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The Desire World, with its innumerable inhabitants, permeates the Physical World, and though invisible is everywhere present; it also extends out into space for a considerable distance.
Please keep in mind that the worlds other than the dense physical one are not worlds of form but are of an ethereal nature interpenetrating one another and also the dense world as a fog penetrates our atmosphere. The Desire World is composed of a more rarefied substance than that of the Physical. It is the realm of desires, therefore it is spoken of as the Desire World. Like the Physical World, the Desire World is divided into seven divisions or regions.
(You are welcome to e-mail your answers and/or comments to us. Please be sure to include the course name and Independent Study Module number in your e-mail to us. Or, you are also welcome to use the answer form below. You will find the answers to the questions below in the next Core Concepts Independent Study Module.)
Name these seven regions. (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception, and Diagram 2.)
To arrive at a correct understanding of the Desire World it is necessary to realize that it is the world of feelings, desires, and emotions. These are all under the domination of two great forces, which act in a different way in the three denser regions of the Desire World from that in which they act in the three finer or upper regions.
Name the two great forces that hold sway in the Desire World. (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
The tendency of every form in the Desire World is to attract to itself all it can of a like nature and grow thereby.
Explain the maxim: "A lie is both murder and suicide in the Desire World." (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
Anything happening in the Physical World is reflected in all the other realms of nature and builds its appropriate form in the Desire World.
Explain why the esotericist always seeks for the good in so-called evil. (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
Purgatory consists of the 3 lower regions of the Desire World, and is the first region the Spirit enters after leaving the physical body at death. In order that we may enjoy the First Heaven that follows, it is necessary that we be purified or purged of evil; thus the necessity of Purgatory.
Name and state the function of each of the 3 Regions composing Purgatory. (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception; Ref. #2. »)
The 4th region of the Desire World is the Region of Feeling. From it comes the feeling concerning the forms, and upon the feeling engendered by them depends the life which they have for us and also their effect upon us.
What is the function of Interest and Indifference? (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
The three higher divisions of the Desire World constitute what is known as the First Heaven.
What qualities are expressed through the higher regions of the Desire World? (The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception)
1. The worlds in which our Universe is divided are:
a) World of God.
b) World of Virgin Spirits.
c) World of Divine Spirit.
d) World of Life Spirit.
e) World of Thought.
f) Desire World.
g) Physical World.
2. a) In the Physical World matter is subject to gravity, contraction and expansion; also distance and time are governing factors of existence.
b) In the Desire World there is neither heat nor cold, forms levitate as well as gravitate; distance and time are nonexistent.
3. The two classifications of the Physical World are the Chemical Region and the Etheric Region. The former is composed of the solids, liquids, and gases. The latter is composed of the chemical ether, the life ether, the light ether, and the reflecting ether.
4. The positive pole of the Chemical Ether manifests in assimilation. The negative pole manifests in excretion.
5. The forces which work along the negative pole of this ether enable the female to bring forth a new being. The forces working along the negative pole of this ether enable the male to produce semen.
6. The forces working along the positive pole of the Light Ether generate blood heat in the higher species of animal and man, and also circulate blood in cold-blooded animals and juices in plants.
The forces working along the negative pole operate through the senses of sight, feeling, hearing, tasting, and smelling. This ether is responsible for the color in all kingdoms in nature.
7. This ether is called reflecting because it contains only a reflection of the true pictures in the real Memory of Nature.
In 1820, Pierre Simon Laplace claimed that if he knew the position and velocity of every particle in the universe, he could in principle predict all the future positions of all particles and hence all future events. Subsequent to Laplace, throughout the nineteenth century, various other material scientists echoed this opinion. Their belief was supported by their observations. Given the initial position and velocity of a thrown ball, they could predict where it would land. Given the initial position and velocity of the sun and planets, they could predict where each would be at a later time. Even electrically charged objects appeared to obey inexorable laws, so that given their initial positions and velocities, their future positions could be predicted. Laplace's belief led people to take the view that the world operated totally according to laws, that what would happen was predetermined, and that men had no control over either their own future or the future of the world.
With the approach of the twentieth century, scientists began to observe some things that began to shake their confidence in their ability (in principle) to predict all future events. In the photoelectric effect experiment (1887), the Franck-Hertz experiment (1914), the Compton effect experiment (1922) and the electron diffraction experiment (1927), electrons and light waves were not behaving the way the classical theory predicted. The conclusions that were, in time, drawn by material scientists were:
1. Light moves through space as a wave (which spreads out over some region of space), but when light interacts with anything, localized particles (called photons) appear within the wave. Where a photon will appear within a light wave cannot be predicted, although statements can be made as to the relative probability of the photon appearing in any given region.
