Trafford Publishing: Connectedness

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Connectedness

by Arnold Ward

278 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1221; ISBN 1-4120-0853-0; US$24.50, C$29.00, EUR20.00, £14.00

Connectedness is for people who want to find a meaning in life and explore the world behind what we usually refer to as reality. It is a down-to-earth- and easily readable book that will provide some answers of why we are here today, in these particular bodies.

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about the book about the author sample excerpts or Table of Contents catalogue info

About the Book

I saw a need to provide information for people who find difficulty in working out why life can seem so difficult at times (all the time?).
The book covers a wide range of information, beginning with the creation of life, and Man's journey through a beginning as pure spirit and its subsequent descent into a material body and now the struggle to return to the spiritual source. It explains that all that we see and touch is actually energy and the energy fields it creates result in all of life, at all levels, being connected.
Increasing consciousness is the basic drive and this process is described. There is no limit to the extent that consciousness can expand to and our progress into higher levels of that experience are portrayed in the higher levels of evolution that can be attained, such as the human hierarchy, the logoi of planets and solar systems etc. The path to increases in consciousness lies through re-incarnation and the working out of karma.
Due to the efforts of fore-runners of the race we are gradually exposed to the potential before us but we are hestitant in grasping the fact that life does have a deep, inner meaning, and that everything in the universe is actually connected to everything else. The value of science is noted but there is also a broad exposure to such facets of life as the human body, health, realationships, education and beliefs, politics, time and cycles.
Despite the extent of the subjects covered it connects them into a workable framework from which to explore matters of interest in more depth.

Arnold Ward has had a long interest in the spiritual life f humanity. He has written this book to encourage a deeper consideration of the reason for human life on Earth. The Alice Bailey work and the Arcane school are the foundation for his writing and the contents include: the beginning; energy fields; the environment; evolving consciousness; reincarnation and karma; heirarchy and time. Scientific discoveries, theories outlined, showing how the advancements of today relate to the Ageless Wisdom teachings. Many other subjects are featured including methods of divination, morphogenesis, the environment, health and growth and relationships. Connectedness is a most readable and informative book.
The Beacon July/August 2004

About the Author

Arnold Ward is a retired accountant who left England for Canada in 1952 and entered Australia in 1970 with his wife and two children. During his many moves in Canada and Australia he has been through a number of crises and met many individuals who exposed him to varied aspects of the world of metaphysics.
On early retirement he and his wife Marie, who has been a constant inspiration to him, opened a residential healing centre in New South Wales, and then one in Western Australia. A lifelong interest in psychic phenomena and the spiritual side of life, which began in his late teens, was coupled with a deep interest in science. His interest in astrology led to a diploma from the Faculty of Astrological Studies (London) in the year 1977.
Beginning in the early 1990's he took an interest in the beginnings of biotechnology as applied to plants and eventually became a founding member of the South Australian Genetic Food Information Network (SAGFIN). In 1999 he attended the 'Eating into the Future' conference held at the Adelaide Hilton. At a concurrent session he read a paper titled 'Genetic Engineering in a Spiritual Setting' which was subsequently published in The Beacon magazine.
Reading of the Alice A. Bailey books opened up a much wider introduction to one of the means of spiritual growth and also introduced him to the course provided by the Arcane School. In his case this proved to be what he had been looking for as it broadened his opportunity for service to others. Part of that service is this book, which is a primer for all those who are seeking some answers to the questions that arise as a result of a feeling that there is more to life than just working and consuming material goods. It is meant to act as a spur to looking more deeply into the true reasons for human life on Earth.
A draft copy of the book was given to Sarah McKechnie, who is president of the Lucis Trust, one of the Trust's functions being the publishing of the Alice Bailey books. Her comments on the book of - "You asked for my comments, and the first thing I would say is congratulations on such an extensive appraisal of so many different subjects, all of which you discuss by drawing upon the Ageless Wisdom. Writing this book must have been a huge task." - have encouraged me to persist in finding a publisher.
His inner feeling is that he was meant to write this book to inspire others to take up the search for inner meaning.

