I am enjoying my little holiday gearing up for the Yultide/Christmas, and taking a short break from video creating, but I have been thinking much about life in general during this time, pondering existential questions. I have been especially thinking about the latest scientific theory “discovered” on the universe being conscious and aware.
This is my Elven thoughts on this article on the idea of a “Conscious Universe”: The Universe May Be Sentient
I believe that Tolkien knew of this theory well before NASA did by looking through telescopes. Many people do arrive to this conclusion that the universe is experiencing itself through each of our experiences. Many intuitives like myself, are able to arrive at this understanding as we go deeper into our own consciousness. I believe all have access to this, but it is about whether you are even looking in that direction or not during your life experience to recognize it.
Eru Ilúvatar in the Silmarillion is described in the same way as a sentient source that formed the universe through a process of dividing itself into many roles that created the universe. At first glance, people may think Eru is a “god” or a Zeus like character who creates lesser gods and goddesses, but Tolkien is describing a far deeper concept that science is catching up to today based on the concept of consciousness itself.
Eru is described in the beginning as “the One” and Eru has no physical materialized body as we can recognize, but only a Mind. Eru is not even a man nor a woman, He/It/She is all things in which contain the potential to create all things. Eru is a vast Mind, and only one Mind in the entire void before time and space is even imagined. Eru holds the Flame Imperishable far within the void, and creates with it which represents the Spark of Consciousness and eternal Creativity of Eru’s Mind as the One. No one is permitted to use this Flame Imperishable except Eru since it comes from the Prime Source of Eru’s Mind, and this is what causes the conflict with an Ainur named Melkor later.
At some point, Eru starts to THINK and gains consciousness by creating bodiless thought-forms known as the the Ainur. Each Ainur is a thought from one specific part of the mind of Eru. Only each Ainur understands THAT part of the mind they come from, and from there they each sing certain notes that vibrate at certain frequencies that each of them came forwards to represent. They start to hold “perspectives” that show the different parts of the the Mind of Eru through different notes they sing, creating a symphony.
This includes ALL Ainur working together in Harmony, as well as the one single Ainur working in Discord known as Melkor and later by the Elves as “Morgoth”. Yet, ALL parts FIRST arrived from Eru’s Mind. Even Melkor is not separate from Eru’s mind, until the separation from the REST of Eru’s mind (the other Ainur) continues to further split the psyche. Tolkien is saying that you can not have Harmony without Discord, you can not know one part without the other, they all come from the same Prime Source. The value of experience of Harmony is created by going through the hard times of Discord. Knowing the beautiful sounds or experiences of Harmony causes you to know when something is in Discord. This is the Law of Polarity of the Universe.
However, we soon learn through the Silmarillion what that “one” part of the Mind of Eru can do to the other parts if it is not controlled or balanced out by the Harmonious parts. Discord alone without anything to balance it energetically can cause conflict, destruction, war and ultimately leads to the imbalance of consciousness and awareness within the individual-the Ego.
Eru is the Prime Source, The Supreme Consciousness, and the Ainur are “singing” thought-forms. Eventually these thought-forms become more than just thoughts though as Eru continues to give thought in a void beyond time and space.
The Ainur or Eru’s original thought-forms, start to create MATTER through the vibration of their singing-outside of the void. This is String Theory that suggests invisible energetic strings that vibrate, creates complex structures of matter we can experience in the physical universe. The Ainur finally see the Universe called Eä that they are shown by Eru, to show them what they have created through their singing matter into form. So although Eru ultimately is the Prime Source, Eru experiences the Self varied through dividing into many parts for the sake of variety of experience. Each part of Eru does not see itself as the Whole, yet only a small part or role it must play out to create a musical theme. A theme is the overall Story of one Universe created. Eru has fractured Consciousness into many parts in order to experience the many roles it would take to create a massive complex storyline with many characters. If it was a story about Eru, it would be only one character and no experience except thought from that one character, and this does not make a great story or musical theme. Because of this fracture of the psyche of Eru, each part does not experience itself as the Whole, but only the “part of Eru’s mind from which it came from”.
When Eru shows the Ainur, the beautiful and vast universe they created because they can see it now in front of them, they start to want to experience the world Arda (which was also known as Earth to Tolkien) for themselves. What this really means is Eru longs to experience a physical life through the many eyes of the Ainur. So the Ainur become semi-solid as can be in an energetic state, and they experience themselves in different types of “light” bodies that separate themselves from one another-in male and female bodies according to the nature of divine energy they hold. However, Ainurs are still not as solid as man or elves, so as they enter upon Arda, they are semi-solid or transparent at times and can wear whatever they want or even be naked and unseen. Clothes make them less “light-bodied” as clothes are adapting to the physical realm and taking a raiment that fits with the theme of the world they are in. There are no other beings on Arda just yet until they start to create beings to watch over and enjoy watching life grow. This is ultimately why they created the awakening of the Elves, as their first born-nearest to the minds of the Valar, who each 14 came from the Ainur, who each came from the mind of Eru.
