Energy As A Destroyer - By Andrew Marshall

This is the last in a series of six articles being published during 2007 which may also be viewed online at www.joyousness.org/articles.html

ENERGY AS A DESTROYER Little thought is given, perhaps, to the role of energy as a destroyer except in instances such as military use, accidents and so forth; but energy has to destroy in order to build. The potential for energy to build is equal to its capacity to destroy and the art of destruction so far as energy is concerned is to rid the universe of those forms that are no longer required for the expression of life. This can sound rather frightening when we as human beings are concerned principally with building things for ourselves and creating forms. There is something in the human psyche that regards all things as permanent in nature; yet we know from just a little thought that this is not so and that everything in the universe is impermanent. There is also something in the human psyche that loves destruction, too. Look at the fascination when redundant cooling towers are demolished, for example, or the intrigue that sometimes occurs in children to disturb the virgin surface of sand on a beach or of newly fallen snow. Isn’t there sometimes also a sense of satisfaction when old wallpaper is stripped off walls in preparation for redecoration? The purpose of this article is not to engender delight in destruction but rather to understand its role and why energy must express itself in this way. In an earlier article in this series (Universal Healing Force) we looked at the point of view that the body can only serve the expression of life so long as there is a need for it. In other words, when you or I have fulfilled our life’s purpose (which we may not consciously know) at some point the body will start to break down as the life within slowly withdraws its will-to-live. To put it another way, when our work on Earth is done, we no longer need our “work clothes” i.e. the body. On a greater scale, though, the destruction of form is a little more difficult to understand. For example, when there is a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, resulting in large loss of human life (and probably animals, too) human dwellings and so on, how can we understand what greater purpose – if indeed there is one, we might think – can be served by such catastrophes? It hardly can be put down to an attempt to control the ever-expanding human population as even the greatest disasters destroy only a tiny percentage of human life. Those with a theistic belief may say, “It is God’s Will,” while those with a more secular approach to life may put it down to simple geological disturbances. Perhaps both approaches have something in them in the sense that the first may be interpreted as having

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something to do with “the life purpose of the planet” and the second is scientifically correct, without looking at the deeper principles. The truth is we cannot really understand; but we can understand, or learn to understand, that the Earth’s form is impermanent and that the power or energy that maintains it will also eventually destroy it. And we might be brave enough to assume that the life principle of the Earth has something to do with its maintenance or continuation, in the sense of the Earth being a body for that life principle; and when that Grand Life withdraws due to its period of learning or functioning in that form being over, the outer body, i.e. the Earth as we know it, will degrade. As the old maxim states, “As above, so below.” But that might be a leap too far for some minds. What we must come to terms with, though, is that life has purpose, that life needs form in which to function in this universe of ours and that once that purpose has been fulfilled in that form, the form is no longer needed. That principle, unless we are so egotistical to think that the Earth is the only body in the universe with life, must apply to the billions upon billions of heavenly bodies, suns, stars and their planetary systems throughout the entirety of space. So what role does mankind have so far as the destructive nature of energy is concerned? What mankind has to do is learn responsibility. At the moment, we as the human race are barely beyond kindergarten stage; some would argue that we are not even that far advanced. Nature will not entrust its destructive forces to minds that are incapable of handling them. On the other hand, humanity has discovered enough to blow itself to pieces and its volatile emotional and mental states mean that stability will not be with us for some time yet. What mankind has to learn is that destruction is for the purpose of construction. In other words, the destruction of form has to coincide with the creation of new and better forms, and those new and better forms must support life and evolution. To put it yet another way, if mankind supports Nature and follows natural law, Nature will help with the creation of new forms and the necessary destruction of the old. On the other hand, if natural law is abused, which is currently a frequent occurrence, the new forms that mankind creates will be subject to the natural destructive powers that are inherent in Nature. The important thing in this is the growth or advancement of consciousness as it is advancement of consciousness that supports evolution and, similarly, evolution supports the growth of consciousness. Technological advancement is all well and good and no doubt will carry mankind further in due course; but it is no good without advancement or increase in consciousness and this can only come about by mankind collectively becoming more in touch with its nature. The more acquainted humanity is with its true nature, which

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is pure consciousness, the more wholesome or holistic the approach to life, to the environment and towards each other becomes. As we become more in tune with the real nature of our being, the destructive aspect of energy as a kindly medium becomes more apparent. As our heart values – love, kindness and compassion – increase, notice how the coarser elements in life gradually drop away. The closer we come to pure consciousness, the more refined many aspects of life become. For example, some people notice how their taste for certain types of food or even music changes or how things that once seemed so important in life no longer are. We would probably never have thought of these changes as coming about due to the destructive aspects of energy, but they are. The more pure consciousness is reflected in life, the more the trappings of life have to change to match the inner purpose. Now think of that principle applying on a wider scale. As evolution of consciousness proceeds, recognisable forms have to change. The old has to be destroyed before the new can fully grow. Sometimes we may feel that the destructive process is cruel but is it not actually kindness in action? As we evolve in consciousness, the heart qualities become stronger and gradually we become more joyful. This is a natural result of the destruction of grosser tendencies. Would we rather be as we were, less joyful? Of course not. So although we can have no real idea of what is happening on a grander scale, perhaps we might trust in the general principles of life and allow our minds the thought that energy in its destructive aspect is doing no more than sweeping away the old to make way for the new. This is as true for a solar system as it is for a human being or even an ant. As we evolve and become more acquainted with the true nature of our being, with who or what we really are, we will know intuitively, and perhaps eventually experientially, that there is a continuum of consciousness; and that continuum means there is nothing to fear. In the end, the only things that are destroyed are illusory outer forms. Reality can never be destroyed.

Andrew Marshall - November 2007

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