2. An electron moves through space as a wave, but when the electron interacts with anything, a localized particle appears within the electron wave. As with the photons, only probability statements can be made as to where within the electron-wave the electron-particle will appear.
3. Likewise, other elementary particles (such as protons and neutrons) move through space as waves and interact as particles.
Out of the wave-particle picture of light and matter grew the Uncertainty Principle, first introduced by Werner Heisenberg in 1927. Let "delta x" represent the width of a wave. Then the uncertainty in where the particle may appear will also be "delta x". One may locate where a particle will appear by arranging things so that the particle wave is very narrow. What Heisenberg noticed was that the narrower the wave became, the greater would be the uncertainty in the velocity that the wave could give to the particle that it created. In algebraic form, Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle states that....
....where "delta v" is the uncertainty in the velocity of the particle, "delta x" is the uncertainty in the position of the particle, "m" is the mass of the particle, and h=6.626 x 10 to the minus 34th power Js. Thus, physical scientists arrived at the conclusion that is is impossible to know precisely both the position and the velocity of a particle. If we cannot know precisely the initial position and velocity of the particles in the universe, and if particles (when they are not interacting) can disappear (turn into waves) and reappear in some unpredictable place, then Laplace's belief that all future events can (in principle) be predicted is no longer tenable.
Material scientists ascribe the appearance of particles in one place or another to "chance" because they are only able to make probability predictions. Albert Einstein, however, stated in 1947, "I shall never believe that God plays dice with the world." What appears as chance to material scientists does not appear as chance to clairvoyants, who can see higher powers at work. Clairvoyants see many intelligent forces at work in the world. Each person has a Spirit (sometimes called an Ego) that can direct the dense physical body to do as it wills. Animals and plants also have Egos, although their Egos have lesser abilities to direct their dense physical bodies than do the Egos of men. There are also angels who help direct processes of reproduction and growth, and archangels who help direct migrations and construction of habitations and other instinctual activities of animals, and the formation of customs, beliefs, and group activities of nations of peoples. There are Recording Angels who direct the experiences that people encounter in life in such a way that everyone receives exactly what he needs for his development.
In Truth there can be no contradictions. Insofar as material science is true, and insofar as religion is true, the two can live side by side in harmony with one another. The development of the Uncertainty Principle by material science brought science one step closer to the Truth, and made room in scientific theory for the interaction of Spirit with matter, which religion claims occurs.
In Proverbs 3:19 it is written, "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens." Material scientists have made many observations of what is in the universe and how things function. Do these observations give evidence of wisdom? To answer this question, we must have some means of recognizing wisdom when we see it. One way of recognizing whether wisdom is in the current universe is to compare it with (imagined) alternative possible universes, and see whether the actual universe or the alternatives function better.
In the current universe, two of the basic particles from which matter is constructed are the proton and the electron. These particles are observed to be attracted to one another by what is called an electrical force. What would the universe be like if there were no forces between particles? All the particles in the universe would fly around randomly and no forms could be built. If one is have a meaningful physical creation, one must be able to stick particles together into various forms. Thus, the existence of electrical forces is wise.
In the current universe, the electrical force is not able to hold two protons together, but there is another force, called the nuclear force, which is able to hold protons together. What would the universe be like if protons could not bond together? Then the only element in the universe would be hydrogen (which consists of one proton orbited by one electron). If there was only one element in the universe, the possibility of creating complex structures with varying properties would be limited. Thus, the material world is a better world because of the existence of the nuclear force.
When some protons bond themselves together and attract electrons into orbit around themselves, the result is called an atom. All atoms with the same number of protons are called by the same element name. For example, all atoms with six protons are called carbon atoms, all atoms with twenty-six protons are called iron, all atoms with seventy-nine protons are called gold, etc. It is observed that in the current universe the motions of the electrons around the protons are governed by what are called "quantum-mechanical waves." These permit the electrons to go into only certain orbits around the protons. What would the world by like if these waves did not govern the motions of the electrons? First of all, no two atoms of an element would have the same chemical properties. One gold atom would have its electrons arranged differently from another gold atom, so each atom would have different properties. Furthermore, the atoms would be able to change their properties continuously. Every time one atom collided with another atom, the electrons in the atoms would get knocked into different orbits and the atoms would change their properties. Atoms that formed a solid one minute might turn into a liquid or gas the next, or might change from a brittle solid to an elastic solid, or from a non-flammable substance to a flammable substance, etc. Such instability in the world would not be conducive to the building of useful physical forms. Thus quantum-mechanical waves for the governing of electron motions fulfill a useful purpose and exhibit wisdom.
When two or more atoms join together, the result is called a molecule. From molecules, the various plant, animal, and human bodies are constructed. Humans obtain the materials for their bodies by eating plants. It is observed the human bodies are not built from chewed-up chunks of fruits and vegetables. If they were, the possible body structures would be quite limited. Can you imagine trying to build arteries and veins and capillaries out of little chunks of celery, perhaps held together with honey and flour? It is wise that the human body is able to break down food into its component parts and then rebuild new molecules that will serve its purposes.
