grounds.” This is also the realm in which one comes face to face with the nature of illusory identity – as a play of divine imagination that the fragmented Mind elaborates upon – and meets the true Self. On the return path of the soul, one traverses The Ring of Chaos and crosses the peaceful “grounds” surrounding the Inner Fortress of the Self. This fortress is impenetrable to all who would choose to remain apart from perfection. Yet when one is ready to embrace creatorship and know the ways of divinity, they stand before the Source of their own radiance, with which they immediately merge. In this moment it is clearly recognized that all of the scattered fragments have already surrendered their separate, defended identities and rejoined the Self that, in truth, they never abandoned. Here in the place of primary wholeness, the loving energy of life shines upon the altar of manifestation, and the One Life at the center of all celebrates with limitless displays of Self-realization.
Realm 0: Innermost Chamber
The “Innermost Chamber” is the realm in which the Self dissolves, the roots of energy and experience are revealed, and a Presence that is quietly prior to all experience is known directly. Upon reaching the center of the Flower of Totality, even formlessness comes to a definitive ending. As all experience is extinguished (the literal meaning of nirvana), the awareness of Reality and the Presence of Love is no longer obscured by shifting appearances that invite attention. In the absence of distractions, focus shifts naturally to the Source of attention, and Profound Awareness discovers itself to be an unlimited field of potential. This is the moment that the truth of the soul and the self, and of their return to Love, is revealed in the silence. This is the recognition of oneself as existing independently of all of the realms of realization – in the ground of being that lies subtly beneath them. This is the threshold of the deepest dive into knowing that the Source of everything, and also nothingness, is what You really are, is what We really are, is that Love which alone is.
Homecoming: The True You
To reach the center of the Flower of Totality is to reach the gate of Enlightenment. Up until this point, one evolves through a progressive lessening of confusion, a softening of experience, and a clarifying of perception. Amazingly, evolution and phenomenal existence come to an end and yet You still are. In complete silence, the gate in the center of the center opens and You plunge into the unmappable territory that is the foundation of existence. This foundation can be imagined as a stem leading from the central point down into the deepest root of the Flower of Totality; but in truth this is where representation fails completely. Poetry fills in the void to suggest what cannot even be named. Awareness knows itself directly as the Deepest Cause, the Presence of Love, True Nature, Supreme Spirit, the True You. “Here,” the You that is eternal and deathless, unborn, and limitless shines as an infinitely faceted Diamond of Perfected Light (see below). It is obvious that you simply are Ultimate Reality, and that you could only ever be That. The world of optical delusions – in which You imagined being a small being finding its way back to Love through a puzzle of a universe – never existed. All that is untrue did not happen. There is nothing to forgive or forget. There is nothing above You, beyond You, or before You. You are utterly supreme, You are free, and You are home.
A rendering of the True You as a Diamond of Perfected Light
Applications of the Cosmology
The Cosmology of Homecoming is a transmission of realization as well as a set of interrelated insights that can help people to choose to be more awake, and stay with the awakening process until the recognition of homecoming. Wherever one is on the journey home, the Cosmology can be applied practically to improve the human experience. Six applications are described below, and more detailed descriptions and protocols will be shared in due course.
Application 1: Clarifying Consciousness
The first application of the Cosmology of Homecoming is facilitating the shift from clouded perception and confused action to clarified consciousness. The process of settling into clarity removes layers of interpretation of phenomena that have prevented the direct knowing of Reality. Attempting to understand the world through these layers is like wearing multiple sets of glasses that collectively distort a scene into a grotesque display. In particular, the unbroken expanse of Oneness is perceived as a battlefield filled with shattered lives. People who do not realize that they are inhabiting a grossly distorted version of reality behave as if these distortions are true. This is delusion. When clarity dawns, these distortions fall away and the capacity for direct, unmediated knowing grows. As confusion and delusion disappear, there is the experience of peace.