This is why Varda is the most loved by Elves, or honored on Arda. Varda is the Queen of Stars or of Light in general. Her face is remarked as having the “light of Eru in her face”. She represents not only the stars, or light, but she symbolizes consciousness and awareness of the Universe itself.
The process of Ainur going from being completely incorporeal, which means “without body” to then having a light body form is a process of Eru’s consciousness coming down to “lower” levels, not in terms of importance or lowly experience, but in terms of not being totally conscious of itself as a Whole Being.
This is a little like the allegory of Adam And Eve “coming down” to Earth being thrown out of Eden. Though the Bible makes it more about punishment from God, the Silmarillion makes it more about wanting to experience the physical universe and that is why the Ainur “came down” to explore it, live on it, see what more they can create from this level of being.
From this desire to know the beautiful world of Arda, the Ainur divide themselves further into 14 Valar which are 7 female bodied and 7 male bodied Powers. Each Power ruled over a certain aspect of Arda as “Ideals” that all beings can look forwards to and aspire to hold within themselves because they all come from the One Prime Souce – Eru, they have every potential to do so. Each Vala represents the more conscious or aware part of Eru than Elves or Man, because they were closer to the Total Mind of Eru. This means they were at a less fractured state of being from the Prime Source and understood their role to help all life move forwards and thrive on Arda. They do not move from the ego, they are constantly aware of their part within the Whole. They are referred to as Powers and never as gods because they are originally Eru’s thought-forms and not separate deities.
Tolkien was careful to not call them gods or goddesses and so for the same reason, I will not either. However if you want to see them as a “gods” or “goddess” then you may, as long as you also see them as a Whole of Eru too to understand the Elven Spiritual Path. Tolkien told a tale in the Silmarillion that there was a part of mankind that fell from their states of grace in early ages because they worshiped Melkor/Morgoth, the original Ainur of Discord in bodily form. Elves did not have the same type of worship of the Valar as mankind called them gods and goddesses only to themselves, but the Elves called them “Powers” or simply by their divine names and not as gods or goddesses. This is the subtle difference between human pagan worship and the Elven one of Tolkien.
I do want to bring out the deeper concept that Tolkien was trying to get at which points towards our actual Unity of Mind that all sentient beings theoretically could arrive to eventually.
I realize that this may be a complicated spiritual path if your mind is not already looking in the direction or seeking for union with all souls mentally, spiritually and emotionally. And “union” at this level of experience simply means understanding one another have the same needs and to see the common dominator that all souls share together even though outwardly we may look and think differently. The same Divine Consciousness Spark or Flame Imperishable runs through all our veins. Nobody is outside of this Prime Source, we are both IT as well as IN IT. Just as the Ainur are thoughts from Eru, yet they also became the Valar who split their consciousness further like “fractals” creating all the beings of Arda later. We can find this common dominator through the awareness of seeing the natural elements that we are made of from the stars as well as earth.
This the Sentient Universe of Tolkien, one that is the Mind as well as the Physical Universe that the Mind may experience itself through many different perspectives and forms.
Like fractals, the smallest part is part of the Whole, however it may not be aware of itself as the Whole in that position. From the position it is in, it may only see what is around it in its immediate space. Yet, when you zoom your perspective out and you see the whole picture, then you see how all parts fit together and are smaller versions of the larger Whole.
The Elves are aware of this concept of a sentient world as well as universe.
They seem to have the ability of understanding how to honor the Valar as well as Eru with humility through not by ritual or laws, but by the integrity filled life they live on Arda. Making the best choice for the whole of the Arda is their motto, very much like the Stoics believed in Ancient Greece to make the best choices daily by asking “is it good for humanity?” before you do it.
It is as if the Elves are aware in their subconsciousness of this greater Self they extend from, from Eru’s Mind that split itself into many parts and pathways. Yet this information stored in the subconscious allows them to enjoy their different roles on the surface of their consciousness and physically on Arda. They also see themselves as part of all Arda too, bound to it through soul, and keeper of all animals and all innocent and pure (incorruptible by Melkor) life on Arda. They understand that they each play a role in the world, yet belong to a greater whole like the wizard Gandalf knows.
High Elven wisdom and Love 