Any molecule can be broken down if heated sufficiently. But if the human body were to try to break down food particles by heat, then all the molecules in the region of the heat would be broken down. This would not be wise, because while food needs to be broken down, other molecules need to be preserved or built from the food particles. The actual means by which the body breaks down food and builds needed molecules avoids the above problems.
Within the body are molecules that are called enzymes. There are many different kinds of enzymes. For each type of molecule that needs to be broken down, there is a specific enzyme that can take hold of and break only that type of molecule, and none other. Also, for each small molecule that needs to be constructed, there is an enzyme that is able to take hold of the specific components needed, ignoring all other substances present, and pull those components together until they bond. Thus, the body specifically breaks down certain molecules that it cannot use and builds others that it can use.
Enzymes are able to pull together a few components to create a small molecule. The average-sized protein molecule needed in the human body contains a chain of some 400 amino acids, all arranged in a specific pattern. The job of putting such a molecule together is too large a job for enzymes. There are within the body certain molecules (called DNA molecules), which have, in coded form, the patterns according to which the various proteins of the body need to be put together. There are certain other molecules (called m-RNA, t-RNA, and ribosomes) that work together to pull the appropriate amino acids into the sequence specified by the DNA. Thus the human body can obtain for itself the types of molecules that it needs. Nor do these molecules that construct other molecules just set to work and continuously manufacture proteins (in a healthy body). There are other sets of molecules (called regulator, repressor, and operator genes) that are able to sense whether a particular protein is needed and to stimulate production if it is needed and to repress production if it is not needed. It is efficient (and therefore wise) for the body not to waste its energies on producing things that it does not need.
When we begin to look at the structure of the various organs and systems within the human body, we see further evidence of wisdom. The body, by means of the blood, is able to carry oxygen and food nutrients to all cells in the body and to carry waste products away from the cells. Without the blood circulation, the cells would be like a stove that is not supplied with new fuel or air, and from which the ashes are not removed. it would son burn out.
Not only does the physical body have all the features needed to function in the physical world, but also it has many features that maximize its functioning ability. The bones are composed of compact material near the surface and a meshwork of porous material inside, which gives strength without much weight. The lungs (with their alveoli), the intestines (with their villi), and the circulatory systems (with its capillaries) have branches that maximize surface areas, which increases the efficiency of absorption of materials from these surfaces. The nose is so constructed that it is able to warm and filter dust from the air breathed, so that the lungs are not stressed. The eyelids of the eyes are able to shut when particles approach that could hurt the eye or when light in the eye is not desired. The skin is able to sweat when the body is overheated, so that evaporating moisture will cool the body. The capillaries in the circulatory system have the feature that they can open and close as needed, so that when a certain part of the body open and bring added blood. This permits the body to operate with less blood than would be needed if all the capillaries had to be supplied with blood all the time. The vocal cords, together with the tongue and lips, permit not only sounds, but controlled sounds (words) to be made. Additionally, the body has many "spare" parts, so that it can continue to function even if certain parts are injured. The body can continue to live and function effectively even if it loses half of the brain, one kidney, one lung, three-quarters of the liver, and up to eighty percent of the small intestine.
As we proceed in our examination of the universe, let us turn our attention to the Earth and the Sun. The Sun shines on the Earth and supplies it with energy. Without the sunshine, all water would freeze, no wind would blow, no plants could grow, and animals and humans could not live. The method of production of energy in the sun is by nuclear reactions, which convert mass into energy. This is such an efficient method of energy production that the sun can radiate energy at approximately the same rate as it does now for a period of around ten billion years. Thus life on Earth has enough time to develop and evolve complex life forms. By comparison, if the sun produced its energy by means of chemical reactions (as occur in ordinary coal or gas fires), the sun with its present mass would not be able to continue its current output of energy for more than about 1,400 years. Thus, the nuclear method of energy production is much wiser.
The placement and motions of the Earth also show wisdom. The Earth is at the appropriate distance from the Sun (not too far and not too near) and has the appropriate rotational and revolutional motions to provide the present life forms with appropriate measures of the sun's radiations to foster life and evolution. The atmosphere of the Earth contains the oxygen needed by animals and humans for breathing. If all forms of life breathed in oxygen and breathed out carbon dioxide (as do animals and humans), the oxygen supply would soon run out. Plants, however, take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen and thus help maintain a stable situation. If gravity were the only force that acted on water, all the water would run into the oceans and plants and animals on land would die. Water is, however, able to evaporate from the oceans. Winds, energized by the sunshine, then carry the water vapor over the land where it condenses and falls as rain. Thus the plants get the water that they need, and rivers and streams supply animals and humans with fresh water. All these processes work together to produce a stable environment for the development of life on Earth over long periods of time. Considering the slow nature of evolution of the beings involved, this is wise.