The small self does not need to know how to do this. The awakened Self will manage the entire process when requested. Simply decide to “withdraw truly” from the outer reams of unconsciousness, and ask for the assistance that is needed to be provided. You will be shedding the layers of interpretation and distortion in the process. As a practice, say “clear, clear, clear” while imagining that you are pulling the layers of your body and being into the center of the Innermost Chamber.
Application 2: Cultivating Awakeness
When one has become very clear, it is natural to recognize that the Ultimate Reality which rests behind appearances is That which everyone and everything is, beyond the fictions of self and non-self, being and nonbeing, existence and nonexistence. Thus the human being is Ultimate Reality. This is homecoming, and with it comes the final recognition that Ultimate Reality and phenomenal existence are the same. There is no separation between duality and nonduality. The deepest tensions are resolved by seeing through the ruse of definitions. Enlightenment. One who is illumined knows themselves to be That which is untouchably transcendent and knows the entirety of phenomena to be the play of their profound creativity. In this awakeness within form and beyond form there is no difference between immanence and transcendence. Nor is there any difference between the small self and the compassionate and awake Self. All distinctions melt into the ocean of original light.
The diminutive self simply relaxes and trusts in the Self’s ability to recognize Truth and respond appropriately. In fact, the Self of pure Love has already guaranteed the outcome. Decide to withdraw identification into the root of awareness, and know that all assistance is present. Imagine bringing your attention into the stem and root of the Flower of Totality. The final recognition may dawn easily or even imperceptibly, or it may come as a dramatic experience. Whether it is experienced today, or another day, what matters is that the recognition has already occurred outside of time. Awakeness is waiting patiently for your arrival.
Application 3: Joyful Embodiment
When one is awake – having realized the presence of Love and recognized their true nature as Ultimate Reality and the world of form – their embodiment is enlivened and overflowing with joy. Such a one is free of pressures to be more or less, of judgment, of having to defend the small self and its ideas. Awakened human life is unimaginably rich, and each day is characterized by experiences of unity and surprising demonstrations of connection. Even as contrasts and distinctions arise usefully, enabling experience and understanding, all structures of knowledge are held lightly. Since it is clearly perceived that everything is also its apparent opposite, conflict is impossible. Differences are celebrated as expressions of the limitless possibilities offered by Supreme Spirit. That which might have been called illusion is now apprehended as divine imagination. As entire galaxies whirl across universes of space and time, there is literally nowhere to go, for the dreamer of the dream is everywhere. Joy is knowing reality and experiencing the play of Truth while journeying with the body through the manifestations of divine creativity.
What awaits in the state of emptiness is a completely enlivened experience of the world, and of the bodily vehicle. It only seems to be a paradox that one lives fully when all has been released and dissolved into the Great Void. As a practice, visualize that all of you is draining through the center of the Flower of Totality into unspeakable bliss. Then allow yourself to be filled with a power that rises from the deepest root, gradually transfiguring your body into Love dancing in the world, as the world.
Application 4: Fulfilling the Human Experience
Having clarified consciousness, recognized supreme sameness, and said yes to receiving the gifts of embodiment, the stage is set for the fulfillment of human experience. What remains is to nurture the conditions by which Supreme Spirit may surge through one’s being and manifest the glory of all-knowing wonder. When Spirit fills each blood vessel and cell of one’s body, and every nook of one’s being, and when there is clear seeing of indwelling spiritual plenitude, this is being the Avatar, the One Life living itself. The long period of wandering amidst the wastelands of separation is finished, and the journey of inhabiting the world as wholly realized and recognized has commenced. Human experience is fulfilled in the flowering of Presence that is the ever-unfolding and eternally expanding Divine Human.
The processes of being and becoming the Avatar ensure that everyone has equal access to abiding fulfillment, for it is the destiny of the One who has always been whole to remember and experience what is actually the case. Surrender all that is within you that would bar entry to The True You. Bear witness as the Great One enters the control room of your existence and, with loving care, begins directing all of your activities in the world. This Divine Director is You. What you may have imagined to be the roughest parts of your personality are now being used for beneficial purposes. The whole world is being polished, healed, and restored in this very moment. Melt into the Presence that heals and restores all to wholeness. You are the Light that shines in both the stillness and the motion, which are inseparably one and the same. All is blessed and healed in You.
