Episode 014 - Stairway to Heaven

Stop Making Yourself Miserable

Over the years, I’ve done research on a countless number of creative projects. And whether they’ve panned out or not, I still get to keep what I learned, which is quite a bonus. Actually, I guess that’s the way life is for us. No matter how things turn out, you still get to keep what you learn, if you value it enough.

As an example, in the early 80s. I was working on developing a potential film project about the lost continent of Atlantis. There seemed to be a fascinating connection between the fall of Atlantis and the rise of Egypt, so I got involved in exploring some of the mystical understandings of ancient Egypt. These understandings were truly ancient, predating the pyramids by thousands of years and I found them to be quite powerful.

I think you’ll find two of them to be pretty intriguing. The first one is short and simple, and the second is a little more complex. But to me, they’re both still packing quite a punch.

The short one is simply this - after you die, you are going to be met by a guide who will take you to a river. And this guide will ask you just two questions. The first one is – What did you learn in this life? And the second is – How much did you help others?

Depending on your answers, you will either be taken across the river and be finished with the process of incarnating into earth life. Or, you will be sent back to incarnate again and give the whole thing another try. Supposedly, you may have to go around a few million times before you finally get it right. And that’s all there is to it.

As I mentioned, it’s pretty short and simple and the basic idea is that we came into life for two things. We came here to learn and we came here to help. Again, this is a very ancient concept, but who knows? Maybe it’s an oldie but goodie.

The second understanding is about something they called the Seven Manifestations of Intelligence on the Earth Plane, but don’t be put off by the big title. It’s actually fairly simple. It’s a little cumbersome in the beginning but it suddenly gets deep and I have gotten a lot out of it over the years.

So, using the metaphor of a stairway, it describes the seven different forms of intelligence that exist on earth. And it claims we that each make the journey up the stairway until we get to the top.

Each step includes the step before it, but then adds a new element. Because it begins with matter taking form, it doesn’t include air or water which are essentially formless.

The first step on the stairway is the Mineral Kingdom, where atoms and molecules take shape in physical form. There are about 4,000 different kinds of mineral compounds, like dirt, rocks and crystals, and while they may have an endless variety of forms and shapes, they all have one thing in common – they are not alive. They have organized structure, but they are inanimate objects. They have shape, but not life.

The next step is the Plant Kingdom, where the element of life is added to structure, and the process began about 1.5 billion years ago. Currently, there are more than 250,000 different kinds of plants ranging from simple, microscopic ferns to gigantic thousand-year-old trees that are over 52,000 feet tall. Yet in their vast diversity, these quarter million plant forms have one thing in common - they’re all alive.

In that, they are truly amazing. Most grow towards the light and use photosynthesis to transform light energy into chemical compounds. They reproduce. They give off flowers and fruit, helping to sustain the creatures of the earth.

But while all this is amazingly true, they are missing one key element, the element of choice. No matter how wonderful and advanced a plant is, it can’t decide to get up and move to a different location. It can grow, but it can’t choose where to grow.

Which brings us to the next step, the Animal Kingdom. And here is where the critical aspects of choice and will are introduced.

While even the most complex plant can’t make choices, the simplest animal, the Trichoplax, does it all the time. With only 50,000 cells, even if it’s just instinctually reacting to stimuli, it’s still constantly exerting the most primitive elements of choice and will.

Of course, from that most basic creature, animal intelligence evolved dramatically. The first animals with backbones appeared in the sea about 530 million years ago, and they came onto land about 30 million years later. Then about 63 million years ago, the first primates appeared.

While the complex, higher forms of animal life are extremely intelligent, with an enormous array of impulses and feelings, they can also go so far. They do not have the ability to think rational thought. This truly remarkable level of intelligence began in Step Four, with the emergence of the human being.

