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