Figure E 

Something important to note about the firmament is that it is not static. It appears static in a diagram, of course, but in reality, it is the dynamic result of the continual expansion/contraction movement of Consciousness. As long as the Universal conscious intention to become ‘all that it can be’ remains, then this basic firmamental structure will continue to exist. So, let's look more closely at what the firmament is, represents, and causes.

First, you can see how its shape represents a radiation from a point, and to all intents and purposes, this was exactly what had been created―a source of energy, or potential for light. This is significantly profound and apart from anything else, it is interesting to consider that the appearance of this light potential as a function of the firmament emerging, may very well help us understand what is trying to be expressed in the opening paragraphs of the Holy Bible.

Now, I am not Christian and by no means am I endeavouring to push a religious angle here, but in the context of what has just been revealed in the development of the Origin model, it is now possible to see things quite differently. In Genesis, Chapter 1, when God said, ‘Let there be light, and there was light’ this speaks directly to the formation of the firmament out of Consciousness (God). And, that ‘God saw that the light was good …’, speaks to both the fact that this ‘seeing’ (which is mentioned several times in Genesis) refers to the experiencing nature of Consciousness. And it was indeed ‘good’, because this energy now represented―or was, and is―the first and finest manifestation of existence itself from which everything else would arise. By any measure, this is definitely a very good situation.

Second, the movement towards the centre―the focus of attention―which is the reaction to the expansion that creates the light, generates a ‘pulling effect’ and that pull, of course, is what we experience, know, and name, as gravity.

So here it is. Finally, a clear and reasonable explanation for the phenomenon of gravity. And, of course, the implications of this are also profound. We discovered earlier that gravity was a complete mystery to science, and therefore to know what it is and how it relates to the other forces is key to understanding the Universe itself. Well, here is the explanation, and later we will see how it relates to the other forces. What is perhaps more important than understanding those relationships, however, is to see that gravity is an attractive force generated by the overarching universal intention of Consciousness to be all that it can be. It is this intention that holds everything together as a kind of cosmic, gravitational glue.

Intention creates gravity that pulls energy together to appear, or materialise, as a physical expression of that intention, whatever it might be. This is a simpler and more essential way of describing the creative process we have been talking about. Matter is the result of synchronous intention and attention arising from Consciousness.

This now brings us to another topic of great mystery and contention among scientists and philosophers―the relationship between consciousness and matter. As we continue, it will become increasingly clear that consciousness is not something generated by a specific arrangement of matter―like a brain―but rather it is that matter arises out from, and within, this Consciousness that we are.

If it is the intention of Consciousness that causes gravity which in turn creates matter which is the basis of existence, then logically a question now arises similar to the one that arose before: whose intention might it be that creates the reality you are experiencing now, and in every other moment?

This is a critical question, as it is one that relates directly to your personal daily experiences and the quality of your life. Is it that you are living in a reality that is created by Universal intention alone, and therefore everything is somewhat predetermined, and you are simply a pawn in a game? Or is it that you, too, can influence your experiences somehow through the power of your own intention? Is there a relationship between the two, and if so, what might it be?

These questions will be addressed, but not before understanding more fully the nature of the firmament that underpins everything.

Considering the structure of the firmament a little more, it can be seen that it describes a concentration of energy at the centre of its expression which appears as a super-dense spherical body, and it is this concentration which is known and named as mass. Mass is the measurable appearance of expanding or intending Consciousness, and the ‘stuff’ of the matter that makes up the physical Universe.

The energy throughout the firmament gradually dissipates, becoming increasingly less dense towards its periphery. Although the mass body is the only measurable, observable aspect of the firmament, it is important to note that that mass body is effectively surrounded by an ‘invisible field’ which is an inseparable part of it. This field is the reach of the gravitational effect the body of mass has, and its existence is also what makes possible all ideas pertaining to ‘auric fields’ which some people see surrounding other people and objects.

For the more scientific among us, the firmament also clearly represents an understanding of the relationship between energy and mass. In physics, this relationship is known as mass-energy equivalence, and it basically states that mass is concentrated energy, or in other words, that the mass of something is the measure of its energy content.

This relationship is famously represented by Einstein’s equation, E=mc². For those who are not familiar with this equation, the ‘E’ stands for energy, the ‘m’ for mass, and c² is the constant―the speed of light (c) squared (²). In a nutshell, what the equation is saying is that energy and mass are related by the speed of light. And this is certainly true, although you will not find the explanation I am about to give in a physics textbook. This is because what seems to be overlooked, unexplained, or perhaps not understood in the first place, is that the speed of light is the measure of the movement that causes the situation. It is the measurement of the maximum possible speed (movement) of Consciousness with respect to this planet and our functionality as humans (this will be explained more fully later).

Similarly, Einstein’s model of gravity is defined as an acceleration that ‘warps’ space-time. The movement that results from the reaction to expansion is the acceleration he refers to, although Einstein never put it in these terms because he did not see the relationship between Universal conscious intention and the resultant acceleration that causes gravity.

If we now use the word ‘fabric’ to help us imagine space-time (as theoretical physicists do), then when a firmament appears in it, or it could equally be said ‘appears as it’, the fabric becomes distorted or warped as a function of the structural arrangement of the firmament.

So, gravity is indeed both a force as Newtonian physics describes it and an acceleration as Relativity describes it, differing only in the way we might like to see it. But not only is this contraction of Consciousness towards a point the reason and explanation for gravity, it is also the condition that creates the phenomenon of a black hole. Consequently, black holes are not just mysterious, semi-hypothetical objects disconnected from what is more measurable in the Universe, but rather they represent the very heart of matter itself as portals through which Consciousness itself is interconnected.