Sample Excerpts and Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
In the Beginning
Energy Fields
The Environment
History of Man - Evolving Consciousness
The Human Body
Why we are here - Reincarnation and Karma
Health and Growth
Relationships
Education and Beliefs
Numbers
Methods of Divination
The Hierarchy of Man
Politics and Spirituality
Cycles
Time
Appendix
Bibliography

FOREWORD
This book resulted from my thoughts after writing a paper titled 'Genetic Engineering in a Spiritual Setting' which I read at a concurrent session in the 'Eating into the Future' conference held at the Adelaide Hilton in April 1999. (A copy of that paper is included in the appendix to the book).
In writing the paper I became aware that much of what we humans do, whether it be at the technological, social, environmental, etc., levels is usually done without regard to the 'connectedness' of all life. We have an idea and impetuously put it into action without thinking of the ramifications of what might happen as a result of that action. Often we act as if time was of extreme importance and that we have to get in first to make our money, or achieve some other objective before someone else does.
'Haste makes waste' is an old saying and if one reflects, life still goes on without that marvellous invention, new technology, new method of doing something. They need to be integrated with what already is, and in the larger sense of a surrounding community be it large, or small, in the context of the action. We are here to learn how to live with respect for all other life (and that includes all of us) and to develop a sense of 'beingness', to edge closer each day to that marvellous Being Who created us.
Whenever I watch a nature program on TV, read about the wonderful events and processes that take place, hear about the almost limitless potentials of human beings, and then reflect on the immensity of the universe with its millions of galaxies and billions of stars, I feel a sense of awe that we are actually part of that life.
This book is not meant to be a scientific treatise, or a sophisticated look at life. The real purpose is to present an outline of what I have learned during my now, longish life and which started when, as a teenager, I read 'The End of Borley Rectory', something captured my interest and led to a continual search for answers to life's mystery.
The Bibliography contains many books which I found to be of great interest, and of use, in my quest. You, too, will discover that when information or help is genuinely sought for, a door will open and guide you to your need. The universe is watching, the universe knows; rest assured that seekers after the truth are never misled if they tread the path wisely.
Always be aware of the charlatans who will profess they are the true guides. They may have something of value, but it is generally covered up in slick words and often leads to a request for significant amounts of money. True spiritual advice and guidance comes with no strings attached, leaving it to the receiver to decide how much it is worth.
I wrote what I have because I thought that many readers who are on the borderline of mute acceptance of their life and a wondering of why is all this happening to me; am I just a happenstance of life in a human body; will feel inspired enough to begin their search for a spiritual meaning in life.
There is no one method, no one path to follow. Life was intended to be infinite in potential and therefore what you do is yours alone. And alone we actually are as I discovered when on one starlit night I gazed up at them and had a distinct feeling, 'you are all alone'. Eventually you will return to the starting point, either willingly or unwillingly, sooner or later, and those choices are yours.
One word of caution. Never rest assured at any one stage in the confidence that 'this is it'. You are heading into infinity and therefore there is no end to the quest.
As you read this I wish you well in your search for answers as to why you are what you are.
Arnold Ward
Adelaide May 2003
Chapter One - CREATION
It is necessary to use the imagination when dealing with the world of the Spirit. So much that has been discovered by individuals who have the gift of being able to 'see' beyond the material veil can be foreign to our everyday lives as we struggle to maintain our existence in as healthy a form as possible. We often pass it off as something not relevant because we are so immersed in the physicality of life.
What is often forgotten is the extent to which the frontiers of our visible world have been pushed back by science. Just reflect on what knowledge was available to a person living say, in the 1600's. If they appeared in our world they would be completely mystified by the appliances that are standard in many homes, the aircraft in the sky, the ability to communicate to any part of the world in a flash. Even in my younger years I found it much easier to believe in a material world in which the 'unsplittable' atom was said to be the ultimate form of substance. Now the theoretical physicists prove that life is really an expression of consciousness, that we create our own world and the experimenter is part of the experiment, and thus has an influence on the result. No wonder that witnesses to the same occurrence can differ in the appraisal of what they saw.