Now the difference between human intelligence and the rest of the Animal Kingdom could easily fill an encyclopedia. But the evolution of language and writing really kicked things into high gear. This astounding nuance of our intelligence allowed us to evolve as a species, rather than just a bunch of individual creatures. Not only could we share and improve our knowledge base, we could also pass it along to subsequent generations, generating constant improvement. This incredible feat is unique to human beings.

To see the difference, think about a colony of apes that was living during the dark ages. If you compare them, there would be hardly any differences between those creatures and the way they lived and the apes of today.

Now compare the human beings of the dark ages with those of today. While their bodies might be basically the same, that’s about it. Everything else is light years apart. And this enormous difference is due to language and writing, which gave us the power to transcend time and place and transmit information across generations. And that’s just one element of rational thought.

So, the emergence of rational thought in the human being is Step Four on the stairway. The next three steps all involve different levels of human intelligence.

The ancients called the fifth step the level of Genius. It goes beyond the linear form of rational thought. The linear form simply means that using logic, we reason in a line, A+ B=C. There are many people who are exceptionally brilliant at linear thought and as a species, it has been the basis of our evolution over all these years.

But the genus level is different. In the genius level we have access to our intuition, which is defined in the dictionary as “The ability to understand something immediately, without the need for conscious reasoning.”

The implications of this are vast. Geniuses are somehow able to perform on a higher level and when watched from the outside, their expertise almost seems effortless. They are in a certain flow. They’re in the zone.

Of course, this manifests in many different forms. There are geniuses in art and music. There are geniuses in business. There are sports geniuses. A basketball genius senses that a teammate is going to cut to the basket before it even occurs to the teammate, throwing the pass almost in advance of the move.

But the genius level isn’t only reserved for those who seek to do good. Unfortunately, it cuts both ways. There are evil geniuses as well and they have an uncanny instinct for creating terrible trouble. Indeed, all the major tyrants throughout history, who have created so much misery, were all geniuses in their own way. But their genius was in bringing out the worst elements of the human animal. And sadly, the beat goes on.

So, steps four and five, rational thought and genius intuition can be used for good of for bad. Step Six marks the next major turning point.

They called it the level of the Prophet and although it sounds like a rather lofty title, it simply refers to a human being that chooses to use its intelligence to serve only the highest good. Regardless of whether it’s with logic or intuition, it only serves the light. And this creates an enormously elevating evolution both in terms of the being’s feelings and as well as actions.

According to the teachings, there is a lofty area of human intelligence where our most noble characteristics reside. This is where we feel peacefully at home and it can be likened to a fertile field filled with an enormous variety of dormant, living seeds. just waiting for the water of our attention to bring them to life. And this is what one on the Sixth level chooses to do.

So, at this point, you may be asking yourself – Okay, that’s six levels - mineral, plant, animal, human, genius and prophet. You said there were seven. What’s the last one?

The answer is that the ancient Egyptians called this final step the level of the God Man. For some reason they had very little to say about it other than it referred to “a master soul, one who manifests God completely and perfectly, supremely conscious with no part unconscious.” And that was about it.

I guess when you look back on history, there have probably been a bunch of these masters who still have an individual identity, but have surrendered it to the Divine to such a degree that they have become a pure vessel for the Indwelling God Presence within them. But it’s probably one of those things where it takes one to know one, which certainly rules me out as an authority.

So, that sums up the seven steps of the manifestation of intelligence on the Earth plane according to the Gnostics that allegedly left Atlantis and founded Egypt. But there is one last enticing, yet challenging aspect to it. They claim we are each travelling up this stairway and as we learn how to refine our choices, we will ultimately get to the top of it.

For me, it’s all too vast to comprehend. I feel like I’m standing before an immense ocean with my trusty thimble in hand, ready to take it all in.

But on a less daunting level, because they say that choice is the key to the whole thing, maybe my best move is just to keep looking at the choices I’m making on a day-to-day basis and see if I can find some room for improvement in there. Anyway, it doesn’t sound too hard and it certainly can’t hurt.

Well, that’s it for this episode. As always, keep your eyes, mind and heart opened, and let’s get together in the next one.