We could now say that this firmament was the first ‘thing’. It was some ‘thing’, whereas before there was no ‘thing’ to speak of. Its emergence marked the beginning of existence and the physical world. The Universe had begun.

At the same time, there was something else occurring that is critical to understand, something that also seems to have been overlooked in most investigations into the nature of existence to date.

The appearance of the firmament, the first thing, was a creation of Consciousness, as I hope is now very clear. As it came forth from Consciousness to appear as something, it was simultaneously represented as the knowledge and memory of that something. That is to say, that the appearance of anything, anytime, as a physical reality, is not just the physical reality―it is also the Universal experience of the reality, and it is in this way that events and creations become Universal knowledge. It is also the way in which the notion of mind now arises (knowledge and knowing being an aspect of mind) and it clearly describes the inseparable relationship between mind and matter.

It would be accurate enough, then, for us to say that pure and original mind is the ‘other side’ of matter. When I use the word ‘mind’ here, I don’t mean anything related to the human brain and thought. We are still at the beginning of the Universe, long before any human brains had appeared. But there is a relationship between our brains, which perceive and interpret the world, and the mind that is within matter. That relationship is that together the existence of human mind arises, and this will be discussed in greater detail later in the work.

Knowledge in the mind can be used for the creation of new and different things. The ensuing interaction of Consciousness between what exists and the knowledge of it describes the reality and mechanism of what we could say is intelligence. This intelligence is the powerhouse of the evolutionary process, and it is something that is universal, not just human. Let’s have a look at what I mean.

There is no doubt that we―the creative, self-aware men and women of the world today―are extremely clever. We have worked out how to fly to the moon, we have invented robots to do all kinds of work for us, and we can make great art and music as well. Because of this unique cleverness we seem to have, there is a tendency for us to think and believe that it is our intelligence that affords us this ability and, therefore, we must be the only creatures on this planet that are intelligent. The dictionary describes the meaning of the word ‘intelligence’ as the capacity for learning, reasoning, and understanding. It is an aptitude in grasping truths, relationships, facts and meanings and the ability to apply this knowledge to manipulate the environment. There is no doubt that we are intelligent by these definitions, but the essence of the word is often incorrectly paralleled with what the intellect is.

The intellect is an attribute of our humanness―it is our human mind―and it relates specifically to our mental capacity to think, remember, project, analyse, and plan. It is indeed something unique to our species and has helped us develop the world to what it is today, for better or worse. But intelligence is something far deeper and wider than the intellect. It lies in or behind the existence of the bodies we live through, and it is that which enables or gives rise to the intellect. A good way to understand the difference might be to see that the intellect is to our humanness as intelligence is to Consciousness.

Intelligence is a function of Universal mind, and as we discovered, it therefore dwells in the matter of what we are―in the cells that make up the body and brain. It is this intelligence within that informs the brain to take breath into the body, for example, and it is also the portal through which we may receive true inspiration.

Intelligence lies in and behind not only us but all creatures of the Earth, and it directs their every movement beautifully and harmoniously. This is the reason why a school of fish can seemingly move as one body, or why a flock of birds can miraculously navigate from one part of the globe to another without missing a beat. Intelligence also lies in or behind every plant form, and it directs a plant’s growth and appearance. And intelligence lies in and behind matter itself, as the guiding creative principle of life.

It is important to understand, however, that just because the Universe itself was now intelligent and knowledgeable of the fact that it had creative potential, this did not mean that it could just bring forth anything it wanted at any time. It could only bring forth things and events that were known through experience. So, in the beginning, when a firmament had just appeared and organised the Universe into a specific arrangement as something that would support creation, a creature such as an elephant, for example, could not suddenly appear, because there was no knowledge of anything like it. The only knowledge was that of the firmamental energetic arrangement just discovered.

It is imperative that you understand the nature and structure of the firmament entirely if you seriously wish to understand the Universe and your life. It is the foundation upon which absolutely everything is built, so the better you can understand it, the better equipped you will be. So far, we have discovered that the firmament explains light, gravity, the black hole phenomenon, mass-energy equivalence, the reason for Einstein’s equation, and the mind/matter relationship.

Another interesting point is that because it is intention alone that holds everything together, then as long as this intention remains, so too does the firmamental structure that supports everything. Logically, then, if this intention ceased, the structure would disintegrate, and everything would return to be as the still condition that preceded its formation.

The disintegration of the firmament would mean the sudden release of energy held as mass at the core, and this release would be, not at all surprisingly, in accordance with Einstein’s equation, E=mc². Effectively, this release of energy would appear as an explosion, and an event of this nature is the cause of the phenomena of supernovas―stellar explosions that release mind-boggling and immeasurable amounts of energy. Similarly, this impulse or tendency to disintegrate or ‘give up’ being whatever it is, at an atomic level, forms the basis of another of the four fundamental forces of nature―the weak nuclear force.

The implications of this―the fact that everything is held together only by the Universal intention of Consciousness, and therefore what might happen if or when that intention is ever withdrawn―is indeed worthy of contemplation.

Knowledge of the firmament and how it came to be is the missing link that provides the basis for a complete understanding of the workings of our Universe. It explains the mystery of gravity, and it is the expansive movement of energy within it that gives rise to all ideas pertaining to the theory of a Big Bang and an expanding Universe.

In the next section we look at how matter and the Universe emerged using the knowledge we now have of the firmament.