It is easy to dismiss the myths of creation as figments of the imagination, very unscientific, as there is not proof, no way of knowing what is the actual cause of the commencement of the universe. If Man was sent out from God, he would have originally been consciousness at a very high level of vibration, and therefore not visible as a material body (this development will be expanded upon in Chapter 4). In the Bhagavad Gita is a statement that "Having pervaded this whole universe with one fragment of Myself, I remain."
Early physical man would have had this knowledge as part of his memories, before descending into a physical existence. This is probably why Australian Aborigines talk about the 'Dreamtime'. It would have been handed down orally through the generations. Science cannot explain everything that happens, so much of what we know, and need to know, comes through tapping into the level of intuition. Creation stories run through all indigenous peoples, in all continents. In our day it is the Bible which contains Christianity's version of creation, and it has many similarities with the older versions.
A source of one creation myth is the Stanzas of Dzyan. According to H.P. Blavatsky - "This first instalment of the esoteric doctrines is based upon Stanzas, which are the records of a people unknown to ethnology. They are written, it is claimed, in a tongue absent from the nomenclature of languages and dialects with which philology (scientific study of written records) is acquainted; are said to emanate from a source repudiated by science - to wit, Occultism..."
There is a further elaboration on this in the Introduction (written by Arya Asanga) to Two Books of the Stanzas of Dzyan. Apparently the information was written in Senzar, a secret sacerdotal tongue, which is the mystery tongue of the initiates. It was known to the forefathers of the Toltecs (10th-12th Century AD), as well as the inhabitants of the lost Atlantis, who inherited it from the third race of Men, given to them by the gods of the first and second races. In those extremely early days the language was not phonetic but was purely pictorial and symbolic. A modern way of expressing information is to be found in corporate logos in the international symbols, which rely on pictorial images to get their message across. It is therefore very easy to understand why scientists will not have a bar of this information - it does not fit in with their tendency to only believe what they can demonstrate.
In the publication Theosophy in Australia, Vol 50 No. 3 on page 124, we read - "One of the simplest and most elucidating of the Stanzas of Dzyan is the third one which states - 'Darkness radiates light, and light drops one solitary ray into the waters, into the mother deep. The ray shoots through the virgin egg, the ray causes the eternal egg to thrill, and drop the non-eternal (periodical) germ, which condenses into the whole-egg'."
The article goes on to say - H.P. comments thus - The solitary ray dropping into the mother deep may be taken as meaning Divine Thought or Intelligence, impregnating chaos. This, however, occurs on the plane of metaphysical abstraction...It brings before the mind's eye the picture of Kosmos emerging from and in boundless space, a Universe as shoreless in magnitude if not as endless as its objective manifestation."
The drive 'to know' brings out the curiosity streak in scientists who continually beaver away the frontiers of knowledge about the world we live in. Some current theories speculate that stars continue to be formed and black holes may play a part in this.
In his book 'Stalking the Wild Pendulum', Itzhak Bentov gives his explanation of a black hole. If a galaxy begins to collapse in on itself matter falls towards the nucleus and eventually results in a gravitational collapse. The extreme density pulls back the light (energy) and it is sucked down as in a funnel. Energy has to go somewhere and according to physicists it goes through a singularity point that is theoretically of zero size. Passing that point it reappears in a 'different universe'. He goes on to say that our universe may have been created in this way, a white hole coming out of a black hole.
Earlier last year (2000), researchers suggested that giant black holes were the seeds from which every galaxy in the universe grew. Doug Richstone of the Universe of Michigan "noticed that most quasars appeared perhaps a billion years before most stars. This might mean that black holes control the formation of galaxies, an idea that turns conventional astrophysics on it head."
Stars and planets embody the being responsible for creation. Human bodies are created by an ensouling entity and the bodies of stars and planets are no different. 'As above, so below' is commonly used to indicate that there is a similarity between that at the highest level and that at the lowest.
Some years ago, in a reflective mood, I realized that comets are the spermatozoa of the universe. The have a head and a tail and travel around solar systems leaving various energies in the form of bacteria, viruses, or other organisms that will result in new life forms, or a mutation of existing ones.
There is some scientific backing for this thought form the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffet Field, California. "Chris McKay has shown that comets may have been the source of complex molecules after all." Experimenting with intense heat on comet gases they reported in Science (Vol 276, p 390), "this created at least a dozen new compounds, some with chains six carbon atoms long." Norman Sleep, of Stanford University in California says "Here they show they can actually provide the basic building blocks of life."

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