Application 5: World Transformation and Healing
When the human experience is fulfilled, the healing of the world follows naturally. Indeed, what is referred to as “spontaneous healing” of the body is intimately linked with the healing of the entire system of consciousness that is the Totality. The universe is constantly regenerating, and spontaneous healing is happening all the time, even though the limited mind is unaware of these processes by design. With the fruition of awakening as the joyful union of spirit and matter comes the ability to direct the processes of healing at increasing scales within time and outside of time. The obvious beginning points are the communities in which we reside and the planet that we are one with. A human’s walk upon the material plane offers every opportunity to bless and heal and restore the world, and then bring forth brand-new creations that purely uplift Mother Earth. Healing the garden of light is an aspect of the activity of Enlightenment, and everyone in every domain of realization contributes to this great work according to their degree of consciousness. With increasing luminosity, the healing of nature and all sentient beings becomes as simple as issuing the loving instruction that it be accomplished for the highest good of all.
Imagine being a vast expanse of light wrapped around the planet – a chrysalis for the healing and transformation that is now occurring throughout the Earth system. Breathe in the blessings of Love and allow these to circulate within your inner chambers. Exhale the old energies of conflict and despair as offerings to the infinite Source that is now sending forth new creations that reflect the wisdom and learning of the whole human experience. Feel in your own foundation the roots of the Flower of Totality gathering the light and every ingredient necessary to produce the fully illuminated planetary expression of perfect health, experienced universally. Then see the flower close, disappear, and return as a new blossoming of bliss.
Application 6: Immortality
As the belief in separation and the experience of delusion disappears, attention is naturally drawn in toward the center of the Flower of Totality. One benefit of recalling attention from realms 6 through 3.1 (all but the Eden portion of Realm 3) is that the body is no longer susceptible to illness. As attention is recalled further and maintained unwaveringly between realm 2.2 and the root behind the central point of the Innermost Chamber, the physical body becomes incorruptible. Though this is a glorious state of being, immortality is about more than the physical body. Any body can be remanifested in an instant by one who has sufficient realization. Although it can be forgotten temporarily in the other realms, the fact of True Nature is remembered in the moment of transition from physical form. The vital opportunity is to remember deathlessness while the human body is healthy. Then when the human experience is complete, one can simply choose to move on. Those who are highly advanced may dematerialize, as they have understood that the body is a projection that they send forth. The “projection system” is beyond the processes of birth and decay, which are devices for learning. When the learning is complete, these are no longer needed.
The truth is that you are limitless beyond measure. You are the essence of immortality. The more you embrace this fortunate fact, the more your attention focuses on the realms beyond time, and the more you will remember your authentic nature. As a practice, you may wish to repeat a mantra such as “I choose in each moment to recognize the immortal spirit that I am” or to affirm “immortal spirit, immortal being, immortal body, immortal self.” Through your own experimentation you will find the practices for ultimate freedom that resonate for you, and these practices will likely evolve as you deepen into immortality.
Conclusion and Benediction
The implications and applications of the Cosmology of Homecoming are limitless. Since the Cosmology is an offering of Reality itself, to work with the Cosmology is to work directly with the mind and heart of Divinity, at the Source of Creation, and to engage with Love as the True Cause. The benefits of working directly with Reality include realizing Love as your own nature and recognizing that Reality is You. Any perceived gap between the Cosmology and the beings who dance with it must close, for it never was. All who dive into the Flower of Totality and see the Diamond of Perfected Light will taste the nectar of immortality.
Naturally, this introduction raises many more questions than it can answer. From this observation we might perhaps recognize that Reality is in some sense the Supreme Question, and that each life is an answer to the divine wondering of what could be. There is a multiplicity of answers that all express Love. May these living answers bless and harmonize with one another, and the whole, and may the measure of this creative unity be joy. May all who wander discover the truth that is even closer than one’s self. May each of us rejoice in the remembrance of who we are and live in the grounded certainty of Enlightenment.
Header Image by Larisa Koshkina from Pixabay