In complete coemergence, Reality includes not only the boundless dimensions of true nature, but also the dimension of shakti energy and that of physicality. The physical dimension is more difficult to understand, because it is not a dimension in the sense we have been discussing. It is basically physical matter always in the form of one object or another in space. In fact it is not possible to think of physical matter except in the form of an object. We do not find a continuous field of matter that takes the forms of the various objects. When we observe physical objects from the perspective of true nature we do not experience them as physical the way we normally do. They lose their opaqueness and sense of solidity, and appear as diaphanous forms of presence. In other words they simply appear as forms that the presence of true nature assumes. Yet they are not essential forms and not like essential forms, even though all forms appear similar in the boundless dimensions of true nature. Thus it makes sense to think of these forms as constituting a dimension of their own. These forms have characteristics different from essential forms, or mental and emotional forms, even though from the perspective of true nature they are only forms that true nature takes. The main difference they have from essential forms is that two physical forms cannot exist in the same time and space. For instance, you cannot have two apples at the same exact location of time and space. In other words, physical forms displace each other. This is not true of energetic or essential forms, for they can coexist at the same time and space, as an overlap that is impossible for physical forms.

We ordinarily think of physical reality as solid matter, of objects existing on their own. In terms of objective reality, there is no such thing, but this does not mean that there is nothing there. The forms exist, but in a different way than we had thought. They exist as articulations that are expressions of the creativity of Being. That creativity is what we see as the world. So there is no question of whether physical reality ultimately exists or not; the question is: What is the nature of what we are perceiving?

For instance, our knowledge patterns our experience to the extent that we actually experience a physical reality. We end up believing that there is such a thing as physical reality and physical matter. In fact, we are completely convinced that physical reality is a fundamental truth. In objective reality, there is no such thing as the physical world that we know. If we experience our body without the filter of ordinary knowledge, we will not experience a physical body, we will experience a fluid patterning of luminosity. Our experience is so conditioned and determined, that not only do we believe we have and are a body, we believe in something more basic that underlies this belief: that the body is the body as we take it to be. For most people, this is absolutely true: The body is physical matter that is born and hurts and dies. From that point of view, how can we possibly think of it as a fluid patterning of luminosity? This is just an example, maybe a little extreme, to tell us how far the patterning of ordinary knowledge goes.

The Pearl aspect is the essential prototype of integration and organization, specifically of self-integration and self-organization. This capacity, or process, is inherent in life in general, in consciousness in general. Natural science has discovered that self-organization is also inherent in physical matter. It can be seen throughout the natural world. Even on the simplest of biological levels, life is self-organizing and self-activating. We see this in an amoeba as well as in a single cell in the human body, and even in a star or a planet. This integration and organization exists on all levels within the human being: The body, the mind, and the soul are all self-organizing. Similarly, groups of people such as families, tribes, and neighborhoods are self-organizing. The same is true of cities and countries, as well as of ecosystems and planetary weather patterns. The concept of Gaia refers to the same principle at work in the earth as a whole. The more we look, the more we see that the whole universe is self-organizing, self-activating, and self-acting. Self-organization also exists at all levels of evolution. On the soul level, it occurs when the Pearl is realized, at which point self-organization becomes specific and clear as the culmination of the soul’s development from the earliest stages of primitive formlessness. The fact that the universe as a whole is self-organizing means that it too is moving toward individuation and integration, toward being the universal Pearl. On the universal level, complete self-organization is sometimes referred to as God.

It is clear to my understanding that the ordinary knowledge of the world, the knowledge put together by memory and thought, veils the luminosity of appearances, and makes the various forms appear opaque. This opaqueness obstructs the perception of the underlying reality of the forms, by eliminating their inherent transparency. Thus the world is solidified into something inert and dismembered. And when the opaqueness is dispersed, through understanding its sources, perception beholds shapes and colors that reveal a reality so pure, so fresh, so new and undefiled that consciousness is totally transported, as if seared from within by a cool Arctic wind. I see through everything, through the surfaces of the various forms, and behold what underlies everything, what fundamentally constitutes all. I penetrate to the center of the universe, to the real nature of existence. What I behold baffles the mind, shatters it and enchants it beyond all knowing: The universe is one infinite perfect crystal, totally transparent, and absolutely clear. A density and immensity beyond comprehension, a solidity infinitely more fundamental than physical matter. The reality of the world is a solid transparency, a compact emptiness so clear it feels like the total absence of any sensation. This sheer clarity, this solid void, is so empty of mind and concept that it feels exhiliratingly fresh, so uncorrupted that it strikes me as the very essence of innocence. It is the virgin reality, before mind arises, before thought knows, before memory is born.