In time, all forms "die" and dissolve. This is also wise. Plant, animal, and human bodies, although they exhibit wisdom in their structure, are not yet perfect. It is therefore good for the spirits inhabiting these forms, after they have gained all the experience they can from one form, to leave that form and then build another better form. Even suns burn out and solar systems dissolve in time. There comes a time when the solar system has lived out its usefulness and must dissolve so it can be rebuilt in a more perfect manner.
We humans work along with the other creative hierarchies in designing and building and improving the universe. it is well for us to recognize what in the creation is wise so that when we make changes, we do not change that which is already good, and thus make things worse instead of better.
Material scientists have observed regulatory and organizing qualities in the bodies of living creatures. As the botanist, Edmund W. Sinnott, has noted (chapter 2 in Creativity and Its Cultivation):
"Living things are organisms. An organism is, first of all, an organized system of structures and activities. It is not a sprawling mass of semi- independent parts and processes but is held together under a coordinating control...Food enters it and is built into it...As tissues wear out, matter leaves the organism again...It does not change the living system, however, for by a series of regulatory processes the organism maintains itself...
"Each organism has...its special cycle of progressive and creative development. Continual change is the keynote of this cycle; not unguided change but change that moves toward a very definite end — the mature individual and the completion of the cycle...The normal course of development toward a particular end can be blocked and altered in various ways,... (but) the organism shows a persistent tendency to achieve the end unimpeded...
"The growing shoot-tip from a plant, cut off and put into water or moist sand, will regenerate its lost root system. Various organs of animals (if lost) will be restored — crab claws, appendages of amphibian larvae, tails of worms, eyes of snails, etc..."
In the same book, chapter 3, the architect Alden B. Dow remarks that the more varied the building blocks available for making something, the more varied can be the structure of that thing. he notes that in nature there are many varieties of atoms and molecules and that there are therefore myriads of possible ways of combining these. He concludes: "For this reason I am not surprised at the creativeness or individuality found in natural structures. I am amazed, however, that with all this creative ability nature is willing to conform just enough to produce a thing we can recognize as a common daisy. If the building blocks are similar, I can see how there would be a common kind of character among individual forms. For example, a house built of bricks is a brick house, and a house built of wood is a wood house. This, no doubt, is what we call genetics, but it does not account for the similarity of the forms of all daisies."
The material scientists are puzzled. What gives organization to the organism? What directs the development and healing of the organism? What makes organisms of a particular type conform to a recognizable pattern, although variations can occur within the general pattern? Clairvoyants can see the guiding forces that direct these phenomena, and thus can give answers to these questions.
Clairvoyants note that first a distinction needs to be made between body and spirit. The spirit is as separate and distinct from its form as the carpenter is apart from and personally independent of the house he builds for his own occupancy. It is Spirit that molds forms into an expression of itself.
Spirit builds bodies with wisdom and purpose and forethought. It mentally conceives the various functions it wishes a body to be able to perform, and then creates various structures within the body that are capable of carrying out these functions. Thus, bodies are not the result of chance combining of atoms, but rather are the result of careful planning. This is why we see organization in organisms.
Dense physical bodies are able to grow toward a specific form and to heal themselves if their forms are damaged because the spirit has created a matrix of etheric force fields (called a vital body), which directs the placement of the dense particles brought into the dense body (as food). If one takes a board and makes indentations in it and then rolls marbles across the board, the marbles will settle in the indentations. Likewise, atoms fit themselves into the force points in the vital body. During growth, the points in the vital body are in a process of being filled with atoms. If some tissue wears out or some dense organ is removed, and if the vital body is un-injured, the organ will grow again as that region of the matrix again becomes filled. Thus, the vital body enables the organism to develop toward a predetermined form and to heal itself.
The reason for similarities in forms is that many forms can be created from one mental pattern. Once the creative spirits mentally created a basic daisy pattern, this same basic pattern was used in the creation of all daisies. Likewise for each other species of plant and animal. Initially, one basic pattern was created for human form. In time, modifications were made in this pattern, so that there became separate basic patterns for each race and nation. Humans have now reached the stage in their evolution where they are able individually to do creative work. Thus human spirits have begun to individually modify the structures of their bodies, so that each is becoming recognizably different from every other.
Everywhere in nature we can see, if we look for it, evidence of wisdom, order, and relations between parts, and progressions toward goals. Tennyson was filled with these wonders of nature when he wrote,
— Anderson, Harold H., ed. Creativity and Its Cultivation New York: Harper, 1959
— Supplemental Student Material: Science and Religion, Elsa M. Glover, PhD
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